PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to conduct a province-wide door-to-door survey to identify out-of-school children and bring them back into the education system.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi, bringing together the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Local Government Department, Health Department and Social Welfare Department under a joint strategy to address the issue.
Under the plan, a “One Map” system will be developed to determine the exact number and locations of out-of-school children across the province. According to the 2023 census, around 4.9 million children aged 5 to 16 live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the Education Department estimates that approximately 2.6 million children are currently out of school.
The first phase of the initiative aims to enrol 60 percent of out-of-school children in schools on an urgent basis. Data on five-year-old children will also be collected to help the government plans of setting up more schools in future.
The government plans to use government schools, double-shift schooling, community schools, digital learning platforms and public-private partnerships to provide education to children who are currently out of school.
Children who have dropped out because of poverty will be supported through stipends, Zakat and other social assistance programmes. Meanwhile, young people aged 14 to 16 will receive technical and vocational training under the United Nations’ Generation Unlimited programme, helping them develop skills for future employment.
Provincial and district-level steering committees will be established to monitor the initiative. To ensure transparency and accuracy, an independent organization will verify 5 percent of the surveyed data. The government has also decided that the payment of stipends will be linked to a minimum attendance rate of 75 percent, encouraging beneficiaries to remain regularly enrolled in school.
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