ISLAMABAD, Sep 09 (APP):Education Advisor for Save the Children Sahar Taimor said that recent floods had destroyed 30,000 schools and deprived three million students of education while rebuilding schools and re-enrolling students presents an enormous challenge.
Talking to APP here Saturday, she highlighted, “Major issues plaguing Pakistan’s education system including lack of access, poor quality, and weak governance.”
She said, “Rural areas lack proximate schools due to which over 2 crore children are unable to attend the school.”
“Pakistan has about 70,000 primary schools, but there are far fewer middle and secondary schools,” Sahar said.
“The government must ensure school availability to address security risks that stem from long commutes.”
She said that existing schools often lack trained teachers and basic facilities required for quality education.
She underlined, “Only 1.7% of GDP is allocated to education compared to other nations – far below what is required.”
Explaining the efforts of Save the Children, Sahar said, “Currently they are working in over 100 institutions and concentrating efforts on flood-damaged schools.”
“Both formal and informal education models are being used to reach displaced children”, she added.
She said, “Save the Children runs enrollment drives with officials to bring kids back to school.”
She said, “Officials also focus on teacher training programs designed globally but tailored for Pakistan.”
She said, “Their organization is leading the joint Education Sector Working Group with UNICEF and they have dedicated resources that are allocated to identify damaged schools where deployment of teachers is needed.”
She highlighted, “Civil society organizations and international NGOs are participating in these collaborative programs to address the urgent education crisis.”
Sahar lauded the government for allowing Save the Children to operate in state schools over the past 40 years and called for improving governance by ensuring the transparency about utilization of funds.
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