Policy on non-formal education demanded

Islamabad

National Commission for Human Development chairperson Senator Razina Alam Khan has stressed the need to devise the ‘national policy on non-formal education and adult literacy’ and formation of inter-provincial forum to provide guidance to achieve the Vision 2025 target of literacy and people’s empowerment through skill development programmes.

She also said learning through accelerated courses was necessary especially for around 24 million children, who were out of school in the country.

"The accelerated learning modules will provide children a second opportunity to take part in educational activities,” she told the NCHD Advisory Council in a meeting here on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by Speaker of the Baluchistan Assembly Raheela Hameed Durrani, FATA MNA Dr. Ghazi Gulab Jamal, Bunyad-Punjab representative Shaheen Atiqueur Rehman, Council of Islamic Ideology member Samia Raheel Qazi, Fatima Jinnah Women’s University vice-chancellor Dr. Samina Qadir, Senator Dr Nighat Agha, JICA representative Abid Gill, CEO of Akhuwat Dr. Amjad Saqib, Major-General Muhammad Tahir and others.

Razina Alam Khan said the NCHD remained engaged in enrollment drive with the spirit to support provincial governments, and parents all over the country, following the Vision 2025 and had successfully enrolled 82,166 children in its 5,949 feeder schools with 6,581 feeder teachers.

She regretted 57 million people in the country were illiterate while 24 million children never went to the school.

The NCHD chairperson said of the 26 million children, who were enrolled, only 33 per cent reached the matriculation level.

She also deplored the primary school net enrollment rate was 72 per cent and 33 per cent of them were dropouts. Razina Alam Khan said the NCHD along with other stakeholders with the Vision 2025 under the leadership of Federal Education Minister Balighur Rehman would implement plans to increase primary school enrolment and completion rate to 100 per cent along with 90 per cent achievement of literacy rate.

Participants were also briefed about the status of education programme its ongoing projects, evaluation of NCHD programme by Core Committee, NCHD future plans i.e. establishment of 2000 Adult Literacy Centers through PHDF in all the provinces for the age of 15 to 45 years, Prison Literacy Programme in 99 jails of Pakistan, Establishment of National Training Institute, ‘Training of Feeder Teachers and Establishment of 50 Non Formal Basic Education Schools. Status of PC-1 was discussed in detail with the participants as well.

The participants observed that the NCHD’s role should continue due to its importance and the need of non-formal education in the country because of its low-priced model and dire need in the presence of 57 million uneducated population.