Women and PTC members encourage children to pursue education under the Ilm Packet Program
Staff Reporter
Peshawar:
Under the Ilm Packet Program, funded by the British government and technically supported by the British Council, two separate awareness and advocacy events were held in government schools of Bunir and Shangla as part of a school enrollment drive. For the first time, PTC members and local women community members visited homes to encourage children, especially girls, to attend school.
The Participatory Rural Development Society, in collaboration with the Ilm Packet Program, the Education Department, and district administration, organized communication and advocacy sessions in Bunir and Shangla, distributing school bags, stationery, and other educational materials to hundreds of students.
The events were attended by Additional Deputy Commissioner Bunir Qaiser Khan Kundi, Women DEO Bunir Tahira Jabeen, A.D.E.O Establishment Shangla Saddam Hussain, Program Lead Tariq Hayat Yousafzai, Project Manager Ayesha Haroon, women SDEOs from various tehsils, teachers, PTC members, and Monitoring Authority representatives Aminullah and others.
The sessions highlighted the objectives and achievements of the Ilm Packet Program, which is ongoing in 15 districts of Pakistan (8 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 7 in Punjab), addressing challenges in government schools through practical measures. Pakistan ranks second globally in out-of-school children, with over 25 million children deprived of education. The provincial government has set a target to enroll 1.3 million students this year. Challenges include children outside schools, low enrollment rates, teacher shortages, gender-related issues, and other obstacles, but collective efforts by parents, teachers, religious scholars, and community leaders can overcome them.
The Ilm Packet Program is committed to improving the learning environment in government schools, increasing enrollment rates, and reducing dropout ratios. At the conclusion of the events, awards were presented to outstanding women teachers, PTC members, and women community leaders, while participants signed a joint pledge to promote education and child protection and committed to taking practical steps toward these goals.
