ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and the World Bank (WB) held a national workshop to create pathways for mainstreaming out-of-school children on Tuesday.

The workshop was attended by representatives from education departments, foundations and donor organisations.

Despite gains in recent years, 32pc of all school-age children are still out of school – about 20 million girls and boys. The challenges for groups within the out-of-school children (OOSC) population vary – some are attending non-formal literacy programmes and some are closer to graduating out-of-school age bracket (5-16 years).

According to a press release, the workshop used strategic ‘design thinking’ to create pathways to mainstream out-of-school children so that they are able to access their constitutional right to free quality education. The focus of the workshop was the most vulnerable groups within the out-of-school population.

Additional Secretary Education Waseem Ajmal opened the session saying, “the composition of people here today is very capable of creating an action plan to solve this complex challenge”.

He reiterated the ministry’s resolve to ensure that the constitutional commitment to all children in Pakistan was fulfilled.

Assistant Professor, Lums, Dr Suleman Shahid facilitated the workshop, which identified critical themes central to the OOSC issue in Pakistan within the wider socioeconomic context.

Solutions proposed included community-based solutions to address the challenges to mainstreaming out-of-school children.

The solution for a child who dropped out and the one for a child who has never been to school will differ. Overall, the solutions will need to be flexible and agile to cater to disadvantaged groups even within the OOSC population.

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2022