By Rafiullah Mandokhail
Zhob, (Parliament Times) : Officials at the Education Department lament that the low enrollment rate at government-run schools results in low literacy rates in the remote part of Balochistan which shares borders with Afghanistan and South Waziristan. Lack of awareness, low enrollment rate, and poverty are some of the factors responsible for low literacy rate.
Addressing a press conference, the District Education Officer Lal Jan Musakhail, flanked by DOE Sheikh Musa Khan Mandokhail, District Programme Manager Education Support Programme Raziq Jan Kakar, president Government Teachers Association (GTA) Fateh Khan Mandokhail, DDOs Asadullah Mardanzai and Ajab Khan Kakar said that the admission drive has been started across the province by the Balochistan Education Department in collaboration with UNICEF-ESP.
‘A target of enrolling 9660 out-of-school children has been set for the academic year 2024 in the district. For this purpose, free textbooks are being distributed among the clusters’, he said.
He said, a required budget has been allocated at the cluster level for reading and writing material, furniture, lab and sports equipment, and uniforms for students in all schools, adding a walk and seminar will be organized aiming at creating awareness in both urban and rural areas, where people from different walks of life will participate. Apart from this, mass announcements are also being made, urging the parents to enroll their children at government-run schools. He added.
‘So far the tree plantation is concerned; saplings are being planted at all schools and government buildings. In those areas lacking schools, Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) learning centers are being established with the financial support of UNICEF. All-out efforts would be made to enroll the maximum number of children at schools,’ he expressed hope.
The officials have urged political and social figures, religious scholars, media persons, notables, and people from all walks of life to support the enrollment campaign, allowing the students to unfold their dreams, talents, and desires through education.
