Right to education: Drive to push education reforms launched

HDF urges legislators to implement article 25-A through the provincial assemblies.

A country-wide campaign to advocate reforms in the education sector has been launched by the Human Development Foundation (HDF) under USAID’s Citizens’ Voice Project, said a press release issued by the foundation on Wednesday.

Activities such as educational programmes on the radio in regional languages as well as capacity building workshops and conferences with civil society organisations are being held in one district of each of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan provinces, namely Mardan, Tando Muhammad Khan, Rahim Yar Khan and Zhob respectively.

The advocacy campaign, titled “Education Sector Reforms in Pakistan,” is based on the data collected through a baseline survey conducted in these districts, measuring the level of awareness regarding children’s right to a free and compulsory education under Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan.

The purpose of the campaign is to spread essential knowledge on the subject of education, apprise the stakeholders of the current situation of education in the country and seek their cooperation to launch a movement to provide free and compulsory education to children across the provinces.



In a statement issued by HDF, Chief Executive Officer Azhar Saleem said the passage of article 25-A and declaring free and compulsory education as a constitutional right is not enough. There is an urgent need to launch a movement to urge legislators to make reforms in the education sector and to implement article 25-A through the provincial assemblies.



“Over the years, lack of a well-educated workforce has remained a stumbling block on our way to economic development and social rejuvenation,” said Saleem. School enrolment rates in the country have been consistently low, he said, and coupled with rapid population growth, it has led to a steady increase in the number of out-of-school children.

“We are second in the global ranking of out-of-school children and about 55 per cent of children aged 10 and above cannot read and write,” he added.

He said an education emergency should be declared in the country and laws should be enacted to ensure every child the right to an education. He stressed the need to make joint efforts for the cause and called upon other organisations to support the advocacy program.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 20^th, 2012.