TIMERGARA, March 2: As many as 25,169 children out of 104,498 aged between five and seven years in the Lower Dir district do not attend schools, according to a survey conducted by the Universal Primary Education (UPE) project of the Khwaendo Kor, a non- governmental organisation.

Briefing newsmen at the NGO’s regional office here on Thursday, programme facilitator Ibrash Pasha said that of these out-of-school children, 19 per cent were boys and 30 per cent girls.

He said that the Khwaendo Kor would establish community based primary schools for girls to bridge the huge gender disparity in education sector in the district. Similarly, he said that under the district education plan, the NGO would provide information on all resources that were available to the district under different heads such as Annual Development Plan (ADP), Education Sector Reforms (ESR), President’s Rehabilitation Fund, Khushal Pakistan, donors’ supported programme and community contribution. He said that in all the 911 villages in the district, 110 private schools, 762 primary schools, 80 middle schools, 49 high schools and 11 higher secondary schools for boys and 383 primary schools, 58 middle schools, 13 high schools and two higher secondary schools for girls were functioning.

Besides, he said that the Khwaendo Kor was running 15 schools, Elementary Education Foundation (EEF) 25 schools, ILO 7 schools and Non Formal Basic Education (NFBE) 95 schools.