PESHAWAR: The participants of a pre-budget seminar on girls’ education have suggested that fiscal year 2026-27 should officially be declared as the “Year for Revival of Girls’ Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.”
The participants observed that such a declaration would help mobilize resources, attract greater policy attention and accelerate efforts aimed at improving female literacy and expanding educational opportunities for girls across the province.
The seminar was jointly organized by Blue Veins, Malala Fund and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women Provincial Oversight & Advisory Committee on Girls Education.
People from different walks of life, including parliamentarians, education activists, officials of education departments, religious scholars, girl students, media persons and representatives of relevant government institutions attended the event.
Women parliamentarians, including MPA Amina Sardar, Shazia Tehmas, Mehar Sultana Advocate, Shazia Jadoon, Rehana Ismail and former MPA Madiha Nisar, also participated in the seminar.
KPCSW Chairperson Dr. Sumera Shams informed the audience that the Commission had constituted a Provincial Oversight and Advisory Committee on Girls’ Education, which has formulated a number of recommendations to be submitted to the Chief Minister.
She urged all stakeholders to share practical suggestions for improving the state of girls’ education in the province, assuring that valuable proposals would be incorporated into the committee’s recommendations.
Education Champion Malala Fund and Programme Manager Blue Veins, Qamar Naseem said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had taken significant steps for promotion of girls’ education; however, numerous challenges still persist, depriving millions of girls of their fundamental right to education.
He said the outgoing fiscal year witnessed encouraging progress in literacy improvement after the notification of rules of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Free and Compulsory Primary & Secondary Education Act, 2017.
The speaker informed the participants that, according to estimates, around 4.9 million children are out of school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, of whom nearly 2.9 million are girls.He called for increased budgetary allocations for the construction of girls’ schools, recruitment of female teachers, provision of missing facilities and improved access to education in remote and underdeveloped districts.
Senior Planning Officer of the Education Department, Luqman, informed participants that the figure of 4.9 million out-of-school children was estimated during the 2023 census. However, he said, several measures taken over the past two to three years for enrollment of children had reduced the number of out-of-school children to 2.6 million.
Additional Chief of Child Protection and Welfare Commission KP, Ijaz Khan, said work was underway on framing standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all institutions dealing with children to ensure their protection, safety, and proper upbringing.
Chief Executive Officer of Malala Fund, Dr. Nishat Riaz, said budget documents reflected the moral commitment of governments and public representatives, while implementation of development schemes demonstrated the seriousness of authorities in improving the literacy rate.
During the open discussion, Maham Nafees, a student representing the Rise and Shine Girls Education Network KP, demanded a reduction in transport and fuel charges, saying many parents were unable to afford transportation expenses and had stopped sending their children to school. She called for the expansion of the free transportation facility for girl students from 10 districts of KP to the entire province. Another student, Ayesha, demanded the provision of clean drinking water and proper hygiene facilities in school washrooms. Chief Khateeb KP, Maulana Muhammad Tayyab Qureshi, called for collective public contribution to overcome shortages of basic facilities in schools, which were discouraging students from attending classes.
Later, KPCSW Secretary Shazia Atta and girl students representing Rise and Shine Girls Education Network KP submitted recommendations on girls’ inclusive budgeting for the fiscal year 2026-26 with the Education Department of KP.
