The 38th Inter-Provincial Education Ministers Conference in Islamabad, chaired by Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui, unanimously endorsed the National Education Emergency Action Plan to address the crisis of out-of-school children. The session brought together federal and provincial education leaders, including Wajiha Qamar, Farah Naz Akbar, Nadeem Mahbub, and provincial ministers Rahila Hameed Durrani, Muhammad Ismail Rahoo, Rana Iqbal Sikandar and Arshad Ayub Khan, along with heads of federal education bodies.
Delegates were briefed on a federal Challenge Fund designed to support provinces in enrolling children back into schools, reflecting a rare consensus across administrative units to prioritise the Education Emergency. The plan foregrounds measures to reintegrate out-of-school children while introducing international-standard examination and curriculum reforms to ensure equitable, quality education nationwide.
Provincial updates underscored progress on the ground: Punjab reported elimination of 1.8 million ghost students and an outsourcing initiative affecting 10,000 schools; Sindh announced merit-based recruitment of 93,000 teachers; Balochistan restored 3,200 closed schools, returning some 140,000 children to classrooms; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded a 6 percent enrollment rise and hired 10,000 teachers; Azad Kashmir secured 7 billion rupees for 10,000 new classrooms despite Line of Control challenges; Gilgit-Baltistan detailed special funds for out-of-school children and an expansion of the School Meal Program.
Federal Secretary Education Nadeem Mahbub clarified that the endorsed projects will receive final ratification from the Education Emergency Task Force chaired by the Prime Minister, and urged provinces to take advantage of Federal Board reform programs while aligning Metric and Inter-Tech systems with global standards.
Dr. Muhammad Shahid Saroya, Director General of the Provincial Institute of Education, said the National Action Plan was built over six months of stakeholder consultation to tackle the estimated 25 million out-of-school children. The conference also approved technical education initiatives presented by DG FED Syed Junaid Akhlaq, the Task Force terms of reference, a strengthened data regime by PIE, modern curriculum reforms proposed by Director NCC Tabassum Naz, and a character-building strategy from Chairman Rahmatul-lil-Aalameen Authority Khurshid Ahmed Nadeem.
In closing remarks, the federal minister praised the meeting as a milestone of national harmony and stressed that sustained synergy between federal and provincial units is essential to meet evolving global benchmarks. He reiterated that informal education, outreach to remote areas, and mainstreaming madrasa students remain top priorities as Pakistan moves to implement the Education Emergency and restore learning for millions of children.
