By starting the Special Enrolment Campaign 2023, the Punjab School Education Department (SED) has taken a major step toward increasing educational access and literacy levels in the province. The initiative, which aims to increase student enrollment in public institutions, was launched by Punjab Education Minister Mansoor Qadir.
The program, which is set to run through October 31, aims to improve poor enrollment rates. Minister Qadir personally enrolled two children during the inaugural ceremony.
The minister reiterated the government’s commitment to offer 11.7 million students with free education. He emphasized the importance of both parents and teachers in providing great education for children, emphasizing the critical role of teachers in rural regions.
The minister, however, raised alarm over Pakistan’s poor literacy rate development, which sits at 66 percent in Punjab—well behind national expectations. He challenged the community to work together to improve, drawing inspiration from Sri Lanka’s 99 percent literacy rate. Despite financial restrictions, Minister Qadir praised the distribution of free books worth Rs. 13 billion and the increased budget allocation for education.
Addressing gender equality and social advancement, the minister emphasized the critical relevance of girls’ education and advocated for improved teacher training to better equip educators in instilling information about societal responsibilities in pupils.
SED Secretary Ahsan Waheed bemoaned Pakistan’s comparatively sluggish development in literacy rates, which rose from 58 percent in 2014 to 62 percent in the ensuing seven to eight years. He voiced worry over the apparent loss in educational quality in public institutions, notwithstanding the development of private schools.
Secretary Waheed stressed the campaign’s objective of reintegrating Punjab’s astonishing 7.3 million out-of-school youngsters into the educational system. The construction of schools for transgender children in nine divisional headquarters around the province was also noted as a great step toward inclusiveness by the secretary.