Special Secretary Education Advocates Supportive Approach in Workshop, Emphasizes Empowering School Management
ISLAMABAD : United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) conducted a validation workshop for Out Of School Adolescents and Young People in Pakistan here at Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) in Islamabad. The workshop had representation from all the provinces and regions of Pakistan from Education, Special Education and Social Welfare departments.
As a welcome note, Rabia Pasha, Program Officer UNFPA added that one area that was missing from our curriculum was LSBE. She stated that this workshop focuses on the roadmap for applying LSBE in our schools. She welcomed the participants of the workshop and hope that the strategy developed in consultation with all the stakeholders will help increase school retention as well as ensure new enrolments in Pakistan.
Special Secretary Education Mohyuddin Wani shared his views during the workshop and asked the departmental heads to adopt an assisting approach instead of bullying approach. He said the secretariat and directorates are there for support to the field teams of education department. Thus, they should be more supportive and give more powers to the school management including the principals and head teachers. He also suggested low cost immediate interventions to overcome the educational challenges in the country.
UNFPA Consultant Anzaira Roxas helped develop the roadmap for OOSC in Pakistan. She shared her views on strategies on how to implement LSBE curriculum on OOSC. She also discussed the future roadmap to ensure the success of the new strategy. The participants of the workshop discussed all the aspects of strategy amongst them to remove any obstacles.
UNFPA Consultant Mubashir Banoori shared that there were several obstacles towards introduction of LSBE in educational standards. He added, however, that the continuous engagement with schools has helped in achieving an increased interest of schools, provincial and federal education departments as well as other stakeholders to introduce and implement LSBE as a permanent component of our educational structures.
Deputy Representative UNFPA Latika Maskey Pradhan shared that 22.8 million children are out of school in Pakistan. She added that UNFPA is committed to ensure incorporating LSBE in Pakistani curriculum. She sought the support from representatives of education department while hoping that the joint efforts could result in better educational opportunities in Pakistan. She also thanked PIIE for holding the validation workshop.
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It is pertinent to note that UNFPA has developed a comprehensive LSBE roadmap and advocacy outreach strategy in consultation with federal and provincial education departments. The validation workshop was conducted to ensure ownership and buy in in terms of all aspects of LSBE strategy in Pakistan.
