Accelerated learning courses crucial to serve out-of-school children: NCHD

Islamabad: Though a challenging job for all stakeholders in the education sector, including policymakers, learning through accelerated courses is the only way to cater for 22.6 million out of school children and 57 million illiterate people in the country, National Commission for Human Development chairperson Razina Alam Khan said on Friday.

“The accelerated learning modules and condensed syllabus will provide out-of-school children with a second opportunity to participate in educational activities,” she told the concluding session of the training of the trainers’ workshop for the countrywide community feeder schools here.

The event was organised by the NCHD National Training Institute. The NCHD chairperson said the training programme was designed in a way that it helped participants make the learning attractive, easy and effective to get learning landmarks within the minimum time.

“We are confident to help increase the country’s literacy rate by promoting multi-grade teaching techniques,” she said.

Razina Alam Khan said the NCHD was striving to reduce the number of out of school children by increasing the number of non-formal schools with the help of public and private sector stakeholders.

“In remote areas, especially where community is scattered like Balochistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and Fata, cultures, environment and socioeconomic conditions need special consideration. These elements make the provision of education to the people very difficult and thus, resulting in low proportion of school going children and high dropout rates. In order to cater to all these difficulties, non-formal education is the only way forward,” she said.

The NCHD chairperson however said teaching in a non-formal school was different and difficult than the formal one and that only multi-grade teaching technique could be helpful and effective in such educational institutions.

She said the commission established the NTI after engaging the experts, who could help end hurdles to non-formal education.

“This institute will provide services to the NCHD as well as other institutions which are working on adult literacy and non-formal education programmes. It along with capacity building will work for material development and research & development component related to adult literacy and non-formal education programme,” she said. The NCHD chairperson said there was a need to create expertise and awareness on the significance of multi-grade teaching for out of school children and dropouts.

“In developing countries like Pakistan, this technique is very useful and cost effective as it can address the issues of scarcity of teachers and facilitators in schools. On the other hand by introducing accelerated learning programmes in non- formal schools will support the learners to acquire the learning land marks in minimum time period,” she said.

Razina Alam Khan said it became difficult for overage children, who had missed out their early years of schooling due to poverty, poor exam results, and physical or mental challenges, to adjust in the conventional classroom environment and that accelerated learning programme provided them with a convenient second opportunity to catch up with the time lost.

She said the Annual Status of Education Report showed the decrease in the number of out of school children from 24 million to 22.6 million and increase in the adjusted net enrolment rate from 72 percent to 77 percent during the last three years along with increase of enrolments in public sector schools.

“The total gross enrolment of all sectors and levels of education increased from 44.4 million to 47.5 million,” she said.

The NCHD chairperson said she was hopeful that the training participants would use the accelerated learning courses to help achieve the nationwide educational targets, including literacy rate.