‘4,000 enrolled under education initiative’

Poor households being persuaded to send their children to school.

LAHORE: About 4,000 children from poor families have so far been enrolled in schools under the Young Champions for Education programme launched by Jahandad Society for Community Development (JSCD) in collaboration with the United Nations International Children Education Fund.

This was announced by Dr Yasmin Rashid, the JSCD chairperson, at a media workshop on Monday.

She said that the programme was launched nine months ago with 200 children selected from across 20 union councils in the city. She added that the purpose of the programme was to motivate and assist poor families to send their children to schools. The programme was not limited to getting children enrolled, Dr Yasmin said, adding that they were also providing students with school uniforms, bags, books and shoes, besides assisting the families in obtaining birth certificates for the children.

She said that the society had also organised sports galas, street theatre and essay writing competitions and set up camps to impart vocational skills to the children.

She said the schools in a union council near Thokar Niaz Baig had no room for additional students when they started the Young Champions for Education programme. The challenge, she said, was taken head on by Jameela Bibi, a resident of the area and a focal person for the JSCD. Sin seven weeks, she said, Jameela had arranged for the admission of around 80 children in two nearby public schools.

Dr Yasmin said that during their enrolment drive they had found out that there was no public school in Youhannabad, one of the largest Christian neighbourhoods located on Ferozpur Road.

She said that what the programme had achieved in a short period of time was commendable but it could only bring about a significant change in the society if it was expanded to all union councils of the city and to other districts.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 15^th, 2010.