ISLAMABAD: Lack of awareness among parents and poverty are major reasons for the alarming number of out-of-school children in Pakistan.

Policymakers and the government will have to prioritise these two significant challenges if they are serious about bringing all 22 million OSC into schools, volunteers told Dawn at the sidelines of the 2017 Ilm-Possible Summit on Friday.

These volunteers are involved in efforts to bring out-of-school children into schools in their respective districts, and were speaking at a summit organised by the British Council. The Ilm-Possible programme, conducted by the British Council alongside local partners, has enrolled 225,000 children in schools in three years.

In order to celebrate and further deliberate over the matter, the British Council organised a two day summit that was attended by volunteers and NGO representatives working in the education sector on the opening day.

British Council holds two-day summit to celebrate, discuss programme to enrol children in schools

Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Mukhtar Ahmed was invited to the opening session as the chief guest. British Council country director Rosemary Hilhorst, the British deputy high commissioner Richard Crowder, president of the School of Leadership Foundation Umair Jaliawala, Furwa Baig and others also spoke at the opening session.

An exhibition, opened by Mr Crowder and Dr Ahmed, was also held. It showcased various enrolment, retention and social action projects conducted across the country.

Speaking to Dawn, volunteers said that they have confronted two major issues during their field work. One of these was the lack of awareness about the importance of education among parents, who were reluctant to send their children to school – in many cases, they said, the child in question was the sole earner in the family.

Volunteer Nasra Malik also said poverty is a major reason for children staying out of school. “I myself noted that children were involved in child labour to help their families,” she said.

“These two issues should be resolved by the government on priority to bring all out-of-school children to schools, otherwise there will be no serious outcome,” another volunteer, Sabir Masih, said.

Speaking earlier at the ceremony, HEC Chairman Dr Ahmed commended the British Council’s contribution to Pakistan’s education sector.

He said no country could progress without significant investment in education. “There are several countries that lack natural resources but have become prosperous by focusing on their human development,” he said.

He said it was unfortunate that Pakistan has 22 million out-of-school children, and that very few students continue their education after completing their intermediate schooling.

“We all have to play our role. It is our common responsibility to educate all children. Girls education, in particular, needs focus,” he said. He added that the government was taking measures to improve the education sector, and the sector has seen significant improvement over the last several years, but more efforts are required.

Shamim Akhtar, an educationist from Sindh, also gave a motivational speech, in which she discussed how she surpassed social barriers, received an education and got a job.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2017