The United Kingdom (UK) announced on Saturday a £130 million bilateral program to support girls’ education in Pakistan, which will reach nearly 17 million girls.
The Prime Minister’s Girls’ Education Action Plan, which was released in May of this year, outlines realistic strategies to achieve the UK’s worldwide goals for girls’ education.
The program, titled Girls and Out of School: Action for Learning (GOAL), would assist the governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in improving results for girls and the most marginalized. GOAL prioritizes two primary areas.
It will directly assist about 250,000 marginalized children in Punjab and KPK’s least developed districts in enrolling and remaining in school. It will also help an additional 150,000 girls learn to read by the age of ten.
GOAL to increase learning outcomes for at least 16.9 million children (7.8 million girls) by strengthening provincial education systems to promote education quality and equity, particularly teaching quality, and becoming more resilient post-Covid.
In numerous Commonwealth countries, the program will directly assist youngsters in gaining access to education and learning.
GOAL will implement improvements to make education more accessible, including ensuring that students are taught at their appropriate learning level and persuading others to adopt better educational practices.
Dr. Christian Turner CMG, UK High Commissioner to Pakistan, 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.”