PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education Foundation has decided to establish community middle schools for girls in the areas where government and private middle schools are not available.

The foundation will start establishing Middle Girls’ Community Schools (MGCS) in the upcoming academic year, starting in August. At least four middle community schools will be established in each district as a pilot project to be extended later on, according to official documents.

Sources in the elementary and secondary education department told this scribe that the foundation had been running 4,500 primary girls community schools in different parts of the province since long.

Unfortunately, sources said, the students graduating from primary girls’ community schools couldn’t continue their education and quit studies owing to non-availability of government or private middle and high schools in their areas.

Official says the pilot project will be extended later

Zarifulmaani, the managing director of ESEF, told Dawn that setting up middle community schools for girls would provide education facility to the students graduating from primary girls’ community schools.

He said that currently 160,000 students were enrolled in 4,500 primary girls’ community schools including around 30 per cent boys.

He said that it would be a demand driven activity and such schools would be established as per the requirements of each district while parameter and other criteria would be worked later on and would be part of the girls’ community schools guidelines.

The ESEF managing director said that honoraria to teachers would be paid according to their qualification. He added that minimum required qualification for hiring a teacher was BA/BSc degree and such a teacher would be paid Rs21,000 per month.

He said that teachers having higher qualification than the required criteria would be paid additional honoraria. He added that teachers having MA/MSc qualification would be paid Rs25,000 per month while those having MPhil degree would be paid Rs27,500.

According to official documents, community provides building for the school and foundation arranges female teachers for it to teach local students in an area.

The documents say that the community schools are aimed at universalisation of quality primary education and its expansion to middle and secondary level besides provision of easy access to quality education at the doorsteps and enhancement of enrolment.

The community schools also help in balancing gender disparities and provision of jobs to unemployed graduates and under-graduates.

The student-teacher ratio for middle girls’ community schools will be 1:20, besides an additional science and English teacher will be also be provided to the school.

The foundation will form a village education committee for supervising the affairs of each community school. The village education committee will be consisted of an influential person of the community as chairperson while two parents of the enrolled students, prayer leader of the mosque, head teacher/teacher from the nearest government school as its members.

The managing director of ESEF said that proper training would be imparted to the village education committee and teachers of the community schools.

“We will provide tablet to each community school that will be linked with a studio established in the provincial headquarter of the foundation through which videos about the education will be shared with the teachers and students. In future, we will also provide big screen to the community schools for watching education videos,” he said.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2022