LAKKI MARWAT: The speakers at a seminar urged the government and civil society to play their role in ensuring the enrolment of all out-of-school children in the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They stressed that besides the government all segments of society must recognise their responsibility with regard to the fundamental right to education.

The district education office had organised a seminar with the support of boy scouts association and national commission for human development (NCHD) at Government Higher Secondary School Tajazai in Lakki Marwat on Saturday to mark International Day of Education.

The NCHD deputy director Munawar Khan said that over five million children were out of school in the militancy-hit province and there was the dire need to formulate a comprehensive mechanism to bring them to schools.

“Such a large number of out of school children is a matter of great concern,” he maintained and underlined the need for launching coordinated efforts to ensure admission of those children in schools. The school’s principal, Taj Muhammad Khan, and other teachers as well as students also spoke on the occasion.

They said that the government, parents, teachers and civil society should realise their responsibilities in this regard and ensure that no child was deprived of the fundamental right to education. The speakers said that special attention should be paid to science and information technology based education to effectively compete with other world nations.

Also in the day, the boy scouts association held a declamation contest at Government Shaheed Muhammad Ghassan Khan Centennial Model High School No. 1, Lakki City, to mark International Day of Education.

Student speakers highlighted the importance of education and emphasised that steps should be taken for promotion of education and to ensure access by every child to quality education. Principal Waheed Ahmed and Scout leader Syed Qaiser Abbas distributed prizes among the student speakers.

Published in Dawn, January 25th, 2026