ISLAMABAD, Mar 22 (APP): Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain on Wednesday said that the government was committed to reducing the number of Out of School Children in the federal area in order to make it a model for the rest of the country to follow.
During a meeting with a high-level delegation led by the CEO of Education Above All, Qatar, Fahad Hamad Hassan Al- Sulaiti, the federal Minister said that currently there are 53,000 out-of-school children in the federal area and it is a top priority of the government to address this issue.
To address this challenge, human resources needed to be developed in addition to the financial support, the minister added.
The minister also expressed his desire to make the capital an ideal example for the entire country.
Rana Tanveer Hussain at the outset, lauded the efforts of Education Above All – Qatar and said that it is playing a critical role in uplifting the status of public education in Pakistan.
During the meeting, the delegation was given a detailed presentation by the officials of MoFEPT about the plan to bring the OoSC to zero.
At the outset, the minister was told that the current plans will cost approximately $9 million to bring the OoSC number to zero. He was apprised that a special ‘Digital and Innovation Wing’ has been set up to formulate and implement strategies to address the challenge of OoSC.
It is informed that the specialized wing will target registering all OoSC in Pakistan into learning process through applying digital and innovative projects accessible by all children in Pakistan.
The Wing will rollout projects along with private sector to comply with the vision of National Digital and Innovation in Education Strategy (NIDIES).
It will develop innovative and alternate education financing solutions to support in school and OoSC for sustainability of initiatives while providing technical assistance to all MoFEPT departments.
Similarly, the initiative of School on Wheels will be expanded to increase its reach and about 15 more buses will be deployed to increase its scope.
Rana Tanveer said that above political mileage, “it is our duty to work for the betterment and development of the country”.
He said that his ambition is to ensure that the students have the required opportunities to build a successful and prosperous future for themselves and eventually contribute towards the growth of Pakistan.
Secretary Education Waseem Ajmal Chaudhry and other senior officers of the MoFEPT including CEO of Taleemabad Haroon Yasin and representatives from Qatar Embassy Islamabad also attended the meeting.
