ISLAMABAD: Sahar Taimor, an Education Advisor representative of Save the Children, has expressed grave concerns regarding the recent floods that devastated 30,000 schools, depriving three million students of education and making it extremely difficult to rehabilitate schools and re-enroll students.
In an interview with APP on Saturday, she stated that some critical issues plaguing Pakistan’s education system include limited access to education, poor educational quality, and weak governance. Particularly in rural areas, nearby schools are scarce, preventing over twenty million children from attending school.
While Pakistan does have approximately 70,000 primary schools, there is a notable shortage of middle and secondary schools, which poses problems for the education system. Taimor stressed the need for the government to ensure the availability of schools to address security concerns arising from long commutes.
Furthermore, many existing schools lack adequately trained teachers and the necessary facilities for delivering quality education. She pointed out that Pakistan allocates a mere 1.7% of its GDP to education, a figure significantly lower than what is required to meet the nation’s educational needs.
Taimor explained Save the Children’s ongoing efforts to address these challenges. They are operating in more than 100 institutions, specifically focusing on schools damaged by the floods. Save the Children employs formal and informal education models to reach displaced children and conducts enrollment campaigns to encourage children to return to school.
Additionally, the organization strongly emphasizes teacher training programs, adapting global models to suit Pakistan’s needs. Save the Children leads the joint Education Sector Working Group with UNICEF, allocating dedicated resources to identify damaged schools requiring teacher deployment.
Sahar commended the collaboration between civil society organizations, international NGOs, and the government to address the pressing education crisis in Pakistan. She also praised the government for allowing Save the Children to operate in state schools for the past four decades. She called for enhanced governance and transparency in fund utilization to further improve the education system. —APP
