Girls' education in troubled areas gets shot in the arm

Dubai: Tuba Sahaab, an Islamabad-based schoolgirl, who wrote anti-Taliban poems criticising their radical views on girls and women's education in Pakistan, may have been an impetus behind the recent project planned by the local government and the Unicef to rebuild girls' schools in the troubled regions of Swat, Buner, Lower Dir and Malakand.

The 'Welcome to School' initiative, that will benefit 532,000 children through the 18-month plan in Pakistan, has been formulated to encourage girls like Tuba who will be able to attend lectures without living in fear of being bombed by Taliban militants.

The aim is to provide temporary learning spaces (an initial 100 school tents) and education supplies. Apart from that, community-based back-to-school campaigns will be carried out, aimed at getting all previously enrolled children back into school, as well as enrolling children who have never been enrolled - especially girls.

"The objective of the primary education programme is to reduce the number of out-of-school girls by at least 30 per cent, particularly in those rural districts where girls' enrolment lags far behind boys," said Jasmine Pittenger, Unicef's Emergency Communication, Pakistan.

"Girls' education is a major concern, especially in rural areas where negative perceptions, tribal and family norms, long distances between home and school and the sheer lack of schools with adequate infrastructure and teaching staff, keep them away from classes," Pittenger told Gulf News.

The State of the World's Children 2009 report states that only two out of three Pakistani children in the primary school age between 5 and 9 years are enrolled, while half of the girls do not even learn primary lessons.

Furthermore, only 56 per cent of boys and 35 per cent of girls complete Grade V. However, the literacy rate for men globally stands at 80 per cent between the age group 15-24, while 60 per cent of women are educated in the same age bracket.

But the list of desolation does not stop here. Factors like child labour; security issues for girls; poorly designed curricula and lack of materials; absence of teachers and scant sanitation provisions add further barriers.

"Parents are reluctant to send girls to schools without separate/functional latrines," Pittenger said.

However, things are looking brighter. After immense media attention on the rehabilitation of more than two million people, who fled due to the conflict between the government forces and the Taliban in Swat Valley, Unicef is working round-the-clock to bring back smiles on the faces of thousands of children.

The state has pledged to bring spending on education up to seven per cent of gross domestic product from the previous 2.3 per cent.

This, the sources said, will help shape future of the country's education system which is lagging behind in women's literacy.