ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and Malala Fund inked an agreement to advance STEAM education in girls’ high schools.

The agreement to jointly work on the promotion of Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) was signed by Federal Secretary Education Naheed S. Durrani and Malala Funds’s Country Head Javed Malik.

“The partnership aims for Malala Fund to commit to a five years’ support to the ministry that would entail technical assistance, communication support as well as school level technical assistance to develop a STEAM policy and a framework which will allow the private sector and international collaborations at the school level,” says a statement issued by the education ministry.

The secretary education said: “The ministry is very thrilled to invite Malala Fund to help push the ministry’s existing STEAM programme which has tremendous potential to improve learning at school level. Emphasis on girls will also help to improve girls’ agency and their perception in the society to play a more confident and leading role in national development in line with the government of Pakistan’s policy and the federal ministry’s vision,” she said.

Mr Malik said: “It is a great honour for Malala Fund to work alongside the government to agree to work to promote science education in government high schools especially for the girls and boys. Together with the ministry, Malala Fund will provide help to build a wider coalition bringing in private sector, startups, media, parliamentarians and most importantly through the support of the Federal Ministry of Education, the provincial governments to advance towards a movement to reform the entire 13,000 government high schools in the next five to seven years. I know it’s an ambitious goal but we are determined to make it a national programme with plans, budgets and delivery monitoring.”

According to the press release, Malala Fund’s chief programme officer from its London office, Dr Maliha Khan, said: “Malala Fund’s global vision is to improve girls’ access to quality education and give them a level playing field to become leaders for their families, communities and their countries.

“Malala Fund is thankful to the government of Pakistan for offering us this collaboration and we will very ambitiously work towards making it a great success by bringing in international collaborations, private sector and other donors to help the ministry to realize this vision.”

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2022