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Thursday March 28, 2024

Parents urged to get daughters enrolled in schools

By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
January 17, 2022

LANDIKOTAL: A welfare organization here on Sunday arranged a walk and jirga to raise awareness among the people about the education of girls.

The jirga urged parents to join hands to improve girls’ education.

A large number of local elders, educationists, parents, youth and civil society members attended the jirga. District Education Officer Planning and Development Khyber Misal Khan Shalmani was the chief guest on the occasion.

Local elders, newly elected local government members, paramedics association president Mujib Khan Afridi, Army Public School Landikotal principal Shah Fayyaz Dawar, Mufti Noor Ikram and Landikotal Press Club president Mehrab Shah Afridi also attended the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Khyber Youth Forum Chairman Maroof Shah Afridi said the ratio of girls education was shrinking in the merged districts due to multiple reasons.

He said 70 percent of girls dropped out after primary and middle level. He said only one percent of girls managed to receive higher education due to reluctance of parents and other factors in the male-dominated society.

He said a large number of talented girls were unable to continue their education due to extreme poverty and tribal culture.

Maroof said local elders and civil society members should join hands with the education officers and Khyber Youth Forum to help increase the ratio of female students. He said lack of required staff and a suitable school environment was the core reasons that discouraged parents to stop sending their children to schools.

Education officer Misal Khan said girls and boys had the same constitutional and Islamic rights to seek education. He said not only the government but every citizen was responsible for the dropout of girls from schools. He said the tribal people had come to realize the importance of education for girls.

He said when a mother received education she would send her daughter to school. He said a large number of vacancies were lying vacant for want of educated girls to fill the positions. He said the Education Department was taking steps to bring about a positive change in the state-run schools by providing proper funding, staff and other facilities to attract the children to schools.

He said the government recently released funds to establish play areas in state-run schools and more funds would be issued for further improvement.

Misal Khan said the role of parents in sending girls to schools was pivotal. He said the Education Department had approved the upgradation of a number of schools in Khyber.