Reforms under spotlight: Education ministers look back at past achievements

Apprise participants of reconstructed schools.

PESHAWAR: The provincial education department on Friday highlighted its achievements of the past four-and-a-half years.

Education ministers Sardar Hussain Babak and Qazi Asad briefed participants about steps taken by the provincial government to improve the standard of education in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Explaining the vision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Babak said its first priority was to focus on girl’s education, education-centric development, and to enhance the education sector’s Annual Development Plan (ADP).

Over the years, many donors and NGOs had signed memorandums of understanding with the Elementary and Secondary Education Department and have agreed to provide a total of over Rs44 billion for various projects under the Education Sector Plan, he added.

He said the incumbent government has constructed 45 playgrounds, provided sports facilities in 100 places and reopened 1,600 previously shut schools. Under the ‘Rokhana Pakhtunkhwa’ programme, a total of Rs500 million has been spent since April 1 to reopen 500 schools.



As a result of the 2005 earthquake, 2,954 schools were damaged out of which 1,554 have been reconstructed so far. Meanwhile, 750 schools have been destroyed due to militancy and out of those 555 have so far been renovated, added Babak.

The minister said 589 schools had been reconstructed out of the 1,694 schools destroyed in the 2010 floods.

After the 18th amendment to the Constitution, planning and policy of the curriculum, syllabus and standard of education were devolved to the provinces.



Accordingly, the provincial government drafted the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Supervision of Curriculum, Textbooks and Maintenance of Standard of Education bill in 2011. The bill was passed by the provincial assembly on April 26 this year.

Provincial Minister for Higher Education, Archives and Library, Qazi Asad said that there were eight universities in the province in 2008, and the government built another one to take the number up to nine.

Asad added that K-P was the only province to initiate training for college teachers, and that 1,300 teachers have so far been trained under the programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 8^th, 2012.