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PESHAWAR, Jan 28: The British government has approved the Rs30 billion (203 million pounds to be exact) support for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa elementary and secondary education department for the next five years.
A memorandum of understanding in this respect will be signed by the two governments next month, Education Sector Reforms Unit (ESRU) director Akhunzada Riaz Bahar told Dawn on Saturday.
Mr Bahar said the funding to be used under the education sector road map (ESRM), a brainchild of Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), and ESRU, could be increased in future.
“The road map tells us that what are the major problems in achieving our education department goals and how to address these problems in the coming five years,” he said.
Mr Bahar said 60 per cent of the approved money would go to the elementary and secondary education (E&SE) through budgetary support for use in the areas prioritised by the education department.
He said 30 per cent of the funding would be spent on construction of schools and related facilities, while the rest would be used for technical assistance in many fields of the education department.
“DFID will hire construction firms for implementation of the plan,” said ESRU deputy director Hamid Naveed.
Mr Naveed said Rs3 billion would be released in February as the first tranche of the funding. He said four steering committees would be established on different levels for evaluation and monitoring of the road map implementation and the funding use.According to him, the chief minister will be the chairman of one committee, while the minister for elementary and secondary education will be its vice chairman.
The second committee is to be headed by the additional chief secretary and all relevant secretaries will be its members, while the third committee to be led by the secretary E&SE will be technical in nature.
The fourth committee will be formed on district level and will be headed by the respective district coordination officers, while executive district officers (education), parents and other stakeholders will be its members.
“These steering committees will review progress in their meetings to be held after every two months,” he said.
The ESRU deputy director said in preparing ESRM, the focus was on three key issues.
According to him, the first was to increase school enrolments, ensure provision of equality education to girls and marginalised groups and encourage private sector in elementary and secondary education; the second to increase retention of students in public sector schools, reduce dropout rates and improve transition to secondary schools, and the third to improve teaching and learning methodologies, create child-friendly environment, improve parent-teacher councils and upgrade schools.
Mr Naveed said enforcement of objective criteria for hiring and transferring of teachers in public sector schools, empowering parent-teacher councils on district level, introducing spending guidelines of funds, ensuring ban on corporal punishment and providing transport facilities to students in far-off rural areas had also been discussed in the roadmap.
A memorandum of understanding in this respect will be signed by the two governments next month, Education Sector Reforms Unit (ESRU) director Akhunzada Riaz Bahar told Dawn on Saturday.
Mr Bahar said the funding to be used under the education sector road map (ESRM), a brainchild of Britain’s Department for International Development (DFID), and ESRU, could be increased in future.
“The road map tells us that what are the major problems in achieving our education department goals and how to address these problems in the coming five years,” he said.
Mr Bahar said 60 per cent of the approved money would go to the elementary and secondary education (E&SE) through budgetary support for use in the areas prioritised by the education department.
He said 30 per cent of the funding would be spent on construction of schools and related facilities, while the rest would be used for technical assistance in many fields of the education department.
“DFID will hire construction firms for implementation of the plan,” said ESRU deputy director Hamid Naveed.
Mr Naveed said Rs3 billion would be released in February as the first tranche of the funding. He said four steering committees would be established on different levels for evaluation and monitoring of the road map implementation and the funding use.According to him, the chief minister will be the chairman of one committee, while the minister for elementary and secondary education will be its vice chairman.
The second committee is to be headed by the additional chief secretary and all relevant secretaries will be its members, while the third committee to be led by the secretary E&SE will be technical in nature.
The fourth committee will be formed on district level and will be headed by the respective district coordination officers, while executive district officers (education), parents and other stakeholders will be its members.
“These steering committees will review progress in their meetings to be held after every two months,” he said.
The ESRU deputy director said in preparing ESRM, the focus was on three key issues.
According to him, the first was to increase school enrolments, ensure provision of equality education to girls and marginalised groups and encourage private sector in elementary and secondary education; the second to increase retention of students in public sector schools, reduce dropout rates and improve transition to secondary schools, and the third to improve teaching and learning methodologies, create child-friendly environment, improve parent-teacher councils and upgrade schools.
Mr Naveed said enforcement of objective criteria for hiring and transferring of teachers in public sector schools, empowering parent-teacher councils on district level, introducing spending guidelines of funds, ensuring ban on corporal punishment and providing transport facilities to students in far-off rural areas had also been discussed in the roadmap.