Education’s role in breaking down barriers in Pakistan
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, education centers funded by the Global Partnership for Education are assisting young learners as they begin their education.
The UNICEF Pakistan website originally published this article.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Battagram: Children are making their way through the small and steep alleyways of Battagram colony in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province in northwest Pakistan, on a cool and cloudy morning.
The streets are slick from the sporadic rain, so the kids take extra care as they ascend. Even though the thirty or so kids are dressed differently, they all go to the same place.
The kids get together at the end of a steep, winding street that offers an amazing view of the surrounding mountains, and they go into a room that they are happy to call school.
Children’s artwork and class projects decorate the walls of this small one-room school. Muhammad Zakir, their teacher, greets the kids as they take their seats, standing next to a big whiteboard.
The Accelerated Education Program (AEP) Center was founded by the Elementary and Secondary Education Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. UNICEF provided technical assistance under the Education Sector Plan Implementation Grant (ESPIG) and funds from the Global Partnership for Education.
Adnan, 10, enters just as the lesson begins, carrying his cousin Aiman on his back. The girl’s legs are noticeably misshapen, and Aiman is gingerly put on a vacant chair with Zakir’s assistance.
Aiman expresses gratitude to both and pulls books from her bag. Except for Aiman, all the children rise and recite the national song, signaling the start of another day at this wonderful school
Until a year ago, none of these children had ever attended school. Battagram colony is home to approximately 5,000 people, but there is just one congested elementary school that cannot accept any more students.
Most of the men in the area work as day laborers, while the women choose to stay at home to care for the household. Education was a distant goal for these 30 youngsters, and especially for 10-year-old Aiman, given the circumstances.
The young girl’s condition, being born with malformed legs, meant she was confined to her home. To make matters worse, her father died when she was a toddler, and a few years later her mother lost her sight due to medical complications.
Aiman’s family has been cared for by her paternal and maternal uncles after her father’s death.
While Aiman’s two elder brothers attend a high school in the city, her family never considered sending her to school because of her condition. She would spend all of her time at home in bed, resigned to her lot.
“I was lonely and bored at home.” There was nothing to do but play with my toys. I was disappointed since I couldn’t assist my mother or brothers with home tasks. “I’d cry and wonder if my life would ever be different,” Aiman says.
The opening of the AEP center in the neighborhood in November 2022 signaled a new chapter in Aiman’s life. Apart from providing her with the opportunity to learn for the first time, it also offered her a much-desired window into the outside world.
“When I was approached to help establish the AEP center in the neighborhood, Aiman was the first child I thought of enrolling,” remembers Zakir, a teacher at the center and well-known social activist in the region. Zakir’s childhood buddies included Aiman’s late father and uncles. He has routinely checked on her family’s well-being and aided them whenever possible over the years.
He is an enthusiastic champion for children’s education because he is one of the few persons in the community with a university degree. The center was built in a room of his house that he offered voluntarily.
Zakir remembers happily approaching Aiman’s uncles to discuss her education. They consented to send Aiman as well as their children after learning that the school would be free and located at Zakir’s residence. This marked the beginning of a pleasant morning routine: each day, one of Aiman’s male cousins arrived at her house, carrying her on his back to school.
“I was terrified on my first day of school.” There were so many kids I didn’t know, and I was afraid they’d mock me. To my surprise, everyone was quite friendly. “When I arrived, everyone clapped for me, and Zakir even gave me a chocolate,” Aiman exclaims.
Aiman has made an astonishing metamorphosis in just a year. The once shy and depressed student have evolved into a confident and friendly student. Her peers adore her, and she has proven to be a great student with a talent for problem-solving.
Unfortunately, in our society, disabled children are looked down on and ignored. If God takes away one of their gifts, He compensates by bestowing upon them other extraordinary abilities. This is the case with Aiman,” Zakir explains.
The AEP facility in Battagram Colony is one of 550 facilities created in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with support from the Global Partnership for Education, allowing over 18,000 children to learn for the first time.
While poverty is the primary deterrent to parents sending their children to school, the difficult mountainous terrain also offers a significant barrier when schools are not conveniently located within the community.
“The AEP model thrives on community support,” says Gulnaz Jabeen, the Education Officer for UNICEF Pakistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. “Governments and international organizations create models, but the communities are the ones that must own these initiatives if we want to have the sustained and long-term results that we strive for.”