ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Dr. Arif Alvi on Thursday emphasized the urgent need to collaborate with mosques to educate approximately 28 million out-of-school children in the country. Chairing a meeting to discuss the role of mosques in promoting education, the president highlighted the potential of religious platforms for fostering literacy nationwide.
The meeting, attended by the Caretaker Minister for Religious Affairs, education ministers from Sindh and Azad Jammu & Kashmir, provincial education secretaries, and representatives of Auqaf and Religious Affairs departments, included a briefing on the Accelerated Learning Programme.
The meeting was informed that over 70,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad have been enrolled in schools through this program. The Accelerated Learning Programme Model aims to provide a five-year education within 24 to 30 months, facilitating the enrollment of out-of-school children and adults deprived of education.
This flexible, focused, and cost-effective initiative can be implemented in spaces provided by the community, religious seminaries, and second shifts in schools, as discussed in the meeting. Religious Affairs Minister Aneeq Ahmed affirmed that the Federal Government would extend all possible facilities to educate out-of-school children.
Meeting participants unanimously agreed to formulate a policy paper to utilize mosque platforms for educational purposes. The draft of the policy paper will be presented to the Federal Cabinet for approval.
