Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training, Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, met with a high powered delegation led by former Prime Minister of Norway Mr Kjell Magne Bondevik here on Monday.
The meeting was also attended by Secretary Education Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani and former Member of the Oslo Parliament, Norway, Aamir Javed Sheikh.
Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said that Kjell Magne Bondevik is a friend of Pakistan who has always worked towards helping Pakistan in fighting its challenges.
He said the presence of Mr Kjell internationalized the agenda of the International Conference on Girl’s Education. The Minister said Pakistan is taking the lead for the Islamic countries to tackle the issue of girl’s education and Out of School Children in general.
He said Pakistan faces a myriad of challenges in the field of education in the wake of climate change. He said Pakistan has huge challenges but his Ministry has taken up this issue with utmost emergency.
The Minister said we have mobilised all of our resources to address this issue. He said the Government of Pakistan has also declared an educational emergency.
He said currently the Ministry of Education is addressing the issues of access to schools, limited infrastructure, quality of teachers training and nutritional problems of children in collaboration with the other ministries.
Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said due to our efforts the percentage of Out of School Children with respect to population is decreasing, however, the overall number is increasing.
He said to develop and implement targeted interventions a special department called Pakistan Institute of Education has been developed to gather accurate data about challenges being faced by the Education sector of Pakistan.
The Minister said to address the cultural impediments of access to education for girls, the International Conference on Girl’s Education will be a historic achievement. He said religious scholars from all over the world supported the cause of girl’s education.
He said Pakistan has taken the lead to eradicate the misconception surrounding girl’s education in the Islamic countries. Former Prime Minister of Norway Kjell Magne Bondevik said that ‘I have always worked towards helping Pakistan in resolving its numerous strategic and internal challenges.
He said Pakistan has made history by conducting the International Conference on Girl’s Education. He said Pakistan has huge potential and through proper management of resources all of the issues can be addressed.
He praised the efforts of the Ministry for Education and the Federal Minister of Education in championing the cause of promoting girl’s education.
Secretary Education Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani said that Pakistan has adopted latest techniques and approached to tackle all of the challenges of the education sector.
He said Pakistan is focusing on effective disaster management to protect the educational infrastructure of the country. He said climate change has presented unique challenges but the Ministry of Education has started targeted interventions to ensure positive outcomes.
He said a special pink bus program was launched in Gilgit Baltistan and Islamabad to ensure that female students do not have to face logistical issues of access to schools.
He said a Schools Meals Program has also been launched which will ensure that the stunting issue of children is also addressed. The Secretary Education said that Ministry of Education has adopted a 360 degree approach to address the woes of education sector of Pakistan.
He explained that under the leadership of Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif a special task force on education was also created which has been a guiding beacon for all of the efforts of the government.