‘School improvement programme’ to be implemented in Gilgit-Baltistan

An initiative to transform schools and communities in Northern Pakistan, the ‘School Improvement Programme’ is being implemented in 436 government schools in the under-served areas of Gilgit Baltistan and Chitral.

The program, launched in partnership with the local governments and the Agha Khan Foundation, aimed at enhancing government capacity, improving school leadership, enabling teacher transformation, and encouraging parental participation and community engagement.

Muhammad Irshad, the headmaster of the Higher Secondary School Thalay Valley of Ghanche Dis-trict, Gilgit Baltistan, told PTV that the actual objec-tive of the program was to improve the quality of education to enhance students learning.

He said training was being imparted to teachers, and sessions were being held to enhance community participation. As a result, our students are now per-forming better in board exams.

Muhammad Nawaz, the principal of Model School Thalay, said a mini library was provided to us where sessions were being arranged for parents, and now they are more involved in their children’s education.

As a learning aid, he said an LCD screen was also installed at the school with the provision of science experiment gadgets for the learning of students.

Ijaz Hussain, a parent, said, “Our children are now more interested in learning due to the program; we, as parents, are now more interested in our children’s education. We are very happy that our children’s performance has improved.”

Naila Batool, another parent, said more parents are now taking an interest in their children’s education. “We are also visiting the school now more often, and our children’s scores have also improved a lot,” she explained.

The School Improvement Program has taken the lead in strengthening the education system in marginalized areas and over 40,000 students, and 1900 teachers have so far benefited from the project. As a learning aid, he said an LCD screen was also installed at the school with the provision of science experiment gadgets for the learning of students.