LAHORE: Having claimed enrolment of as many as 3.6 million children during the ‘Jahalat Say Azadi drive’ (freedom from ignorance drive), the School Education Department (SED) now says it is likely to achieve 100 percent enrolment of students in the 5 to 9 age bracket by 2015.
A recent independent survey, however, has indicated that almost 18 percent of children in the 5 to 9 years age bracket are still out of school.
SED Secretary Abdul Jabbar Shaheen said that the chief minster’s education drive had not only exceeded expectations but had also encouraged the government to aim for 100 percent enrolment by 2015.
The government has crossed its official target for enrolment in 2013- 2.8 million children, he said. Shaheen said the drive had not only focused on enrolment but also the retention of students.
A monitoring mechanism has been introduced to improve the quality of education, he said. He said 14 indicators of quality schooling and education had been identified including teachers’ attendance, students’ attendance, teacher training, availability and functioning of previously missing facilities and supervision by district administration teams. Shaheen said all indicators showed 90 percent or better performance in 2013.
SED’s official data states that there are more than 57,000 schools in the province. There are nearly 2.1 million boy students in primary schools and 1.7 million girl students. There are 115,000 boy students and 118,000 girl students enrolled in middle-primary schools.
The Annual Status of Education Report 2013 for the Punjab indicates that while the percentage of out-of-school children in the 6 to 16 age bracket is 16 percent - exactly where it was last year - the percentage of out-of-school children aged 5 years and below is 18.2 percent.
INTERNEWS
