Educational emergency in country soon: Baligh-ur-Rehman

Islamabad
Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training Baligh-ur-Rehman on Wednesday announced an educational emergency in the country would be declared soon.
He was talking at the inaugural ceremony of ‘Parwaan’ E-9 Early Childhood Education and Development Centre of Excellence held at the Academy of Education Planning and Management. This centre is being established with the financial support of Open Society Foundation. The Government of Pakistan and Children Global Network will work together on policy making for Early Childhood Education in Pakistan.
The minister said budget for higher education would be increased from Rs60 billion to Rs70 billion in the next fiscal.
He also said the general situation in Pakistan with regard to early childhood education was improving.
The minister said the country needed peace in order to achieve any goal and it is encouraging that in order to establish peace in the country all stakeholders are unified in their approach.
He expressed the hope that the centre would contribute towards creating awareness in parents for Early Childhood Education. He further said that the Academy for Education Planning and Management will lead the project by lending their support on the basis of their expertise in research and planning.
Chief Executive and co founder, Mehnaz Aziz, said that political will and motivation is crucial for the progress of any project. She further said better education for children contributes towards a better future for the country.
Addressing the audience, Unseco Director Vibeke Jensen said that E-9 countries are working extensively on children’s education and in the process are learning from each others’ experiences. She pointed out that Pakistan has progressed considerably in this regard and the Government seems determined to achieve positive results. She further said that the number of primary schools in Pakistan has increased.
Talking to participants of the conference Dr Tabish Hazir said that the majority of children in Pakistan suffer from malnutrition and diseases caused by it. He also mentioned that compared to other countries Pakistan has not progressed at all.
Parwan E-9 Centre of Excellence is committed to Early Childhood Education and will become a national platform for coordination between all stakeholders and institutions for the implementation of ECED.