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- April 30, 2024
- Kainat Shakeel
- 0
ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to essentially proclaim a four-year national education emergency to address the issue of out-of-school youth as well as other major problems facing the industry. The education emergency is expected to be declared by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in the upcoming days. Sources indicated that due to the PM’s other commitments, the conference he was scheduled to host on Tuesday (today) was rescheduled for a few days on Monday night. 26.2 million Children in Pakistan are not attending school. (OOSC). The nation is dealing with a low literacy rate of 62 percent in addition to the OOSC situation. Comparably, it is concerning that the government only spends 1.7 percent of GDP (Gross Domestic Product) on education.
Comparably, it is concerning that schools across the nation range in their accessibility to basic amenities like restrooms, drinking water, and perimeter walls. Many schools around the nation lack access to drinking water and other necessities, especially those in the outlying areas. The federal cabinet and prime minister should declare a national education emergency, according to Federal Education Minister Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, who made this suggestion last month after receiving a briefing from officials regarding OOSC and other educational facilities around the nation.
According to Pakistan Education Statistics’ most current data for 2021–2022, there were 26.21 million OOSCs in the nation. According to the survey, 39 percent of Pakistani children—11.73 million in Punjab, 7.63 million in Sindh, 3.63 million in KP, 3.13 million in Balochistan, and 0.08 million in Islamabad—did not attend school. “With a commitment to leave no child behind, the National Conference on Education Emergency underscores Pakistan’s dedication to building a more equitable and prosperous society,” the education ministry said in a news release before the meeting’s postponement on Monday.
It stated that the National Conference on Education Emergency, which was originally set for April 30 at the Prime Minister’s Office but has since been rescheduled, intends to address the urgent problems of learning poverty, out-of-school children, and supporting Pakistan’s underperforming regions. The prime minister will preside over the gathering, which will be attended by foreign delegates, chief ministers, chiefs of development partners’ countries, diplomats, and international education experts. “The conference provides a forum for cooperative endeavors, uniting significant stakeholders to formulate efficacious tactics and programs to guarantee equitable and superior education for every child in Pakistan.”
“The conference provides a forum for cooperative endeavors, uniting significant stakeholders to formulate efficacious tactics and programs to guarantee equitable and superior education for every child in Pakistan.” According to the press release, “the conference aims to pave the way for transformative change in the education sector, fostering a brighter future for the nation through targeted interventions and collective action.” According to a source, the planned conference has been pushed back one week because of the PM’s commitment to Saudi Arabia. When contacted, Secretary of Education Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani stated that the primary goal of the federal and local governments was to enhance the education system. He said that the education ministry was working with all stakeholders to implement improvements, as directed by the PM and the minister of education.