MUZAFFARABAD (Kashmir English): The Education Department of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) has achieved another historic milestone with the official launch of a long-delayed Out-of-School Children project worth approximately Rs 7 billion, the DGPR AJK said in a press release on Monday.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister AJK Faisal Mumtaz Rathore, the Elementary and Secondary Education Department has now entered the implementation phase of the project with the support of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB).
In this regard, an agreement between the Islamic Development Bank and the Government of Pakistan was formally signed at the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in Islamabad.
The signing ceremony was attended by a high-level mission of the IsDB, led by Dr. Rami Ahmed, Vice President (Operations), Islamic Development Bank.
The agreement was signed by Dr. Rami Ahmed, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs Division, Government of Pakistan, while the Azad Jammu and Kashmir Government was represented by Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education Syed Shahid Mohi-ud-Din Qadri.
On the occasion, PM Faisal Rathore expressed special gratitude to the Islamic Development Bank and the Government of Pakistan and said that this agreement will open new doors for educational development in Azad Kashmir, and significant progress will be made in solving the problem of out-of-school children.
The premier also congratulated the Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education, Dewan Ali Chughtai, Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education, and the IsDB Project Management Unit (PMU) team, who played a key role in the preparation, approval, and conclusion of the PC-I of the project.
Under this mega project, 60,000 out-of-school children in Azad Jammu and Kashmir will be reintegrated into the education system.
As per details, the project will be implemented through a partnership involving the Islamic Development Bank (Jeddah), Education Above All (EAA), and the Turkish-based organization, in collaboration with ALIGHT as lead partner, in collaboration with the Government of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Under this project, 135 new schools will be constructed, professional training of teachers, establishment of school management committees, capacity building, promotion of IT-based education, provision of free textbooks and school uniforms to students, seminars and campaigns for educational awareness among the public, a responsibility assigned to ALIGHT.
Moreover, 250 informal education schools will also be established, whose responsibility will be with ALIGHT. Children in these schools will be educated under the Accelerated Learning Program so that they can complete the basic educational stages in a short period of time and join the formal education system.
This project, launched with the support of the Islamic Development Bank, will prove to be an important milestone in significantly reducing the number of out-of-school children, improving the quality of education, and promoting quality education in AJK.
