Female education – A pathway to country’s prosperity

PESHAWAR, Sep 29 : Carrying prime significance to socioeconomic development of human resources, education empowers women to perform productive role in the country’s development and bring positive social change in society.
As a well-known proverb says, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a girl, you educate the entire nation” and our constitution also makes early education compulsory for all, female education bears pivotal importance for nation building.
But, despite constitutional provision and efforts by the government, the situation of girls’ education in erstwhile Fata is not very promising with Fata annual education census revealing only 37% girls enrolled at primary schools, dropping significantly to five percent at secondary level. On contrary, 49 percent boys are enrolled at primary school with 17 percent at secondary schools.
Multiple factors, ranging from socio-political and economic to religious and culture taboos are contributing to this predicament.
“The foremost impediments for girls attending school in former Fata are cultural. In tribal societies, cultural taboos, high rate of unemployment and poverty discourage girls from education,” said Professor Dr Ibrahim Khan, former Director Elementary and Secondary education KPK.
“Commonly girls in these areas are expected to help their mothers in household, take care of elders and help parents in agriculture. Early marriages also hamper their education,” Dr Ibrahim stated.
He admitted that girls’ in erstwhile FATA lag behind in education also due to lack of political interest, law and order situation and militants attacks, shortage of schools and teachers unwillingness to serve there.
“All this had increased girl students’ drop out ratio and now when these areas are part of KPK, the government needs to rebuild damaged schools to bring Out of School Children (OSC) under education net,” Dr Ibrahim said.
The Benazir Income Support Program (BISP) 2021 survey had disclosed the OSC has reached to about 4.9 million in KP including one million in ex Fata. These OSC included about 2.9 million girls aged five to 16 years in settled districts and one million children in merged tribal districts with 74.4% girls and 38.5% boys out of school in the province.
The survey further revealed about 61% children are out-of-school in North Waziristan, 63% in Bajaur, 61% in South Waziristan, 51% each in Mohmand and Khyber and 47% each in Kurram and Orakzai.
Likewise, 3.67 million students including 1.38 million boys and 2.38 million girls in settled districts and 1.0067 million students including 0.36 million boys and 0.65 million in merged districts were out of schools.
“I left school at primary level after it was damaged by militants and started sewing clothes to financially support my family and education of brothers,” said Razia Bibi (20), a resident of Tehsil Bara in Khyber district. “But, I expect the KP government would soon rebuild my school, enabling me and other girls to restart studies.”
Ikhtair Wali, PMLN KP spokesman regretted the provincial government’s failure in timely restoration of education facilities for female students.
“After merger of erstwhile Fata into KP, the entire responsibility of education and reconstruction of schools shifted to the provincial government,” he said. “But, the government failed to bring out of school children under education net.”
He said it could have been better if the provincial government had focused on resolving such problems instead of sheer politicking and creating unrest. “Instead of combating illiteracy, strengthening infrastructure and rebuilding damaged schools, the KP Govt was outsourcing public sector schools that would deprive thousands of poor students of free education.”
On the other hand, Sahab Khan, Chief Planning Officer, Education Department said a target of enrolling of three lakh OSC children including girls were set for this month. “Around 300 schools per year were required for enrolment of such students and around 15,667 new schools for admission of fresh students.”
He informed that under Alternate Learning Pathways (ALP) program for old age OSC, over 58,000 older girls have been enrolled at 1692 ALP established with assistance of the government departments and international donors.
Assessment tools were developed for ALP classes and early care and education (ECE) program for girl students, focusing on languages, mathematics and social-emotional competencies. Thousands of classrooms have been transformed into modern nurseries across the province including erstwhile Fata while 1600 ECE centers would be set up through GPE funding in next five years.
Sahab Khan also mentioned to provision of ECE teaching material to girls schools in erstwhile Fata and spending over Rs two billion on provision of furniture to schools besides scholarship disbursed among female students, showing 80pc attendance.
Stars of KP, Rehamatul Alamin and ETEA merit scholarships had encouraged student’s enrollment as Sahab Khan mentioned to stipend program covering all seven districts and sub-divisions in merged districts besides voucher scheme, female education, incentives under BISP, stipend project for students in 1-12 class and provision of school bags and stationary etc.
Although these measures are a good omen yet overall political and law and order situation in the province matters much more and the provincial government instead of sheer politicking must also focus these issues to get desired results.