ISLAMABAD
\nHaving a high percentage of youth among its population \u2013 almost 64% below the age of 30 \u2013 Pakistan is blessed to have these numbers, which if utilized properly and given the right direction and platform can put the country on the path of development and prosperity in a matter of years.
\nProvision of quality education is the prerequisite for a country to produce leaders in different fields, the department in which Pakistan needs to work hard. With an overall literacy rate of almost 63%, the data shows that it is higher in urban areas (76%) as compared to rural areas (51%), prompting the need to concentrate more on the latter which lacks basic educational infrastructure.
\nKeeping in view this important issue, the federal coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) launched a project named \u2018School on Wheels\u2019 which has been highly praised for providing education to children whose parents are unable to send them to schools.
\nThe initiative would increase the literacy rate in Pakistan, particularly in rural areas. The project also aims to offer equal educational opportunities to children with mobile libraries, which would promote a reading culture among them.
\nTalking to APP, Deputy Director Research and Development Federal Directorate of Education Muhammad Nadim, who is also looking after the project \u201cSchool on Wheels\u201d said, initially, the mobile school project consisted of two buses which were providing primary-level education to children, especially between ages 3-5 of the rural areas including Tarnol and Nilore sectors of Islamabad Capital Territory.
\nHe said five more buses were being prepared whose work was in the final stages and hopefully these buses would start functioning just after Eid ul Adha. Moreover, a Memorandum of Understanding was in pipeline with the British Council under which around 20 more state-of-the-art buses would be provided to the Federal Education Ministry to decrease the number of out-of-school children, he added.
\nFederal Minister for Education and Professional Training Rana Tanveer Hussain during his visit to a foreign country closely monitored this project and planned it for Pakistan.
\nIn addition to mobile libraries, meals are also being provided to the students enrolled in mobile classrooms, fostering a culture of reading and nourishment.
\nThe bright-colored buses are decorated with balloons and windows painted with alphabets and cartoons. The inside of the mobile classrooms is bright and clean, its interior filled with images of alphabets, numbers, days of the week and pictures of fruit and animals.
\nChildren are seen sitting on colorful chairs inside the bus as teachers use an interactive whiteboard for teaching. Muhammad Nadim further explained that some private organizations like \u201cRight to Play\u201d were also providing support to the government to make the project successful.
\nThese NGOs provide free teachers besides helping in discipline-related issues, he said, adding, the buses roam specifically in rural areas where no school was nearer particularly attracting minor children for education.
\n\u201cThe buses are focusing on rural areas where schools are far away and minor children are unable to go to schools. After providing basic education, the students will be shifted to nearby schools for proper education\u201d, the deputy director mentioned.
\nHe was of the view that children were taking special interest in these schools, particularly afghan refugees living in suburbs of the federal capital territory. Nadim said each bus would be equipped with computers, desks, white-boards, Smart Boards, LCDs, ACs and Washroom.
\n\u201cI am a daily wager and always wanted my children to get education, but cannot afford sending them to school. This initiative of the government has provided me an opportunity to get my kids educated and that too on my doorstep,\u201d said Jamal Ahmed, a father of four children and a resident of Nilore area.
\nHe said his younger son now waits for the bus and gets ready early in the morning, adding this initiative would help many poor people like him to fulfill their dream of educating their children.
\nIt is to mention here that the project was launched by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in February 2023. The government has a plan to increase the number of buses and expand the project to the rest of the country.
\n\u201cMy son was always very fond of learning new things but my resources were not allowing me to get him enrolled in a school. But, now teachers come to our vicinity regularly on a bus and my son goes there with sheer excitement and joy,\u201d said Munawar Khan, a resident of Tarnol.
\nPakistan spends only 2% of its GDP on education which is quite lower than other countries. Norway and Chile spend the highest percentage of their GDP on education, 6.6, followed by Israel and New Zealand 6.2, the United Kingdom 6.1, and the United States 6.0.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD Having a high percentage of youth among its population \u2013 almost 64% below the age of 30 \u2013 Pakistan is blessed to have these numbers, which if utilized properly and given the right direction and platform can put the country on the path of development and prosperity in a matter of years. Provision of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":340077,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-340055","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-national"},"yoast_head":"\n