PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Saturday launched a data-driven initiative to identify out-of-school children across the province and to bring them back into the education system.
A memorandum of understanding in this respect was signed by the elementary and secondary education, local government, elections and rural development, health and social welfare departments.
Chief Minister Sohail Afridi was also present during the MoU signing ceremony, according to an official statement from the CM Secretariat.
He said said that bringing out-of-school children into the education system was among his government’s core priorities.
“Effective interdepartmental coordination, reliable data and an actionable implementation framework are essential to achieving this objective,” he said.
CM calls for reliable data, actionable implementation framework
The statement said that a comprehensive door-to-door survey would be conducted across the province to establish reliable data on the number, geographic distribution and reasons for children who are out of school.
According to it, a unified data system, “One Map,” will integrate information from the participating departments and provide an evidence base for targeted enrolment, education-sector planning and more effective allocation of resources.
Officials said that according to the 2023 population census, around 4.9 million children aged 5 to 16 years were out of school, while the provincial education department estimated the actual number at approximately 2.6 million.
They said the first phase of the initiative aims to enroll 60 percent of the identified out-of-school children.
The officials said the One Map system would integrate the health department’s lady health worker field data with school catchment information maintained by E&SED.
This integrated approach will enable the government to identify children and underserved populations that may not be captured through individual departmental datasets.
Under the operational framework, E&SED will serve as the lead department, it read adding that each government primary school would function as a focal point for its surrounding catchment area, while its EMIS Cell will deploy a mobile application to facilitate field surveys and enable real-time monitoring of survey progress and enrolments.
The resulting data will also support evidence-based planning for classrooms, teachers and other educational resources.
Health department will support identification of children in underserved and informal settlements through polio micro-plans and geographic information.
Locations recorded as “refusal” or “not at home” during vaccination campaigns will also be reviewed for potential identification of children outside existing education records. Data on mobile and nomadic families will be collected through designated permanent transit points, it read.
The local government department will support verification of surveyed lists through village council secretaries, who will cross-check the data against local birth registration and Form-B records and formally verify the relevant lists.
The department will also collect demographic data on children aged 0 to 5 years to support future planning for school locations, capacity and other educational facilities.
The statement read that the social welfare Department would support children whose exclusion from education was linked to poverty and economic hardship through Zakat, educational stipends and other social assistance, including assistive devices for children with disabilities.
Adolescents aged 14 to 16 years will also be linked to technical and vocational training opportunities under the United Nations Generation Unlimited programme, the chief minister was told.
According to the statement, the government, in order to accommodate children with different educational needs and respond to local conditions, will utilise available capacity in government schools, double-shift schools, accelerated learning programmes, community schools, digital learning platforms, public-private partnerships and other alternative education models, including relevant madrasa integration programmes.
The survey will also capture data on children aged 0-5 years, enabling the government to anticipate future demand and improve planning for school locations, capacity and other educational infrastructure.
For effective governance and implementation, a provincial steering committee headed by the E&SED secretary, and district steering committees headed by the respective deputy commissioners will oversee the initiative.
“To strengthen transparency and data integrity, an independent organisation will conduct third-party verification of at least five per cent of the surveyed data through physical spot checks.”
The statement revealed that scholarship and stipend payments would be linked to a minimum 75 per cent school attendance, helping ensure that financial support translates into sustained enrolment, regular attendance and retention.
Published in Dawn, August 16th, 2026
