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Pakistan

Promoting Education in Pakistan

NRC Pakistan/Shahzad Ahmad (03.09.2012)

Thousands of children and hundreds of teachers are benefiting from Norwegian Refugee Council’s (NRC) Education programs in Pakistan.

Because of the insecurity, thousands of children are deprived of basic education in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Province in North West Pakistan. More than 1,300 schools were destroyed in the conflict and additional 960 during the 2010 floods. The majority of the schools in FATA and KP also lacks basic facilities such as books, furnitures and even buildings. The overall literacy rate of FATA is 22%. Because of the conservatism in the FATA, women and girls access to education has been a challenge in the region, compounded by ongoing insecurity, and the women literacy rate is only 1,5%.

Completation of studies

NRC is implementing an Accelerated Learning Programme (ALP) for IDPs and returnees’ pupil, which enables students to complete their five year primary education within one year. The programme is targeting children between the ages of 9-15 years, whose schooling was disrupted because of family displacement. NRC has in total established 50 ALP centres, which benefit 1500 children in Charsadda and Nowshera Districts in KP.

Rawasia, a 9 year old student at NRC’s ALP Centre in Nowshera District, was unable to continue her studies after her school was washed away by the devastating flood in 2010. Because of local cultural constrains her family did not allow her to continue her studies at a school that was too far away. When the ALP centre was established in her village in February 2012, she got enrolled. “I am very lucky that I got an opportunity to resume my education. My teacher here is very nice and she teaches us in a kind manner. I am thankful to NRC for providing me books and stationary as well”, she says.

NRC has also started the same programme in Lower Dir for IDPs and Afghan refugee children in Balochistan.

NRC’s ALP Program in implemented with funds from the 2010 Norwegian Broadcasting Cooperation telethon, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Reconstruction of schools

NRC is reconstructing 13 schools damaged during conflict and 2010 floods. So far has 9 been completed. The schools are located both in KP and FATA provinces. To ensure that international standards are adhered and maintained, NRC engineering teams closely supervise and monitor the construction activities. The school construction project is funded by the NMFA, SIDA and UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Learning Material

In close coordination with the Ministry of Education, NRC is providing Teaching and Learning Material (TLM) packs to 147 schools and furniture to 82 schools in conflict and flood affected areas in KP and FATA. To date, more than 33,000 students have benefited from the project. The TLM packs consists of essential items such as schools bags, notebooks, stationary items, sports kits, white boards and furnitures. The schools have been carefully selected based on independent needs assessment. The distribution is funded by DFID and SIDA.

Saleem Khan, a primary teacher in Bajaur Agency, FATA, is grateful for the provided support to the children at his school, and says “previously children of my school were sitting on bare ground, now they can comfortably use desks and chairs. They are also very happy to receive schools bags, stationary and sports items provided by NRC”.

Teacher Training

During the TLM distribution, a critical need for teacher training in FATA was identified. To meet these needs, NRC organised two trainings for 78 male and female primary school teachers in Bajaur and Mohmand Agencies with the objective to enhance the capacity in current teaching-learning approaches, including lesson planning, class room management, dropout prevention, community mobilization and child psychology. The trainings were funded by SIDA and DFID.

Shafiq Ahmad, a teacher at a Primary School in Mohmand Agency participanted in a five days teacher training and tells about useful learning opportunity for himself and his fellow teachers. “I have learned so many new teaching techniques. The best thing I learnt here is how to actively engage children in group activities and enhance their learning.” He further adds, “I also urge NRC to provide this kind of training to all the teachers in FATA.”

All the names in the article are changed because of protection.