As part of the ongoing voluntary national review of SDGs, a high level national policy dialogue was organized by the Planning Commission to review the progress on SDG4, with a focus on rising number of Out of School Children (OOSC).
The meeting also took stock of the recent strategies and initiatives undertaken by the CSOs, NGOs, government and development partners to address the same and firmed up recommendations in this context.
The high-level policy dialogue was chaired by the Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr. Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan. Dr Shabnum Sarfraz, Member Social Sector and Devolution, Planning Commission said that Pakistan has the second highest number of OOS children globally.
She said it is alarming to note that 10% of the OOS girls globally are in Pakistan. Joint Secretary Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training shared the recent government initiatives taken to provide access to quality education and also address the disruption in educational activities caused by COVID19.
Additional Secretary MoFE&PT talked about the federal and provincial constitutional mandates in the context of education. Speaking at the occasion, Secretary BISP informed that they have 5 million beneficiaries of the education stipend program which offers a higher incentive to female students.
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It was further informed that they hold data of every OOS child with GPS coordinate which can be accessed by all partners and organizations for a more targeted interventions to address this challenge.
Representatives from the provincial departments talked about the recent initiatives taken which included Baluchistan Education Sector Plan, Alternate Learning Pathway Centers in KP, digital learning and monitoring initiatives to track school drop outs in Sindh and provision of free text books and uniforms in AJK.
Ms Baela Raza Jamil, CEO Idara e Taleem o Agahi while addressing the forum highlighted the importance of Article 25-A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan which makes it obligatory for the state to provide free and compulsory education to children in the age group of 5-16. She emphasized the need to allocate sufficient funds to address the issue at national level.
Ms Umbreen Arif emphasized on the need to focus on teacher training to improve the quality of education being imparted and addressing the learning poverty alongside. Ms Shaheen Attique ur Rehman appreciated the efforts of Planning Commission in bringing together all stakeholders and highlighted the need to devise different solutions for different groups of OOS children.
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NRSP team shared details of the house hold mapping done and the software available wit them to identify OOS children available in the community. Representative from PPAF suggested the use of infrastructure available with Madrassas and mosques for providing education. Cost of inaction in education to economy of Pakistan was highlighted by UNICEF. JICA highlighted the need of accelerated learning programs.
Dr. Shabnum Sarfraz, Member Social Sector and Devolution, Planning Commission reiterated the need to foster joint efforts at public and private levels for developing the strategy to address the issue of Out of School Children.
She welcomed the valued contribution of private sector in shouldering the responsibility of government to overcome the crisis of learning poverty at national level.
In his concluding remarks, Deputy Chairman Planning Commission, Dr. Muhammad Jehanzeb Khan said that there is a need to improve the implementation of plans to mitigate the issue under discussion. He recommended that Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training work in collaboration with Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Initiatives to prepare a comprehensive proposal for allocation of dedicated funds through National Economic Council (NEC).
He hoped that with concerted efforts and with the collaboration of all stakeholders, the long-standing issue of Out of School Children (OOSC) would be properly tackled.
The meeting was attended by Members and senior officials of the Planning Commission and Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Training, Provincial Secretaries of Education Departments, members from academia, donor agencies, representatives of NGOs working in Education Sector and Civil Society Organizations. Pakistan Development Alliance, SDPI, UNESCO, PEHCHAAN, PIDE, Hashoo Foundation and IRD were amongst the many who actively participated in the policy dialogue