KARACHI: The government of Japan will provide a grant of $1.1 million to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for supporting Non-Formal Education (NFE) initiative to provide quality alternative education to out-of-school children and adolescents in Sindh.
The NFEs centres will be established to provide access to quality alternative education for 4,500 children and adolescents (2,500 girls among them) in Ghotki and Khairpur districts.
These NFEs will be established by UNICEF in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency, under the leadership Sindh School Education and Literacy Department’s (SELD) Directorate of Literacy and Non-Formal Education.
Children and adolescents will get second chance to acquire quality learning through non-formal education modality using accelerated learning curriculum and textbooks approved by the government of Sindh.
With this initiative, 150 NFE facilitators (teachers) including at least 90 females will be trained on child-centered interactive teaching methodology to deliver quality and relevant NFE content for quality learning of students in these NFE centres. Community involvement is another major feature of the project.
Village Education Committees, comprising 20 community members (at least 60 per cent women) will be formed and trained to support the effective functioning of the NFEs.
SELD Secretary Dr Iqbal Durrani said that the Japanese government’s support to non-formal education in Sindh is part of an agreement signed with UNICEF whereby $1.1 million will be granted for establishing 150 NFE centres in two districts of Sindh.
Speaking at the launching ceremony, the secretary said that NFE is an important stream, and was among 4 priorities of the SELD’s development agenda for the next ten years.
He appreciated UNICEF for the on-going collaboration and further partnership on NFE through this project as well.
He said the JICA efforts in the education sector by supporting the directorate to achieve the targets of Sindh Education Sector Plan (2014-18) in areas on non-formal education and constructing state of art 52 permanent schools in different districts of Sindh.
He expressed hope that the fruitful support and partnership will further develop.
