‘Over 20,000 children enrolled in 70 public schools in Charsadda’

NCHD, provincial education dept officials stage walk to raise awareness.

SHABQADAR: As many as 25,000 children are enrolled in 70 state-run schools in Charsadda’s Shabqadar sub-district, a Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa education department official said on Wednesday.

“Mostly, children of school-going age from the underprivileged class are working as labourers in society. We want to bring them to school,” Education ADO Ahmadullah said as he addressed participants at a walk organised in Shabqadar Bazaar by the education department and the National Commission for Human Development.

Participants held banners inscribed with slogans such as “Educate Your Child!” and “Education, The Basic Right Of Every Citizen!”. NCHD Coordinator Mohammad Waseem and representatives of the civil society appealed to parents to admit their children to school.

Ahmadullah said that after the walk, the department’s staff will go to each Hujra and mosque to mobilise the community and convince them to enrol their children in school. “We have set a target for enrolment and will achieve it through provision of free textbooks,” he said.

To a question about school uniforms, he said that they will not be provided by the government but the Parent Teacher Council fund will pay for them.

Higher enrolment, few teachers

According to a teacher of the Government Primary School, Matta Mughalkhel, the number of students was on the rise but there was little increase in the number of teachers and schools.

“Authorities should also pay attention to infrastructure and teachers, besides launching enrolment campaigns,” he told The Express Tribune, requesting anonymity.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government launched a ‘School Enrolment Campaign’, inaugurated by Chief Minister Ameer Haider Hoti on April 2, with a pledge to enrol 1.3 million children, especially girls.