The Federal Steering Committee on Out-of-School Children met today at the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, chaired by Federal Secretary Nadeem Mahbub, to set the implementation path for the Federal Action Plan for OOSC 2025–2030 in Islamabad Capital Territory. The Committee agreed a concentrated approach to speed up enrolment, strengthen retention and tighten coordination among federal, provincial and local agencies, emphasising results within the ICT context and local Union Councils.
Officials reviewed the immediate rollout package that will guide district-level action. Key measures include GIS-based hotspot mapping to identify priority areas, a comprehensive household survey covering urban and rural Union Councils, and UC-wise micro-plans designed to address barriers to schooling at the community level. These data-led measures will feed into the NFEMIS live dashboard to enable real-time tracking and quarterly progress reviews.
The steering group brings together notified representation from the Benazir Income Support Programme, the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, the Ministry of Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety, and the ICT Administration, along with education delivery institutions and the private education regulator. Development partners participating in the meeting included UNICEF, JICA and UNESCO, signalling coordinated support for rapid implementation across sectors.
As part of the Government-declared education emergency, the Committee endorsed the upcoming enrolment campaign titled No Child Left Behind, which will be announced on Wednesday by the Honourable Federal Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training, Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The campaign is intended to dovetail with UC micro-plans and NFEMIS monitoring to ensure children identified through hotspot mapping and household surveys are enrolled and retained in school.
Officials said the combination of targeted mapping, household outreach, and live data monitoring aims to deliver measurable gains in enrolment and retention across ICT. With regular quarterly reviews and stronger institutional coordination, the OOSC Islamabad initiative seeks to close gaps rapidly and provide a clear operational roadmap for local authorities and partners to follow.
