Second phase of emergency enrolment programme begins

273,000 children have been enrolled under the campaign

FAISALABAD:

A function was held at a school in Samanabad on Friday to mark the beginning of the second phase of emergency enrolment programme.

District Coordination Officer (DCO) Noorul Amin Mengal inaugurated the campaign. Punjab Assembly Member (MPA) Begum Suraiya Naeem and Education Executive District Officer (EDO) Syed Waheedud Din were present on the occasion.

The campaign aims to bring dropouts back to schools to raise the literacy rate as part of the Education Department’s universal primary education programme.

The DCO and the lawmaker distributed books among students and enrolled their names in the attendance register on the occasion.

Mengal said the fruits of independence would only be realised after ignorance had been eradicated. He said Pakistan would be unable to prosper and progress without promoting education. Mengal praised the campaign and called it pivotal to achieving universal literacy. He instructed Education Department officials to search for children who had dropped out. Mengal urged them to remain dedicated to their duties to realise their objectives.



Begum Naeem said the government had been actively promoting education. She said the government was pursuing a policy of “education for all”. The lawmaker urged parents to enrol children at schools and said awareness should be created to promote education.

Din said the government had aimed to enrol 280,000 schoolchildren by the end of May. He said 273,000 children had already been enrolled in schools. Din said the government had now revised the target to 300,000. He said the revised target had to be realised by the end of October. Din said the Education Department had been conducting a survey to realise this goal.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2014.