School on wheels — a much needed project to boost child literacy

Islamabad:Having a high percentage of youth among its population almost 64 per cent below the age of 30, Pakistan is blessed to have these numbers, which if utilised properly and given the right direction and platform can put the country on the path of development and prosperity in a matter of years.

Provision of quality education is the prerequisite for a country to produce leaders in different fields, the department in which Pakistan needs to work hard. With an overall literacy rate of almost 63%, the data shows that it is higher in urban areas (76%) as compared to rural areas (51%), prompting the need to concentrate more on the latter which lacks basic educational infrastructure.

Keeping in view this important issue, the federal coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) launched a project named ‘School on Wheels’ which has been highly praised for providing education to children whose parents are unable to send them to schools.

The initiative would increase the literacy rate in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas. The project also aims to offer equal educational opportunities to children with mobile libraries, which would promote a reading culture among them.

Talking to this agency, Deputy Director Research and Development Federal Directorate of Education Muhammad Nadim, who is also looking after the project ‘School on Wheels’ said, initially, the mobile school project consisted of two buses which were providing primary-level education to children, especially between ages 3-5 of the rural areas including Tarnol and Nilore sectors of Islamabad Capital Territory. He said five more buses were being prepared whose work was in the final stages and hopefully these buses would start functioning just after Eidul Adha.

Moreover, a Memorandum of Understanding was in pipeline with the British Council under which around 20 more state-of-the-art buses would be provided to the Federal Education Ministry to decrease the number of out-of-school children, he added.

Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain during his visit to a foreign country closely monitored this project and planned it for Pakistan.

In addition to mobile libraries, meals are also being provided to the students enrolled in mobile classrooms, fostering a culture of reading and nourishment. The bright-coloured buses are decorated with balloons and windows painted with alphabets and cartoons. The inside of the mobile classrooms is bright and clean, its interior filled with images of alphabets, numbers, days of the week and pictures of fruit and animals. Children are seen sitting on colourful chairs inside the bus as teachers use an interactive whiteboard for teaching.

Muhammad Nadim further explained that some private organizations like ‘Right to Play’ were also providing support to the government to make the project successful.

These NGOs provide free teachers besides helping in discipline-related issues, he said, adding, the buses roam specifically in rural areas where no school was nearer particularly attracting minor children for education. The buses are focusing on rural areas where schools are far away and minor children are unable to go to schools.

After providing basic education, the students will be shifted to nearby schools for proper education, the deputy director mentioned.

He was of the view that children were taking special interest in these schools, particularly afghan refugees living in suburbs of the federal capital territory.

Nadim said each bus would be equipped with computers, desks, whiteboards, smart boards, LCDs, ACs and washroom. “I am a daily wager and always wanted my children to get education, but cannot afford sending them to school. This initiative of the government has provided me an opportunity to get my kids educated and that too on my doorstep,” said Jamal Ahmed, a father of four children and a resident of Nilore area. He said his younger son now waits for the bus and gets ready early in the morning, adding this initiative would help many poor people like him to fulfil their dream of educating their children.