KP govt launches drive to enrol 2.6m out-of-school children

Peshawar - The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has launched a coordinated, data-driven initiative to identify out-of-school children (OOSC) across the province and bring them into the formal education system. Under the initiative, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed among the Elementary and Secondary Education, Local Government and Rural Development, Health, and Social Welfare departments in the presence of Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi. The signing ceremony was attended by Minister for Local Government Meena Khan, Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Arshad Ayub Khan, Minister for Health Khaleeq-ur-Rehman, Minister for Social Welfare Liaquat Ali Khan, and the respective secretaries. Minister for Information and Public Relations Shafi Jan, Chief Secretary Shahab Ali Shah and other members of the provincial cabinet were also present. KP Excise teams seize 36kg hashish, 1.5kg ice in Peshawar, Charsadda Officials briefed the Chief Minister that, according to the 2023 Census, approximately 4.9 million children aged between five and 16 were out of school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the provincial Education Department estimated the number at around 2.6 million. The first phase of the initiative aims to enrol 60 per cent of the identified out-of-school children, officials said. A comprehensive door-to-door survey will be conducted across the province to establish reliable data on the number, geographical distribution and reasons for children remaining out of school. Kundi urges cadets to pursue education, character-building A unified data system, named 'One Map', will integrate information collected by the participating departments to provide an evidence base for targeted enrolment, education planning and more effective allocation of resources. The system will integrate field data collected by Lady Health Workers with school catchment information maintained by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department. Officials said the approach would help identify children and underserved communities that might not appear in individual departmental datasets. KP CM rejects Rs6.4b federal deduction, vows legal challenge Under the operational framework, the Elementary and Secondary Education Department will serve as the lead department. Each government primary school will act as a focal point for its surrounding catchment area, while the department's EMIS Cell will use a mobile application to conduct field surveys and monitor survey progress and enrolment in real time. The data will also be used to plan classrooms, teachers and other educational resources according to local requirements. The Health Department will assist in identifying children in underserved and informal settlements through polio micro-plans and geographical data. Locations recorded as 'Refusal' or 'Not at Home' during vaccination campaigns will also be reviewed to identify children who may not be included in existing education records. Seven terrorists killed in Kharan intelligence-based operation Data on mobile and nomadic families will be collected through designated permanent transit points. The Local Government Department will assist in verifying survey lists through Village Council Secretaries, who will cross-check the information against local birth registration and Form-B records before formally verifying the lists. The department will also collect demographic information on children aged up to five years to help the government anticipate future demand and plan school locations, capacity and other educational facilities. The Social Welfare Department will support children whose exclusion from education is linked to poverty or economic hardship through Zakat, educational stipends and other forms of assistance, including assistive devices for children with disabilities. Adolescents aged 14 to 16 will also be linked with technical and vocational training opportunities under the United Nations Generation Unlimited programme. To cater for different educational needs and local circumstances, the government plans to use existing capacity in government schools, double-shift schools, Accelerated Learning Programmes (ALPs), community schools, digital learning platforms and public-private partnerships, as well as other alternative education models, including relevant madrasa integration programmes. The survey will cover children aged up to five years as well, enabling the government to estimate future enrolment requirements and improve planning for school locations, capacity and educational infrastructure. A Provincial Steering Committee headed by the Secretary Elementary and Secondary Education Department and district steering committees headed by the respective deputy commissioners will oversee implementation. To strengthen transparency and data integrity, an independent organisation will conduct third-party verification of at least five per cent of the surveyed data through physical spot checks. Scholarship and stipend payments will be linked to a minimum school attendance rate of 75 per cent to promote sustained enrolment, regular attendance and retention. Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sohail Afridi said bringing out-of-school children into the education system was among the government's core priorities. He stressed that effective coordination among departments, reliable data and a practical implementation framework were essential to achieving the objective.