Revamping of public sector education stressed

LAHORE

The government is urged to ful       l its fundamental responsibility of providing free and quality education to children under Article 25-A of the Constitution. 

“This can only be achieved through the revamping of public sector education, and catering for the needs of poor households to provide their children the resources to break free from the generational cycle of poverty by means of acquiring quality education,” the charter of demands was presented at a launch of a research report titled “Secondary School Girls' Stipend Programme” organised by Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC). The report consisted of a qualitative study conducted in the districts Muzaffargarh and Bahawalpur. The findings were presented by Sadia Hussain, Executive Director SPARC. Sharing the findings she said there is a lot of confusion regarding the stipend programme and the exact criteria for receiving the stipend money is not clear among many parents. Many even have the misconception that the stipend is only provided on the basis of prestige. During the study it was identi     ed that parents around 7 FGDs of Bahawalpur were found to be unaware of even basic requirements for receiving the stipend, such as 80pc attendance for enrolled students. It is therefore necessary for the education departments of Bahawalpur and Muzaffargarh to ensure that parents are completely aware of all necessary conditions for receiving the stipend money. This can be done by conducting awareness sessions by engaging the local administration, such as the administration of public schools.

Talking about the background of the research she said the government initiated a programme in 2013 that offered cash stipends to enrolled girls of middle and secondary schools under Punjab Education Sector Reform Programme (PESRP) to increase the enrolment of girls’ aged 11 to 16 years. Under the programme, initially a quarterly standard stipend was announced for enrolled adolescent girls in 16 selected districts with low literacy rates. As of 2016, this amount was enhanced in 2016 from Rs 600 to Rs 1000 per quarter as a supplemental stipend, to compensate for in         ation and to cater to parents’ demand from the selected districts.

While talking in the panel Dr Attiya Aniyatullah said situation of girl child education is not hopeful as parents themselves are not treating boys and girls equally. 

ADB: Pakistan Railways welcomed Asian Development Bank (ADB) to have investment to make railways more profit-oriented.

A delegation of ADB met Chief Executive Officer of Pakistan Railways at Railway Headquarters on Wednesday.

The delegation appreciated the PR for improvement in its operational matters and infrastructure.