International Education Day: Group on girls education notified in KP

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on Status of Women (KPCSW) on Monday notified a joint working group to promote in the province the best practices for girls’ quality education and gender equality in education.

The notification was issued in connection with the International Day of Education (January 24). The group will support the KP government and Education Department in promoting, protecting and sustaining the rights of girls to quality education as per the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals.

According to the KPCSW, this joint working group has been formed in pursuance of Article 25 (A) of the Constitution and The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Free Compulsory Primary and Secondary Education Act, 2017. The group consisting of representatives from Women Commission, Child Commission, and National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), Directorate of Human Rights, Education Department, Women Parliamentary Caucus (WPC), Right to Services (RTS), Right to Information (RTI), Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education and Civil Society Organizations.

MPA Ayesha Bano, Parliamentary Secretary on Education of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly and member of the Joint Working Group said: “The working group will share theories, knowledge and experience of strategies, practices and tools to improve girls’ education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, conduct research; develops tools, makes recommendations to the Provincial Government and education Department and will facilitate dialogue between parliamentarians and the education department.”

KPCSW Chairperson Dr Riffat Sardar said: “KPCSW will make every possible effort to support KP government to transform the education systems and to address deficits and inequalities in teaching, training, and learning at all levels.” Mohammad Ijaz Khan, Acting Chief of Child Welfare and Protection Commission KP, remarked: “Every child has the right to an education and quality learning opportunities from early childhood to adolescence. And yet, a range of factors - including economic circumstances, geographic location, gender, disability - prevent millions of children from learning”.

Qamar Naseem, Manager, Strategic Engagements, Blue Veins, said: “Together we can take concrete steps to scale up models which support out-of-school girls with alternative learning programs, offering adolescents a pathway to develop employability skills they need to access decent employment.”