ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE), in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), has launched the Annual Statistical Report 2024-25 and the Federal Non-Formal Education Strategy 2025, aimed at bringing out-of-school children back into the education system.
According to the report, 34,256 teachers are educating 1,238,573 children in 30,543 non-formal education centres across the country. The appointment of 83 to 86 percent female teachers has helped raise girls’ enrolment to 55 percent, while 15,747 refugee children and more than 11,774 children from minority communities are also benefiting from these centres.
The report said 97 percent of the centres are dedicated to primary education, three percent to middle and middle-tech education, and one percent to adult literacy.
Addressing the launching ceremony as chief guest, Federal Secretary for Education and Professional Training Nadeem Mehboob said that after the declaration of a national education emergency, the government’s foremost priority was to bring 25.3 million out-of-school children into the educational mainstream.
He said the new strategy was designed to create a unified system that would provide modern technical skills from the primary to matriculation levels, enabling these children to contribute to economic growth.
PIE Director General Dr Zaigham Qadeer appreciated the key role of female teachers and said that digital monitoring and an advanced data system, NFEMIS, would be used to maintain a complete record of every child’s academic progress for better future policymaking.
JICA Chief Representative Yusuke Shinozaki praised the efforts of the Government of Pakistan and assured continued technical and financial assistance from Japan for the implementation of Accelerated Learning Programmes and professional training of teachers.
According to provincial data, Punjab is leading with 20,610 centres and 678,751 students, where 17,750 female teachers are serving and 504 children from minority communities are enrolled. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 5,026 centres with 352,535 students, including a 60 percent girls’ enrolment rate and 11,537 refugee children.
In Sindh, 58,411 students are enrolled in 1,152 centres, including 8,498 Hindu and 269 Christian children, while female teachers account for 63 percent. Balochistan has 751 centres with 38,115 students, including 2,012 refugee children and 54 children from the Hindu community.
The Federal Non-Formal Education Strategy 2025, prepared by the Ministry of Education, introduces programmes of different durations from primary to matriculation for out-of-school children. For the first time, 18-month Middle-Tech and Matric-Tech courses will be introduced in collaboration with NAVTTC.
Under the strategy, digital monitoring, hybrid learning modes and terminal assessments twice a year under the Federal Directorate of Education have been proposed to maintain educational standards and ensure continuity in children’s learning.
