PESHAWAR: The elementary and secondary education department will pilot the Rapid Enrolment, Quality Improvement and School Governance Reform project in selected areas of the merged tribal districts.

The project updates were highlighted by elementary and secondary education secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry during a departmental workshop organised here to finalise the design of the project, said a statement issued here on Thursday.

According to the secretary, project will turn school administrators into education innovators to increase enrolment within the pilot districts of tribal districts.

The participating teachers in primary schools will independently take decisions and address issues affecting enrolment and quality of education.

Rs50 million has been allocated for the implementation of the project under the Accelerated Implementation Programme (AIP) 2020-21.

Under the project, the head teachers from a few hundred schools in the target districts will be provided with a combination of training opportunities, small discretionary funds and digital nudges for better planning for better educational results.

The project will empower school teachers, who are delivering education services on the frontline rather than district education officials.

Under the project, the school teachers will be empowered to set learning goals and targets in consultation and agreement with the district and provincial education authorities. The project will also target parents of prospective students through text messages and door-to-door outreach campaigns. The pilot intervention will generate the evidence of the impact of the project for scaling up to more schools.

While the education secretary led the workshop proceedings, senior representatives from the department including Chief Planning Officer, Director Elementary & Secondary Education, Senior Planning Officers, Director Curriculum & Teacher Education, Director Provincial Institute for Teacher’s Education, Additional Director Newly Merged Districts and all District Education Officers from the Merged Areas.

The participants agreed that the capacity building of head teachers and the provision of small discretionary funds would ensure that local context specific issues are addressed in a quick and efficient manner.

Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2020