PESHAWAR: The elementary and secondary education department will formally launch a campaign on Monday (today) to enrol one million out-of-school children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

“For the upcoming academic year beginning from August 15, we have set a target to enrol one million out-of-school children in the public sector schools,” Minister for Education Shahram Tarakai told Dawn.

He said that the campaign had been designed in such a way that it would continue simultaneously at provincial, district, tehsil and village and neighbourhood council levels. He added that all out efforts would be made to bring maximum out-of-school children to the educational institutions.

The minister said that besides officials of the education department, local elders, senior students, parents-teachers council members, scouts and school heads would be engaged in door-to-door admission campaigns aimed at reaching to every child.

Drive starting today will be held simultaneously at provincial, district, tehsil, village and neighbourhood council levels

He said that it was the duty of every citizen of the province to participate in the campaign and enrol the children deprived of education in their area.

Regarding educational facilities, the minister said that government had been providing free textbooks, excellent educational facilities and competent teachers to the students. He appealed to the people to fulfil their responsibility by enrolling children in schools.

In the month-long campaign, students will be enrolled in the first shift as well as in the second shift of schools so that the children working in the first shift can also get an opportunity to study.

“This year, the entire admission campaign has been digitised for which the education department has created an App. Everyone can find all the details of the newly enrolled children online on the dashboard,” said the minister.

The secretary of elementary and secondary education department, Mutasim Billah, told Dawn that the department chalked out a different strategy as compared to the previous enrolment campaigns. “I have directed all the headmasters and schoolteachers to identify out-of-school children in their respective areas and ensure their enrolment,” he said.

He said that directives were also issued to the schoolteachers and members of the parent-teacher councils to hold meetings with the parents in the hujras and mosques to convince them to enrol their children in the schools.

“Those out-of-school children, who are earning for their poor parents by working as labourers, would be enrolled in the second shift of the schools,” said the education secretary.

He said that if the facility of second shift was not available in some areas, then education department would launch the second shift in the government schools there. He added that the department would not compromise on the education of the out-of-school children.

The secretary said that officials of the education department at district level, district administration and Education Monitoring Authority were also tasked to check regularly the enrolled students.

He said that headmasters of the schools would be accountable for the drop out of a student. He added that it would help in reducing the dropout rate in the government schools.

To encourage enrolment in the tribal districts, the secretary said, the students there would be given monthly stipend from Rs1,500 to Rs4,000 from primary to middle classes. “The government has allocated Rs500 million for the purpose,” he added.

Published in Dawn, August 1st, 2022