Mandated to support and coordinate the achievement of Education for All (EFA) goals, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Friday organized an event to congratulate members of the National Assembly for passing the bill on the right to Free and Compulsory Education.
This bill guaranteed free quality education for approximately 70,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad. Talking to members of the parliament Islamabad UNESCO Director Dr Kozue Kay Nagata said, “The passing of the Bill itself is a historic milestone towards Education for All in Pakistan.
What matters is not only the result but also its process that was fully participatory and consultative involving politicians of all parties, civil society and other stakeholders.
The process demonstrated how an all-party consensus could be built through a democratic and participatory approach to addressing an issue of national importance.
Here I would like to underscore that the Bill was not initiated or formulated with the routine bureaucratic process. This legislation is unique in the sense that it has been initiated by people’s representatives supported by all political parties.
“According to UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report (GMR) released last month, there were 5.1 million out-of-school children in Pakistan, out of which 63% were girls and 7.2 million were adolescents. The adopted bill now awaits the president’s assent to be implemented.
