Daily Times

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has increased the allocation of funds for primary and secondary education by up to Rs 100 billion for the fiscal year 2016-17 along with the introduction of numerous reforms. According to the handout published by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa information department, apart from the unprecedented increase in the volume of budget this year, specific attention under the reforms agenda has also been given to child enrollment and school facilities. Furthermore, the handout adds that community schools have been established for girls in every segment of society with the aim of gender equality in education, and to access the far-flung and underdeveloped parts of the province.

The handout further highlights government’s achievements through statistics: from 2010-13 to 2016 more than 196 community schools were constructed with proper facilities so that concrete steps are taken to provide opportunities to more than 13,651 girls in the province. Moreover, stipends worth millions of rupees are also being provided to deserving students under the talent hunt programme. In 2015-16, cash vouchers worth Rs 336 million were distributed among 13,858 deserving students to continue their education in quality institutions. For the promotion of modern and quality learning methods, 670 IT labs have been established since 2013 in schools throughout the province.

Awards and prizes worth Rs 55 million were also given to 840 teachers based on their performance. This amount has now been doubled for the coming year to reward more teachers thereby motivating them towards better service delivery.

Furthermore, to reform the education sector and ensure capacity development, teacher training programmes are conducted on a regular basis to improve the quality of education in the province. Campaigns are being organised to improve the enrollment and retention of children in schools. Moreover, a merit-based recruitment policy for teachers has also helped the quality of education in the province.

Education reforms of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa should be praised without any political or any other bias. In fact, such programmes set a benchmark for other provinces to emulate. This is the approach Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) should adhere to, as such an exemplary work speaks for itself. And if Imran Khan perseveres in pursuing his manifesto sincerely — something he should have done since the start of PTI government in 2013 — PTI would have a great deal of good work to show to the rest of Pakistan. There are one and a half years left till the next general elections, and PTI can still woo voters by showing its performance in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, instead of continuous politics of street agitations and blame games. *