Islamabad:
The Central Development Work Party (CDWP) approved on Thursday the establishment of six Daanish schools in Baluchistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), at a cost of RS19.253 billion, in line with the initiative of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to provide a quality education system to remote areas.
The Ministry of Planning said in a statement that these schools would be built under the 50:50 formula sharing the federal government and the respective provincial governments. “These schools aim to raise the most marginalized segments of society by providing access to quality education,” he said.
According to the statement, the Minister of Planning, Ahsan IQBAL, presided over the meeting, attended by the Secretary of Planning Awais Manzur Sumra, chief economist and members of the Planning Commission (PC) and higher representatives of the relevant federal ministries and provincial governments.
These schools would be established in the Kan Mehtarzai of Baluchistan, which costs RS2,929,856 million; Sibi, which costs RS3,351,987 million; Baiker, Dera Bugti district, which costs RS2,665,733 million; Musakhel, which costs RS3,630,771 million; and Zhob, which costs RS3,632,405 million.
The sixth approved Daanish schools would be established in AJK, which cost RS3,042,778 million. All these projects were qualified at the CDWP level, said Planning Minister in the statement.
The Daanish Schools Network is the largest free boarding schools for boys and girls in Pakistan, in order to raise the most marginalized segments of society by providing access to quality education.
The Punjab government had previously established a wide network of Daanish schools, but now the other provinces are also taking measures to replicate this model to support talented students of disadvantaged environments.
“The establishment of these schools represents a great step forward to address the challenges facing the education sector, especially in less developed areas,” said the ministry. “The federal government also plans to establish new Daanish schools in unattended districts,” he added.
“The initiative aims to empower young people, build stronger communities and help create a more inclusive and equitable society. These schools will go beyond traditional memory learning and promote education models of the 21st century integrating technology to improve delivery and track the progress of students.”
Speaking during the CDWP meeting, the Minister of Planning, Ahsan Iqbal, declared that more than 25 million children in Pakistan were currently out of school, which was a serious national concern. He stressed that increasing the 90% literacy rate was essential for the development of the country.
