ISLAMABAD, May 17 (APP): Federal and provincial governments on Wednesday agreed to prepare a National Action Plan to address the confronted issue of Out-of-School Children (OOSC) and maximize the enrollment of school-age children across the country.<\/p>\n
The decision was made in a high-level consultative meeting, chaired by Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal and attended among others by the Additional Secretary of Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Provincial Secretaries of Education Departments, Director General of Federal Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Member Social Sector and Development of Planning Commission and other stakeholders, a news release said.<\/p>\n
Over the years, the meeting observed that Pakistan has made considerable progress in providing access to education to its school-age population, but its pace remained slow as compared to other developing countries. <\/p>\n
With an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 years out of school, Pakistan has one of the highest numbers of Out-of-School Children in the world. <\/p>\n
However, the incumbent government is committed to resolving this critical issue as soon after coming into power it took several steps to counter Pakistan\u2019s OOSC challenge. <\/p>\n
The meeting was informed that the upcoming Public Sector Development Programme (2023-2024) would institutionalize several key initiatives to achieve universal education in Pakistan.<\/p>\n
A model Universal Enrollment Pilot Project would be in place in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to ensure no Out-of-School Children in the capital. After the successful execution of the pilot project, it would be replicated to produce similar results in other areas across the country. <\/p>\n
The Planning Ministry will also identify Pakistan\u2019s districts with the highest concentrations of OOSC.
\nFurthermore, a National Out-of-School Children Fund would be established to provide performance-based cash grants to provincial governments for getting the required results in the most affected districts.<\/p>\n
Additionally, to reduce dropout rates, especially for girls who face mobility issues, the government will launch a comprehensive virtual schooling system.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the provincial representatives briefed the meeting about the situation overview of OOSC in their respective provinces and shared their approaches to ensure maximum primary school enrollment. <\/p>\n
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal directed the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) to establish a birth certificate-based
\nadmission system in collaboration with National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). \u201cAs soon as a child reaches school-going age, he\/she should be enrolled in a nearby school by the state.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also highlighted the importance of adult literacy and directed to make a strategy accordingly.
\nMember (Social Sector & Devolution) Planning Commission Rafiullah Kakar also asked for the data-driven need assessment for all projects targeting OOSS. <\/p>\n
He briefed that the Planning Commission was also developing a national Education Index to monitor progress on education outcomes and encourage healthy competition among provinces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD, May 17 (APP): Federal and provincial governments on Wednesday agreed to prepare a National Action Plan to address the confronted issue of Out-of-School Children (OOSC) and maximize the enrollment of school-age children across the country. The decision was made in a high-level consultative meeting, […]<\/p>\n
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