EDUCATION
Excellence And Empowerment
Muslim Aid Pakistan's pledge for educational
empowerment
Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC), reaching an overwhelming estimate of 22.8 million children aged 5-16 who are not attending school. This accounts for 44 percent of the total population within this age group. Notably, there are 5 million children between the ages of 5-9 who are not enrolled in schools. The situation worsens as children advance beyond primary school age, with 11.4 million adolescents aged 10-14 lacking access to formal education. Disparities based on gender, socio-economic status, and geography significantly contribute to this issue. In Sindh, for example, 52 percent of the poorest children, including 58 percent of girls, are out of school. Similarly, in Balochistan, a striking 78 percent of girls face barriers to education. In Punjab, 13 percent of children of age to go to primary school are out of school. At the middle school level, the percentage of out-of-school children increases to 21 percent, and at the junior and senior secondary levels, it increases to 34 and 47 percent of children. (Unicef, 2022)
Demonstrating a long-standing commitment towards educating the masses, especially children Muslim Aid Pakistan, since its inception in 2005 has been initiating country-wide educational development programs both long-term and short-term programs.
Under the Education thematic areas, Muslim aid’s most recent program which is now in phase III, has achieved exemplary success. Starting from Jhang in Punjab, following the outstanding reach of the project Muslim Aid has now reached district Loralai in Baluchistan. Muslim Aid Pakistan completed the First Phase of the community-based model (CBM-I) in June 2022 and the Second Phase (CBM-II) began in July 2022 in the district of Jhang, Punjab. Under this project, Muslim Aid Pakistan has provided support to 15 government schools in district Jhang (Punjab) through the provision of school supplies, repair and maintenance of school buildings, and Capacity enhancement of Teachers and Students on model teaching methodology.
At the grassroots level, the MA CBM model offers comprehensive support to upgrade the facilities in schools, focusing on aspects such as increasing enrollment, capacity-building of teachers, reviving parent-teacher associations (PTAs), upgrading WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) facilities, establishing Early Childhood Education classrooms, and providing necessary resources like computers, furniture, and school kits. These interventions have brought about positive changes in the lives of students, their families, and even their siblings. As a result, the targeted schools have now improved remarkably in terms of infrastructure and resources as compared to government primary schools.
