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Mission Report, Launch of the Pakistan Girls’ Education Initiative, 8 – 12 December 2010 This was a joint mission involving Cheryl Gregory Faye, Senior Education Advisor and Head of global UNGEI Secretariat, UNICEF HQ, and Raka Rashid, Education Specialist and UNGEI Regional Focal Point, UNICEF ROSARO. ACTIVITIES A. Launch of the Pakistan Girls’ Education Initiative (PGEI) – UNGEI Pakistan organized by the Ministry

of Education, DFID, National Commission of Human Development (NCHD) and UNICEF. The launch of PGEI is a milestone in promoting girls’ education in Pakistan, as this is the first multi-sectoral initiative to address one of the worst gender gaps worldwide, in a country with over 8 million children who are out of school, most of them girls. PGEI is an outcome of two years of advocacy and negotiation by UNICEF Pakistan and the regional UNGEI, as well as impetus provided by the Pakistan delegation’s attendance at the Dakar UNGEI conference in 2010. The participation of Dr. Fehmida Mirza, Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan and her endorsement of the partnership sent a powerful message in favour of girls’ education, particularly in light of the recent amendment to the Constitution which makes education free and compulsory for all children between the ages of 5 and 16 years, Also present were parliamentarians, government officials, representatives from the civil society, academia, media and development organizations. The event was extensively covered by the media. See detailed report attached.

B. Field visit to the Training and Resource Centre and Government Girls' Primary School, both in Sheikhupura on the outskirts of Lahore and both related to child friendly schools.

A visit to the Jahandad Society for Community Development, one of two NGOs managing the Young Champions’ Initiative in the Punjab province, comprised the last segment of the field visit. Discussions with young champions and Ms. Yasmin Rasheed of Jahandad Society indicated a need to introduce incentive mechanisms such as capacity building, certificates of participation and the provision of basic equipment such as a computer to youth centres in communities (by UNICEF), to encourage the spirit of volunteerism among young people. See detailed report attached.

C. Meetings

Islamabad: Lawrence Dolan, Education Office Director, USAID/Pakistan, at the request of USAID’s representative on the UNGEI Global Advisory Committee (GAC). Discussions covered PGEI and the need for support for the partnership by the international community and especially GAC member organizations based in Pakistan, and the convergence between USAID’s and UNICEF’s support to girls’ education. Other participants: Bartholomeus Vrolijk, Chief of Education, UNICEF Pakistan, and Mehreen Muqaddisa, UNICEF Education Specialist and UNGEI country focal point. Lahore: Shaheen Atique-ur-Rahman, Vice-chair, Bunyad Foundation, Lahore and member of PGEI, at the request of UNGEI GAC members ASPBAE and UNESCO. Discussions focused on the need for strategy development and decentralized planning for PGEI and the importance of including a focus on adolescent girls in EFA.

PERSONS MET

UNICEF Daniel Toole, Regional Director ROSA on mission to Pakistan Pascal Villeneuve, Acting Representative Bartholomeus Vrolijk, Education Chief Mehreen Muqaddisa, Education UNICEF PCO Masooma Qazilbash, Education UNICEF PCO

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Khalida Ahmad, Education UNICEF PCO Miki Tanae, Education UNICEF PCO Michiko Ono, Child Protection UNICEF PCO Sehr Qizilbash, Education Punjab

Government of Pakistan Fehmida Mirza, Speaker National Assembly Nafisa Shah, MNA and Chairperson National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) Aurangzeb Khan, Director General Federal Directorate of Education Zulfiqar Ahmad, Director General NCHD T.M. Quraishi, MOE Dr. Mah-i-Laqa Rafiq, Deputy Educational Advisor MOE Khurram Badar Alam, National Programme Coordinator, UPE Others Lawrence Dolan, Education Office Director, USAID Islamabad Shaheen Atique-ur-Rahman, Vice-chair, Bunyad Foundation, Lahore Daniel Toole, Regional Director ROSA on mission to Pakistan Young Champions Syeda Mansoor, Head Teacher, Government Girls' Primary School, Merajpur, Sheikhupura

OBSERVATIONS/CONCLUSIONS

The successful launch of PGEI demonstrates what is possible in spite of on-going conflict, insecurity and the challenges of recovering from a natural disaster of unprecedented magnitude That such a partnership is timely and necessary, is demonstrated by the extensive media coverage of the event

The government is commended for its political will and high level support in putting girls' education and gender equality high on its reform agenda

UNICEF Pakistan is also commended for its support and advocacy role in facilitating the launch

Ministry of Education - Several ministries, including MoE, are part of an on-going devolution process. This creates

uncertainties as to which specific sections/wings of MOE would ultimately remain at the federal level, and has implications regarding the positioning of PGEI within MOE (PGEI is currently under the Policy and Planning Wing).

- The Education Secretary (Mr Tahir Munir) who attended the Dakar UNGEI conference and was part of the drafting committee of the Dakar Declaration has been recently replaced. The new secretary has to be brought on board quickly, as MOE is the natural chair for the partnership, along with NCHD.

- There are also inter-personal issues within the Policy and Planning Wing of MOE. These have to be dealt with urgently, for the partnership to move forward.

NCHD is interested in launching the "Parliamentarians' for Gender Equality in Education – South-South Cooperation" Initiative in Pakistan. This will need to be followed up by ROSA through PGEI.

RECOMMENDATIONS/FOLLOW UP ACTIONS

NCHD and UNICEF, along with MOE, to form a working group to review the TOR of the partnership and develop a work plan for 2011, using the UNGEI M&E framework as a guide. This will be the basis for agreeing on the "partnership mix" of PGEI, inviting new partners to join the initiative and developing a governance structure. For example, the partnership can be strengthened with the addition of UN bodies (UNESCO, ILO, WFP and UNDP in particular), as well as interested and relevant donors such as DFID, SIDA, CIDA, NORAD and USAID. Sustainability issues for PGEI also

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need reviewing, as the partnership is currently under the DFID-funded Gender Policy and Support Project (GPSP) that ends in 2011. One of the options can be to explore other wings of the Federal Ministry for the placement of the initiative.

Ideally, PGEI should be de-linked from any project and become a stand-alone initiative under One UN. A first step towards this process is for UNICEF Pakistan to form a PGEI core group consisting of focal points from all the sections or embed PGEI within the existing Gender Task force, whichever is more practical, so that PGEI is incorporated into the One UN workplan.

In light of the provisions of the amendment to the Constitution of Pakistan regarding the devolution of authority and enhancing provincial autonomy, PGEI should consider a decentralized approach. This will take into account the likely weakening of capacity at the central level, the strengthened capacity in the provinces and build on the momentum exhibited by the participants in the launching ceremony, many of whom are based in the provinces. As NCHD has presence in all the districts PGEI could have focal points at the district level as well.

In Pakistan private schools are catering to 40 percent of the school going population. Private schools also need to be added to the PGEI structure in order to ensure that their voices are heard and their concerns are also addressed as the major stakeholders in the education system.

Suggested Next Steps - Co-Chair/UNICEF Meeting with the Federal Minister and Secretary Education to bring them on

board about the initiative - Co-Chair NCHD / Ministry of Education to call a meeting of the partners/donors to finalize the

workplan 2011 and identify funding required for the initiative

Further technical assistance from ROSA will be required for the planning process.

CGF/RR 23/12/10

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Annex 1

Pakistan Girls Education Initiative Launched with Enthusiasm

United National Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in

collaboration with the Government of

Pakistan, National Commission of Pakistan

(NCHD) and Department of International

Development (DFID) launched Pakistan Girls

Education Initiative (PGEI) – UNIGEI amidst

great enthusiasm at Pakistan National Council

for Arts (PNCA) on December 9, 2010.

Honorable Speaker National Assembly Dr.

Fehmida Mirza was the chief guest at the

occasion.

PGEI launch will strengthen the atmosphere for

major stakeholders in the education sector to

network, share experiences and learn about gender

concerns. To address the gender issues in education,

it will also offer the highest policy level commitment

by the Government of Pakistan along with reviewing

current status of gender, sharing best practices from

the region and facilitating in the creation of

sustainable linkages between the national, regional

and international research institutions.

Addressing the gathering, Ms. Fehmida Mirza said that PGEI was a welcome step towards creating effective alliances of committed partners at the international, federal and provincial levels, in order to create enabling educational environment, where girls, as well as boys, can flourish and unleash their untapped potential. She said that the world development models have shown that by educating their women, nations have succeeded in minimizing the maternal and infant mortality risks, improved the community health structures, created employments, enhanced economic returns and

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transformed human settlements into peaceful, self-respecting and progressive societies.

The speaker said, “The democratic leadership has taken some vital strategic steps. The foremost among them has been the inclusion of Article 25-A in the constitution through the 18th amendment, which now guarantees the right of free and compulsory education to every child-both girls as well as boys- of the age of five to six years.”

Talking at the launching ceremony Head of UNGEI Secretariat Ms. Cheryl Faye said that PGEI was an outcome of the effective participation of the Pakistan delegation in United Nations Girls Education Initiative’s 10th anniversary conference, “Engendering Empowerment: Education and Equality,” held in May 2010 in Dakar, Senegal, and its dynamic membership in the drafting committee of the Dakar Declaration on Accelerating Girls’ Education and Gender Equality, the first global declaration on girls’ education. She further added, “Through the PGEI network – with its enhanced capability for information sharing, building partnerships among key stakeholders, policy advocacy and assistance to the government of Pakistan in its response to emergencies – our hope is that each child in Pakistan, girl and boy alike, will complete high quality education”.

The Director General, Federal Directorate of Education Mr. Aurangzeb Khan said that “our National Education Policy 2009 has tried to overcome the shortcomings of previous policies by increasing the spending on education and continued supporting public-private partnership models like National Commission for Human Development (NCHD)”.

The Director General NCHD Mr. Zulfiqar

Ahmad in his address said that the Government

of Pakistan has endorsed global mandate on

gender equity for advancing the concept of

“gender mainstreaming”, which promotes

integration of gender sensitive policy strategies

into national development policies and programs at all levels. NCHD has adopted a two-pronged

strategy to enhance literacy-rate in Pakistan, through support of provinces and districts in Universal

Primary Education and Adult literacy programs. This effort of NCHD will help evidence-based

planning and implementation for enhancement of girls’ education in Pakistan

Addressing the gathering, the chairperson NCHD Ms. Nafisa Shah MNA said that “we need to guarantee equal rights and civil rights and say that, here in Pakistan, workers have the right to organize - women have the right to choose - and justice belongs to everyone regardless of race or

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gender or sexual orientation. Here, equal education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today”.

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Annex 2

Field Mission, Punjab

10 – 12 December 2010

A field mission to Punjab was organised for the UNGEI team from NYHQ and Nepal to meet

with the Pakistan Girls Education Initiative partners in the field and also to visit the Child

Friendly Schools in Punjab. The program for the mission is attached (Annexure A).

December 11, 2010

Visit Training and Resource Centre Sheikhupura

In Sheikhupura the team visited the TARC Teachers Resource Centre where a detailed

presentation on the initiative was given by the coordinators. The Government counterparts

were also present in the meeting and the team was apprised about the training of the

teachers and the role of the various stakeholders in the establishment of the Child Friendly

Schools.

TARC Sheikhupra December 11, 2010

UNICEF Punjab informed the team that CFS pilot has been adopted by the Government of

Punjab will be up scaled in 2011 in all the districts. Executive District Officer Sheikhupura

and UPE focal point were also present in the meeting.

Visit to Child Friendly School

A visit to a CFS was also arranged by UNICEF Punjab office. The team visited a public

primary school for girls that have been converted into a child friendly school.

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CFS Girls Primary school in Sheikhupura

The first meeting was held with the mothers who were member of the School Management

Committee. Many of the mothers shared their concerns and provided feedback about the

school.

Majority of them were quite happy that their children had the opportunity to get

quality education. When asked as to why they were sending their girls to school the

mother replied that they never had this opportunity in their lives and anted the girls

to avail the opportunity.

They also requested for the school to be upgraded to the middle level

Dialogue with the School Management Committee Members

Majority of the mothers were quite vocal and provided input about the quality of

education and the behaviour of the teachers in the school. They mentioned that the

girls were happy to come to school..

They also shared that the children were receiving quality education as the school

ensured that the girls don’t depend on the parents for academic guidance and input.

Visit to the ECD - Katchi Class

This was followed by a visit to the classrooms. The first one was the Katchi (ECD)

class that had around 80 plus children. Majority of the girls had textbooks and bags

and were quite fluent in reading. The team observed that the children were busy

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writing and reading from the textbooks. They looked healthy and quite involved in

the class.

One of the young girls volunteered to give a speech. The team was delighted to see

the confidence and fluency of the child. Some of the students also recited English

poems including ‘twinkle little star’. In general the children looked happy and

curious.

The notebooks were neat and well maintained. The teachers informed the team that

Government of Punjab has converted Grade 1-3 into English Medium and grade 4

and 5 will be also converted gradually. In majority of the cases the children were

asked to complete the homework at school because majority of the parents are not

educated.

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Visit to Grade 2/3

Grade 2 and 3 were also visited by the team. The girls were quite confident and

fluent.

Handwriting of the children was also very neat and note books were well

maintained. Teachers were asked about discipline and corporal punishment.

They said that corporal punishment was not practiced and in fact the

teachers were also sensitized to keep an eye for the children who were facing

stress and anxiety and needed psycho social support.

Teachers also shared that charts were maintained in the class to check the

eye sight of the children to ensure that their health concerns were

addressed/Moreover a doctor was also visiting the school to check the

children.

Visit to Grade 4 and 5

One of the first things that the team noticed was the drop in numbers. Girl’s

enrolment dropped dramatically in grade 4 and 5.

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When the teachers were asked about the reasons for drop outs they shared

that in majority of the cases when the girls attain puberty and gain height

they are removed from the school

Another reason was the absence of the middle school in the vicinity.

Majority of the parents were not motivated to send the girls to grade 5 as

they knew that the girls will discontinue their education after grade 5

One of the teacher also shared that once in grade 5 in another year or two

majority of the girls get married. Thus the team observed that although the

girls were extremely confident and bright many of them did not have the

opportunity to continue education due to the absence of middle school.

One of the solutions offered by the teachers was to upgrade the school to

middle for the girls as this will also increase enrolment and decrease

dropout in grade 5

The students also requested for the school to e upgraded to middle leave. When

asked if they had any questions for the guests the girls inquired from the team

about the objective the visit and also inquired from the international team if schools

abroad were as good as the ones that they had visited. The team was quite

impressed by the confidence of the girls.

There were different committees and the girls were asked about their respective

roles in the committees. Majority of the girls were quite clear about their roles and

responsibilities and thus this platform was offering them an opportunity to

participate in the processes. Committees included cleanliness committee, assembly

committee, health committee etc

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Meeting Young Champions

A meeting was also arranged with the Jehandad Society to discuss the Young

Champions Initiative.

A detailed presentation was shared by Dr Shaheen Rashid about the history of the

program and the background of the organization

Some of the young champions were also invited for the meeting and shared their

inputs about the various campaign for enrolling the girls into schools

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Jahndad society team shared that young champions in the communities were one of

the best source for entering the communities to advocate for the enrolment of girl

children in the communities

Many of the champions were also volunteering to provide tuitions to the children

who were not able to join school

The NGO team shared that the motivation for the champions was not there and

there should be further investments in their capacity building of the champions

to ensure that the initiative is sustained.

There were also suggestions for the formation of youth centres in the communities

that can be later used as hubs for discussions on different issues for the youth

including the disparities in education, early marriage and health related concerns

The involvement of youth in the development of the communities was reiterated

and the team ensured the young champions about further collaboration.

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December 12, 2010

Meeting with Bunyad

A meeting was also scheduled with Ms Shaheen Attiqur Rehman to discuss various issues

related to gender in education in Pakistan. Recap of the discussion is attached below:

The need to focus on the adolescent girls was highlighted and concerns were

shared about the high dropout out rates of the adolescent girls

Early marriage was also raised as one of the major issues that needs to be

addressed with its implications for high maternal and child mortality rate

Need for partnerships and networks was also highlighted and it was proposed

that as part of the PGEI Initiative there should be focal points in the provinces and

the districts to ensure that gender is mainstreamed into the various programs and

initiatives.

Advocacy for gender concerns in Pakistan was another are that was discussed in

detail.

ITINERARY

For Mission from Islamabad

December 10-12, 2010

Mission Members: Ms. Cheryl Gregory Faye, Senior Education Advisor, Head of

UNGEI Secretariat UNICEF New York

Ms. Raka Rashid, Education Specialist, Girls Education, UNICEF

Khatmandu

Ms. Muqaddisa Mehreen, Education Specialist (Gender), UNICEF

Islamabad

10-12-2010 (Friday) Arrival at Lahore

1900 Check-in at Hotel Avari, Lahore

11-12-2010 (Saturday)

0830 Departure for Sheikhupura

0945 Visit to Training and Resource Centre (TARC) Sheikhupra for

CFS briefing and meeting with the Executive District Officer

(Education) Sheikhupura and UPE Focal Person

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1100 Visit to Child Friendly School – Name to be mentioned here by

AIE

1230 Lunch at Sheikhupura

1315 Departure for Lahore

1500 Meeting with the Young Champions for Education at Jahandad

Society for Community Development (JSCD) Lahore

1700 Leave for Hotel Avari Lahore

12-12-2010 (Sunday)

1230 Return to Islamabad by air