ISLAMABAD: Ministry of federal education & professional training (MoFEPT) launched the first ever federal foundational learning policy.
In light of Prime Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif’s announcement of education emergency, the government will now address the out-of-school-children crisis as so far 26.2 million children are currently out of school.
The policy will also address the learning crisis; in Pakistan, 4 out of 5 children cannot read with comprehension by the age of 10.
According to the recently launched Annual Status of Education Report 2023, only 13% of grade 3 children can do simple division. This means that children lack foundational skills. It means that they need to learn more complex concepts, and they are also less likely to become productive citizens.
This policy is a crucial step in the government’s response to tackle the learning crisis.
The federal foundational learning policy 2024 aims to ensure that by “2030, all children enrolled in schools under the federal territories will acquire foundational learning skills”.
The policy will apply to all government schools, private schools, non-formal education centres, and madaris in Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
The departments responsible for policy implementation are the federal directorate of education, school education department, Gilgit Baltistan and the elementary & secondary education department, Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Alongside these, a range of other departments will support the implementation of this policy, including the MoFEPT’s Pakistan foundational learning Hub, set up to drive improvements in early grade literacy and numeracy nationwide.
This policy is part of a national movement to improve basic reading and numeracy skills for Pakistan’s children. Across the country, each province is in the process of developing their own foundational learning policies.
Alongside this, there is growing support from civil society, academia, and international organisations to tackle this issue.
The federal foundational learning policy was launched at event in Islamabad which was attended by key development partners, university vice-chancellors, parliamentarians and partner organisations working on education in Pakistan. The event was hosted by acclaimed author and social activist, Ms. Feryal Ali Gauhar.
Speakers gave an overview of the eight pillars of the federal foundational learning policy 2024. They stressed the need to improve the quality of learning in schools in order to increase retention and tackle the out of school children crisis. Secretary MoFEPT, Mohyuddin Wani highlighted the need to support teachers because of their key role in the learning process. He also nominated Ms. Feryal Ali Gauhar as the reading envoy to create a reading culture in the federal areas.
