“My Home” “My School” Program launched in Balochistan amid coronavirus
Education Desk:
Amid increasing cases of COVID19, the United Nations International Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) and education department Balochistan launched the “my home, my school” program to provide education to children. The program is aimed at engaging students during the closure of educational institutions across the province. UNICEF and the provincial government launched the program after the outbreak of COVID-19.
“UNICEF extends support to the Balochistan government”, Naqeeb Khilji, program chief Education Support Program (ESP), said. The ESP is a UNICEF-funded project that deals with the Balochistan education department about the promotion of education told Quetta Voice.
In Balochistan, the closure of educational institutions has impacted the education of over 1 million children studying in primary, middle, and high schools of the province. “Education is the first casualty of COVID19”, Ghulam Ali Baloch, the Secretary of education Balochistan said. Government-run schools across Balochistan paint a grim picture when it comes to basic facilities. The education department’s statistics show 8,188 schools have no toilets and over 11,000 schools have no facility for drinking water.
UNICEF provides technical support to the government
“We are providing technical education and mobilizing the community”, Mr. Khilji stated. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has directed the universities to launch online classes to make sure the provision of education to students in the country.
The UNICEF provides videos and technical assistance to parents interested in teaching their kids and turning homes into schools, Mr. Khilji mentioned.
Currently, UNICEF has launched the project in 12 districts of the province. The program would be expanded following the continued closure of educational institutions across the province. “We have currently turned 115 houses into schools”, Mr. Khilji informed.
UNICEF has also launched online training for around 3000 teachers in this regard.
Over 4,000 teachers of Balochistan enrolled in Online training
Balochistan is lagging behind other provinces in terms of key social indicators including education and health. Roughly, over 1 million children in the province are out of schools and implementation of article 25-A appears to be still elusive when it comes to the enrolment of kids in schools.
“My Home” “My School” Program launched in Balochistan amid coronavirus
