UK pledges up to £130m for girls’ education in Pakistan

Islamabad: The United Kingdom (UK) on Saturday announced a bilateral programme worth up to £130 million to support girls’ education in Pakistan that will impact nearly 17 million children.

Launched in May this year, the Prime Minister’s Girls’ Education Action Plan sets out practical steps to deliver the UK’s global objectives on girls’ education. Titled Girls and Out of School: Action for Learning (GOAL), the programme will support the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) improve outcomes for girls and the most marginalised. GOAL focuses on two main priorities. In Punjab and KPK’s least developed districts, it will directly support around 250,000 marginalised children to enrol and stay in school. It will also support an additional 150,000 girls to read by age 10.

GOAL will improve learning outcomes for at least 16.9 million children (7.8 million girls) by strengthening the provincial education systems to improve the quality and equity of education, particularly the quality of teaching, and becoming more resilient post-Covid. The programme will directly support children to access education and learning in several Commonwealth countries.

GOAL will introduce changes to make education more inclusive; ensuring children are taught at their correct learning level, and influencing others to adopt better education practices.

UK High Commissioner to Pakistan Dr Christian Turner CMG said: “No nation can reach its full potential without 50% of its population. Getting girls into school is a key driver of growth. We want to give girls awaaz and marzi, voice and choice and unleash the potential of the next generation.”

2015 and 2020 the UK supported 8.1 million girls to gain a decent education.