UK High Commissioner visits Pakistani schools to address education crisis

An innovative approach to professional development of teachers has led to improved learning outcomes at Islamabad Model School for Girls, Jaba Taili, Islamabad on Thursday, according to the British High Commissioner, Dr. Christian Turner CMG.

He visited classrooms where teachers are delivering lessons tailored to individual student learning levels from underprivileged communities across Islamabad.

Known as fellows, these teachers have been recruited and trained by a partnership between the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK, the Federal Directorate of Education, Islamabad, and Teach for Pakistan.

A delegation from the Federal Directorate of Education, including Director Academics, Ms. Riffat Jabeen, and Director Planning and Development, Ms. Inam Jahangir, as well as Founder and CEO of Teach for Pakistan, Ms. Khadija Bakhtiar, accompanied the High Commissioner.

Eight out of ten Pakistani children cannot read a short paragraph by the age of 10. As indicated by the National Annual Status of Education Report, 2021, the overall learning levels of girls between the ages of 5 and 16 are even lower than those of boys. As a result of Covid-19 and the recent devastating floods, Pakistan's learning crisis has been exacerbated.

As part of the recent campaign 'Aaj Kya Seekha?' which was supported by the UK, a number of civil society groups have also raised the issue of Pakistan's learning crisis. They have also discussed how parents can improve the learning of their children.