aqir Shah, a 44-year-old man residing in City Town, Peshawar, with his five children, moved to Pakistan with his family when he was just one year old. The family was fleeing from trouble stemming from the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Faqir Shah earned a bachelor’s degree (BA) and established a wire business in Pakistan. His four children are students at the Government Middle School in Pahripura, Peshawar, receiving their education for free.

“My four children are attending a government school. They’re not charged any fee. The school provides them with books and everything they need,” says Shah.

Following the change in Afghanistan’s leadership, many educated individuals have left the country and now reside in other countries. Faqir Shah has kept up hope that his children will contribute to their home country once they finish their education.

He is grateful that numerous Afghan children are attending Pakistani government schools and face no problems or discrimination. These children receive education without cost and the school ensures their needs are met.

For nearly forty years, Pakistan has served as a refuge for Afghan migrants, offering safety to millions of Afghans escaping conflict and upheaval. Between 1979 and 2001, more than 4.4 million Afghans sought shelter in Pakistan due to challenges in Afghanistan. Despite the difficulties, around 3.9 million refugees have returned to Afghanistan with the help of the UNHCR’s repatriation programme since 2002.

Data from the Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees (CAR) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reveals that there are currently approximately 679,093 registered Afghan refugees in the province. Among them, 337,905 reside in refugee camps, while 341,188 live in urban areas. 307,647 Afghan refugees carry Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and inhabit various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A government school teacher in Board Bazaar, Peshawar, Aftab Ahmad, says that equal educational opportunities are provided to all students in government schools. “All students are the same for us; we never consider the student’s nationality. Our responsibility is to educate the children, and all students are equal in our eyes,” says Aftab Ahmad.

Sofia, a 15-year-old resident of Khursan Camp, Peshawar, a rural district, aspired to pursue her education after completing fifth grade at a government primary school for girls near her home. Unfortunately, there was no middle school for girls nearby.

Sofia’s father, Rehman Ullah Khan, works as a watchman at a bus terminal in Peshawar. He gets a monthly salary of Rs 25,000. Supporting a family of five, they couldn’t manage the expenses associated with further education, particularly since the nearest girls’ high school was two kilometres away. Despite Sofia’s strong desire to continue her education, her family’s financial circumstances constrained her options.

Afghan children in urban areas receive primary, secondary and higher education. Most of those in rural areas study until the sixth grade.

Sofia’s father wished for higher education for his children, but transportation costs proved prohibitive as the school was far from their home. This led them to the difficult decision that Sofia would need to discontinue her schooling.

Tahir Hussain, the headmaster of Shaheed Mir Fatah Muhammad Khan Higher Secondary School, Peshawar, originally from Afghanistan, appreciates the Pakistani governments for providing equal educational opportunities to Afghan refugee children.

He acknowledges that Afghan children in urban areas receive primary, secondary and higher education. Those in rural areas often only study until the sixth grade. Hussain has urged the government to extend higher education opportunities to children in rural camps. He says that many Afghan refugee children are not attending school. Instead, they are working in different parts of Peshawar, selling food or fruits for survival.

He has appealed to the government to establish a second-chance education system for these working children.

Deputy Commissioner of Afghan Refugees Alamgir Khan says the Education and Youth Development Cell (EYDC), was established in 2018 under CAR, KP. Its goal is to address the needs of Afghan refugee students and youth, especially girls. The EYDC aims to ensure that Afghan refugees have access to education in a safe environment, co-curricular activities, skill development and career counselling.

Khan says that Afghan refugees in camps as well as urban clusters in the KP have access to education through continuous monitoring of the Afghan Refugees Schools operated by the UNHCR through implementing partners.

The EYDC ensures this process by closely coordinating with these partners for monitoring and evaluating the Afghan refugee schools. Khan says that the EYDC also ensures that urban refugees have access to education and other beneficial activities and services available to the local population. “Refugee children in urban areas are included in the national education system. We aim to support and improve self-help schools run by the Afghan community in urban areas,” he states.

A senior official in Elementary and Secondary Education Department says that there are 27,811 government schools in settled districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, out of which 27,617 are functional. He says that 1,310 of the primary schools are in urban areas and 20,814 in rural areas of the province.

The official says that there is no discrimination in government schools, and free education and books are available for every child, irrespective of their nationality. He urged all parents to enroll their children for a better future.

The writers are freelance journalists based in Peshawar