Programs approved to increase literacy rate in tribal districts

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has approved the Sabawoon Schools Initiative (SSI) and Establishment of Middle Community Schools (MGBECs) program of the Department of Education aimed to increase the literacy rate in the merged districts.

According to a document of the Merged Areas Education Foundation (MEF), the SSI programme would focus on children in areas where they do not have easy access to education facilities.

Under the initiative MEF would involve the management of renowned educational institutions to open their branches in merged district and sub-divisions to impart quality education to the children.

It said that MEF would provide grants to bear the initial startup cost at the rate of 100,000 each as one time grant to cover school supplies and teaching, learning material for students and teachers while the foundation would also pay minimal tuition fees of Rs1,000 for KG students, Rs 1,500 for first to fifth-grade students and Rs2,000 for eighth to seventh-grade students.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2023.