ISLAMABAD, Sep 03 (APP):Parliamentary Secretary for Education member of the National Assembly Wajiha Akram Friday said Pakistan should replicate its education uplift endeavours in Afghanistan as both the countries were struggling with similar challenges in the sector.
The parliamentary secretary while addressing the Pak-Afghan Conference on Rebuilding Afghanistan’s panel discussion on Humanitarian Action in Afghanistan: Challenges for Pakistan that focused women empowerment, education, migration, health and international donor assistance.
Wajiha Akram said she considered every crisis prevailing in a state was related to lack of education. However, it was pertinent to mention that Pakistan through Higher Education Commission (HEC) was offering scholarships to Afghan students to develop an educated human resource, she added.
She regretted that education had been neglected in the country for decades whereas Prime Minister Imran Khan had huge interest in teachers training, blended education, technology inclusion and technical education and imparting education on the life of Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him.
Afghanistan, she said, should be made part of the reforms going on in Pakistan as it did in case of developing it’s single national curriculum.
“National Book Foundation can help in Afghanistan to promote book reading and literature for bringing its children out of the trauma of war and violence, she added.
The Ministry of Education and Professional Training was piloting technical education programme after middle that could be imitated in Afghanistan as ‘MatricTech’ programme, she said.
Concluding the discussion Wajiha Akram said Afghan nation was a resilient, brave and a dignified nation, and the key partners should not ridicule them by merely throwing aid bags in the name of assistance.
She suggested that there was need to create a fund to rebuild and support Afghanistan as a nation and facilitate in unimpeded trade for the Afghans. “We need to develop an organizational set up to work for assisting Afghans,” she added.
“We have rendered sacrifices of over 80,000 lives, $150billion worth economic losses and is also bearing four million refugees burden and are still staying it course which deserves commendation. As a way forward it needs to be considered as we are united and all donors need to work rebuild Afghanistan,” she ended.
Former Afghan Transport Minister Hassan Mubarak Azizi on the occasion said everything occurred haphazardly in Afghanistan that created a chaos like situation in Afghanistan and halted the government’s machinery in the country which disrupted Afghan system.
Moreover, he said the US announcement to allow all Afghans without travel documents initiated exodus of technical labour and experts in dramatic manner.
“However, Pak-Afghan brotherhood demands the region to keep both the countries united and Pakistan’s role is important in this regard,” he noted.
Commenting on the challenges, he said health crisis had been created in Afghanistan and Pakistan had the capacity to help in this regard. “It is the time for the world to develop friendly ties with Afghanistan. Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid also in his message requested Pakistan for assistance,” he mentioned.
Afghan Peace Activist Obaidullah Agha said rural areas and urban areas had faced huge impact of the prevailing crisis on education sector whereas the violence had halted since Taliban take over that was propitious.
“Our education sector can emerge if Taliban support girls’ education. Furthermore, Pakistan should initiate assistance to Afghanistan in education sector for girls and boys,” he added.
Pakistan Alliance for Girls Education Fajr Rabia Pasha said there were 3.7 million out of school children in Afghanistan, where women and girls were lagging in education and working fields.
“If US had spent some of its $2trillion military budget on development then the situation would have been different in Afghanistan today,” she remarked.
Pakistan had been facing education crisis and it could replicate its technical support programmes as many girls were out of schools to facilitate them, she said adding, “You should give all options to children having primary education.”
There were many refugee children in Pakistan who were getting equal opportunity in seeking education where the country had played a very positive role in education, she added.
Turkish Red Crescent Representative, Ibrahim Carlos said, “We have learnt a lot about Pakistan’s role in providing education to Afghans. We are expecting refugees’ influx to regional countries and they would need food, shelters, education, health and WASH.”
Head of Ulema Council Afghanistan, Painda Hikmat said Afghan people had the capacity and intellect which if channelized could help overcome crisis and run the system including Afghanistan’s tourism, education and other sectors.
“Afghan people are concerned about their future under Taliban if that’s addressed then above sectoral issues can be resolved whereas hundreds of thousands of people are jobless now. Its Taliban responsibility to play role in reviving employment,” he added.
From Institute of Peace and Development Studies Farhat Asif said Afghan women had played a key role in Afghanistan during the conflict. Despite, the patriarchal system prevailed all over the world equally like South Asian countries likewise in Afghanistan where Afghans had given space to women in their system.
She added that the United States (US) did not give space to women in the peace process.
The civil society efforts credit went to women in Afghanistan where the Afghan girls and women had done a great job in representing their country at global venues.
The participants and the chief guest were presented mementos in the end.
