MOHMAND: More than 119,000 children, including 73,000 girls, remained out-of-school in Mohmand tribal district, prompting the education department to intensify its enrollment campaign aimed at bringing every school-age child into classrooms.

Mohmand district education officer (DEO) Midrarullah disclosed the figures while addressing a one-day capacity-building workshop for teachers at the Government Higher Secondary School Ghalanai on Tuesday.

“Even a single child left out of the education system can have far-reaching consequences for society,” he said, stressing that teachers should strengthen the ongoing enrollment drive through sustained community engagement and door to door awareness campaign.

The DEO said countries that invested in education achieved lasting socio-economic development, adding that teachers were instrumental not only in imparting knowledge but also in shaping students’ moral values, character and sense of civic responsibility.

He said that the elementary and secondary education department had assigned Mohmand teachers a target of enrolling 10,855 out-of-school children and expressed confidence that the objective would be achieved through collective efforts.

Calling for a closer collaboration with parents and local communities, Midrarullah urged teachers to raise awareness about the importance of education, particularly for girls, to help improve enrollment.

To strengthen learning facilities, he announced that all government schools in Mohmand would receive new furniture during August. He added that Rs60 million had already been released under the parent-teacher council fund to improve school infrastructure and educational facilities across the district.

The official said that illiteracy among parents was the key factor contributing to low enrollment, adding the department was expanding its public awareness campaign to address the issue.

Published in Dawn, July 29th, 2026