ISLAMABAD: Around 2,271 deserving students are being provided free education under a programme introduced to ensure vocational and formal education through public-private partnership.
The target groups were academically and financially weak children, orphans, drop outs and out of school children belonging to disadvantaged groups.
According to National Education Foundation (NEF) sources, PC-1 the foundation’s project titled “Vocational School Through Public Private Partnerships”, costing Rs 50 million, had been approved and the NEF entered into a partnership with 12 private schools within its area of jurisdiction.
The areas of jurisdiction included Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), with three schools from each area for provision of vocational and formal education from class 6th to 10th.
The salient features of the programme were integration of formal and vocational education through pubic private partnership from class 6th to 10th.
Students from classes 6th to 8th would be given orientation of vocational education as additional subjects, while classes 9th and 10th would be given formal and vocational certificate level education.
The NEF is financially assisting students at Rs 800 per student per month for class 6th to 8th. The foundation is also providing free vocational text books to the students.
When contacted, official sources said revision of PC-1, amounting to Rs 450 million for next four years is under consideration of Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training.
The amount allocated during 2016-17 was Rs 50 million, of which an amount of Rs 38 million was released. The amount utilised to date is Rs 18 million.
