December 4, 2003	Thursday	Shawwal 8, 1424

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ISLAMABAD, Dec 3: Community schooling in the Northern Areas will soon be restarted to provide quality education to the people of the area, said Education Minister Zobaida Jalal here on Wednesday.

“The government will always honour its policy of making quality education accessible to all,” she said at the Northern Areas Education Project (NAEP) workshop, organized by the British Council.

There was a concern in the Northern Areas over the future of community schools after the NAEP had ceased funding to the community schools, she said, adding that she would work closely with the Ministry of Kashmir and Northern Areas (KANA) and the Northern Areas administration to ensure that a satisfactory solution to the challenge was found.

The minister said the country could not afford any more closure of schools even in the very remote areas. She said for the first time, government’s efforts for development of education were visible to everyone.

Stressing on teachers, she said teaching was a noble profession and the government would provide all necessary facilities to the teachers community. She urged teachers to dedicate all their energies for character building of the child.

She maintained that a child in a school was like a sacred trust at the hands of a teacher. Parents and guardians of the student leave there child to the will of the teacher. This showed the trust and the confidence of parents in particular and society in general in a teacher, she said.

The minister said the government had diverted a major part of its resources to education sector. “This shows the commitment of the Jamali government towards providing quality education to the people.”

She told the participants of the three-day workshop that the government was considering sending teachers to the United States or any other country to equip them with modern teaching know-how, which would benefit students in the classrooms.

The minister said teacher training was an essential part of the government’s education sector reforms, adding that the ministry of education had been successful in providing quality education through public-private partnership in the Northern Areas as well in Fata.

Appreciating the role of the NAEP, the minister said it had made tremendous efforts for providing sustainable learning opportunities for the disadvantaged groups in the Northern Areas. The minister later distributed certificates among the participants.

APP ADDS: Ghazi Shah, deputy director education district Gilgit, said in the last five years, 70 per cent of girls had been enrolled in schools.

He said not a single ghost school had been detected in the area and Rs320 million had been spent for the uplift of community, which also reduced poverty in the locality.

Secretary education Northern Areas Jamil Ahmed said the NAEP was funded by British Council, World Bank and the department For independent development.