LAHORE, March 1: Unicef Punjab Field Office chief Ketsamay Rajphangthong has said access to education is highly inequitable in Pakistani society and equity-based approaches involve removing barriers and bottlenecks to education, within and outside education systems and providing equitable learning opportunities to all.

Ms Rajphangthong was speaking at United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) provincial parliamentarians’ caucus organised by the Unicef and Punjab school education department at a local hotel here on Thursday.

She said socio-economic and political factors such as gender, poverty, geographical location, ethnicity, health status and natural disasters all play a role in defining which children attend what kind of school for how long. She stressed the need for paying particular attention to excluded and marginalised children.

In Punjab, the Unicef Field Office chief said, the gender parity index was 0.98 for primary schools and 0.94 for secondary schools, showing that more boys attended school than girls. She said this was more pronounced in rural areas. In addition, she said, almost five per cent children, aged 5-14 years, were involved in child labour with significant variation across gender, areas of residence, districts and wealth index quintiles. “This shows that children who work are less likely to participate in school,” she added.

Ms Rajphangthong said the Unicef’s education programme was working in close coordination with the school education department to sharpen focus on “equity” in education through multiple strategies and initiatives.

Earlier, school education department secretary Aslam Kamboh said the Punjab and district governments, after passage of 18th constitutional amendment, were responsible for providing free and compulsory education opportunities to either gender or even to the genderless and the disabled without any discrimination.Referring to results and students’ learning outcomes, Mr Kamboh said girl students were performing better and the major factor was female teachers.

He said the Punjab Examination Commission results showed that girl students had performed better than boys in seven subjects. Considering this situation, he said, the government was considering recruiting more and more female teachers at elementary school level.

He said the female teachers could also apply for posts in boys schools because he wanted their number to be equal to male teachers. This in turn, he said, would ensure that all girls should get education.

Mr Kamboh said the matter of giving equal education opportunities to girls was being discussed at all policy levels and that the UNGEI was a welcome initiative to speed up the process of universal education.

Unicef Punjab education officer (gender) Sehr Raza Qizilbash explained UNGEI and its initiative in the province. School education department deputy secretary Qaiser Rashid explained how UNGEI Punjab chapter would achieve its objectives during the current year.

Resource person Khalida Ahson explained basic gender concerns in education. MPA Ayesha Javaid spoke on capacity needs assessment.

Unicef Education Specialist (gender) Bodong Shao and MPA Chaudhry Javed Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.

LAHORE, March 1: Unicef Punjab Field Office chief Ketsamay Rajphangthong has said access to education is highly inequitable in Pakistani society and equity-based approaches involve removing barriers and bottlenecks to education, within and outside education systems and providing equitable learning opportunities to all. Ms Rajphangthong was speaking at United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) provincial parliamentarians’ caucus organised by the Unicef and Punjab school education department at a local hotel here on Thursday. She said socio-economic and political factors such as gender, poverty, geographical location, ethnicity, health status and natural disasters all play a role in defining which children attend what kind of school for how long. She stressed the need for paying particular attention to excluded and marginalised children. In Punjab, the Unicef Field Office chief said, the gender parity index was 0.98 for primary schools and 0.94 for secondary schools, showing that more boys attended school than girls. She said this was more pronounced in rural areas. In addition, she said, almost five per cent children, aged 5-14 years, were involved in child labour with significant variation across gender, areas of residence, districts and wealth index quintiles. “This shows that children who work are less likely to participate in school,” she added. Ms Rajphangthong said the Unicef’s education programme was working in close coordination with the school education department to sharpen focus on “equity” in education through multiple strategies and initiatives. Earlier, school education department secretary Aslam Kamboh said the Punjab and district governments, after passage of 18th constitutional amendment, were responsible for providing free and compulsory education opportunities to either gender or even to the genderless and the disabled without any discrimination.Referring to results and students’ learning outcomes, Mr Kamboh said girl students were performing better and the major factor was female teachers. He said the Punjab Examination Commission results showed that girl students had performed better than boys in seven subjects. Considering this situation, he said, the government was considering recruiting more and more female teachers at elementary school level. He said the female teachers could also apply for posts in boys schools because he wanted their number to be equal to male teachers. This in turn, he said, would ensure that all girls should get education. Mr Kamboh said the matter of giving equal education opportunities to girls was being discussed at all policy levels and that the UNGEI was a welcome initiative to speed up the process of universal education. Unicef Punjab education officer (gender) Sehr Raza Qizilbash explained UNGEI and its initiative in the province. School education department deputy secretary Qaiser Rashid explained how UNGEI Punjab chapter would achieve its objectives during the current year. Resource person Khalida Ahson explained basic gender concerns in education. MPA Ayesha Javaid spoke on capacity needs assessment. Unicef Education Specialist (gender) Bodong Shao and MPA Chaudhry Javed Ahmed also spoke on the occasion.