The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) signed an agreement with United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to carry out a feasibility study that will provide in-depth analysis on the requirement of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for ensuring children education.
The agreement signing ceremony was held at NCHD Head office where Chairman NCHD and UNICEF Official signed the agreement, Officials from UNICEF, DG NCHD, Head Office directors and KP provincial team was also part of the ceremony, said a media release issued here Sunday.
On the occasion, Chairman NCHD Colonel (R) Amirullah Marwat said, this study will help to determine potentiality of location for a specific sub-component or as a package approach to implement all components related to SDG 4. The firm will also guide data collection in the pockets having high number of out of school children. The data collection exercise will be done by NCHD in 20 districts of KP.
He further briefed that although significant progress in education has been made by almost every country in the last 50 years, 773 million youth and adults around the world still lack basic reading and writing skills, two third of whom are women. In addition despite an increase in education enrollment, approximately 100 million youth between the ages 15 to 24 also lack these basic skills.
DG NCHD Hassan Baig while briefing about NCHD said, NCHD is the only Federal Entity after the 18th Amendement with the constitutional responsibility of working at national level with coverage of 124 districts of Pakistan, under the umbrella of Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training for Literacy and NFE.
The institution is aimed at enhancing and improving literacy rate through its two pronged strategy to provide access to education i.e. Adult Literacy Programme for the mothers and Universal Primary Education through its Feeder Schools in the remote areas for the unprivileged children. He informed about NCHD’s other important intervention in Madrasa Feeder Schools i.e 100 Madrasa Feeder schools are functional in Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Balochistan where 2,411 students have been enrolled to receive contemporary education along with the religious education.
The NCHD has recently launched a literacy project named ‘Promoting literacy in Rural Areas of Pakistan” 3000 literacy centers will be established to educated 75,000 illiterates across the country. First phase is in progress, this project is sponsored by Pakistan Human Development Fund. The NCHD in collaboration with BISP under Ahsas Taleemi Wazifa Programme has agreed to run a project that will enhance the outreach of the programme to mobilize all BISP beneficiaries for enrollment.
UNICEF is an international aid organization working around the world for the protection and promotion of children rights. The UNICEF supports the Government of Pakistan to accelerate progress for children, work to achieve SDGS and help children realize their rights as envisaged in Pakistan’s’ constitution.
UNICEF appreciated the efforts of NCHD in the field of education especially Non-formal Education for the left overs and dropout learners.
Covid 19 pandemic has forced many countries to either suspend adult education programs or shift their focus to more pressing issues, such as health awareness and services for disadvantaged families. The discontinuity in learning landmarks has increased the probability in rise in dropout rates as well.
Chairman NCHD said that situation of Education in this scenario was concerning and underlines the importance of designing and offering high impact and effective youth and adult literacy and education programmes by governments, civil society organizations , companies and industries and private foundations.
