The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to impose an education emergency in districts where over 50 percent of children are not enrolled in school.
The decision came during a meeting of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department held on Monday, chaired by Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur.
The session focused on improving the quality of education in government schools and tackling the pressing issue of children not attending school.
It was decided that districts meeting or exceeding the 50 percent threshold of out-of-school children will be placed under an education emergency. The meeting also gave preliminary approval to a set of actions under this plan.
Comprehensive steps will be introduced to boost school enrollment, with new initiatives to be included in the upcoming provincial budget.
The chief minister instructed officials to design a district-specific action plan to ensure the strategy is implemented effectively. He also emphasized exploring different models to expand access to education in underdeveloped areas.
Calling it a national crisis, Gandapur stressed the urgency of addressing the high number of out-of-school children. He acknowledged the progress made so far but pointed out that some districts still show deeply concerning statistics.
To tackle this, he ordered the next school enrollment campaign to be more targeted and effective, with particular attention to getting more girls into classrooms, saying their lack of access to education is “a matter of grave concern.”
He expressed dismay that some students still have to sit on the floor in classrooms and made it clear that this practice must end.
“It is the mission of his government that no child in any public school should be forced to sit on the floor,” he said, also insisting that all schools must have proper toilets and access to clean drinking water.
Gandapur reaffirmed that education is the highest priority for his administration and promised increased funding in the upcoming budget.
He directed that all plans must be backed by reliable data to ensure wise and effective use of resources, noting that every effort must be guided by accurate information.