Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Wednesday announced the launch of a nationwide \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d campaign, declaring that not a single child should remain deprived of education.<\/p>\n
Addressing a press conference, the minister said a comprehensive review of educational institutions across the country would be undertaken to assess their numbers, condition and available facilities. He said that in areas facing shortage of school buildings, arrangements would be made to hold classes in mosques and even private homes, if required.<\/p>\n
He further announced that 100 percent enrollment of children in schools would be ensured in Islamabad and its surrounding areas as part of the initial phase of the campaign.<\/p>\n
Referring to Article 25-A of the Constitution, the minister said it was the government\u2019s responsibility to guarantee free and compulsory education to all children. He revealed that a \u201cFederal Action Plan 2025-2030\u201d had been prepared for out-of-school children. Under the plan, door-to-door identification and mapping of children would be carried out, second shifts would be introduced in schools, and alternative education pathways along with accelerated learning programmes would be offered.<\/p>\n
Siddiqui said digital dashboards would be introduced for transparent monitoring of admissions and attendance to ensure that poverty and geographical distance do not become barriers to education. He urged parents, teachers and the media to support the national mission, terming education a collective responsibility.<\/p>\n
The minister said the educational statistics were alarming when he assumed office, prompting him to inform Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif about the need to declare an education emergency. He acknowledged that promoting education in rural areas and bringing about social change remained a major challenge, which required outreach at the grassroots level.<\/p>\n
He stressed that the campaign would not remain symbolic but would be implemented in a practical and time-bound manner, with maximum resources mobilised to secure the future of every child.<\/p>\n
The federal minister also invited the Pakistan Peoples Party to come forward and play an active role in enrolling out-of-school children.<\/p>\n
Concluding the press conference, he said the world was moving towards an education-driven economy and Pakistan must place education at the centre of its development agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Wednesday announced the launch of a nationwide \u201cNo Child Left Behind\u201d campaign, declaring that not a single child should remain deprived of education. Addressing a press conference, the minister said a comprehensive review of educational institutions across the country would be undertaken to assess their numbers, condition […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":72402,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,16],"tags":[103],"ppma_author":[213],"class_list":{"0":"post-72401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latest","8":"category-pakistan","9":"tag-top-stories"},"yoast_head":"\n