MANSEHRA: The district administration and the education department have launched a drive to enroll out-of-school children in Torghar.

“Our district stands much behind in literacy rate as compared to other districts, and we would put all our energies into enrolling children in schools,” deputy commissioner Anwar Zeb told a meeting held at his office on Sunday.

According to press release, officials of education and other relevant departments attended the meeting and set their targets for enrolling out-of-school children.

“We have to ensure that each and every child of five years and above is enrolled in school, and officials and teachers would actively take part in sensitising parents to the importance of the initiative during the ongoing drive,” Mr Zeb said.

The DC said that the help of local clerics and elders would also be sought for taking children to schools.

“We would also hold rallies and seminars to raise awareness about the school enrolment drive,” he said.

Mr Zeb said that the government would also ensure the provision of all basic services needed for quality education in schools.

Torghar, which was notified as a settled district through a presidential order in 2011 from a tribal belt of Mansehra district, still lacks adequate education, health and other infrastructure.

FUNDS FOR COLLEGE: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Babar Saleem Swati has said that an amount of Rs775 million has been approved for construction of a degree college for boys in the Safada area here.

“We want to promote higher education in the hitherto neglected areas,” he said while talking to reporters on Sunday.

Flanked by Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf provincial vice-president Kamal Saleem Swati, he said that land for the degree college had already been acquired. He said Rs60 million additional funds had also been approved for getting a rented building to start the classes there till construction of the college’s own building.

“To provide higher education opportunities to youth in the Mansehra city and its suburbs is my priority,” Mr Swati said.

The PA speaker said under the tourism promotion initiative in Mansehra, a park was being established near the Kotkay Dam. “Rs100 million have already been approved for this all-weather tourism project, which would attract a large number of visitors every year,” Mr Swati said.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2026