10 December 2009
Pakistan's Northern Areas have long been blighted by poor education.
A decade ago, there were few schools in the region and education for girls was practically non-existent.
An EU project has transformed the situation and 80% of children are now in primary school, many of them girls.
Video: An education revolution:
Khadija Khan has been a champion of girls’ education since the early days of the project. When Khadija, who works for one of the project’s partners, Aga Khan Education Services, went into northern communities to research the state of education there, she encountered widespread resistance to the idea of schooling for girls.
“When I used to go (into the communities), the men were not really comfortable talking to me. They said it’s not allowed, according to their religion.”
But Khadija and her colleagues were determined that girls should get an equal chance at an education. The project provided funding to schools to enable them to increase their intake of pupils – 60% of whom, they were instructed, ought to be girls.
Talking to mothers
This was an ambitious strategy, and one that could not just be imposed on local people from the outside. Communities had to be convinced of the benefits of sending girls to school. One tactic was to involve mothers more in their daughters’ education.
“We tried to educate mothers through our adult literacy programme,” says Khadija. This proved to be a turning point. “Women who attended the courses now take an active part in their children’s education: they check their children’s homework, they go to their schools and they request feedback from their teachers.”
After local women got on board, resistance to the project soon gave way to exuberant support across the community. “Communities are actively taking part in school matters,” says Khadija. “They want to improve the quality of education in their schools.”
This sea-change has led to girls going all the way to higher education, and in some cases becoming teachers themselves. Many of the schools funded by the project now have female members of staff, provided with teacher training by the project. And in some schools, women are rising to become headteachers. “The change is so enormous one can hardly think about it!” says Khadija.
Facts and stats
- The 40 million Euro Northern Pakistan Educational Programme began in 1997 and ended in 2008.
- The main implementing partners included Aga Khan Education Services, Pakistan (AKESP), Aga Khan University – Institute for Educational Development, Professional Development Centre, Northern Areas (PDCN) and Professional Development Centre, Chitral.
- More than 900 female students in the region have been awarded scholarships and 172 girls have gone on to graduate from higher education.
- In its second phase (2003 to 2008) the NPEP also trained 2,651 teachers, provided 26 schools with support, supported the professional development of 178 teachers, and trained 798 members of parent/school management committees.