5,818 children enrolled in Abbottabad, Haripur schools in 4 years

PESHAWAR: About 5,818 children have been enrolled on schools in Haripur and Abbottabad districts under a project of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).

The Sparc and the Education Departments of Abbottabad and Haripur worked together to enhance the capacity of 60 government-run schools. The project entailed initiatives meant to promote child-friendly environment, making learning fun for children.

An Educational Conference organised by Sparc was told that 400 students from private schools in Abbottabad and Haripur had also shifted to the selected 60 government schools.

The conference was a follow-up of the project titled “Learning is Fun: Promoting Child-Friendly Environment in Selected Schools of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”

Around 75 officials linked to the education sector, selected teachers and other relevant members of civil society and media attended the conference.

The objective of the event was to share and discuss the interventions made by Sparc and the provincial Education Department during the four-year term of the project.

Highlighting the achievements under the project, Dr Fakhir Sohail of Sparc said various facets of the project included capacity building of school staff and children, improving infrastructure, provision of furniture, installation of playground equipment, strengthening school-community relationships, and development of teaching manuals, multi-grade teaching guides, and quiz books for children and teachers.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser as chief guest of the event, acknowledged Sparc’s efforts in promoting quality education at primary level and stressed the need to work for higher education as well. “A huge investment in the education sector, including initiatives for improving infrastructure, teachers training, and curriculum development and hiring of teachers through NTS, have had a very positive effect on the quality of education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,” he added.