The United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (Unicef) and the European Union are all set to launch the Balochistan Education Support (BES) program.
On Sunday, EU, Unicef signed an agreement to launch the ‘Balochistan Education Support’ (BES), a five-year education development program for which the EU will provide 17.4 million euros (Rs 3.27 billion).
The major aim behind the launching of program is to manage education systems in the province, also to support the Balochistan government to build high-quality performance.
Read more: Unicef helps set up 220 centres for accelerated learning in Balochistan
Moreover, it will contribute to the overall objective of improving literacy, numeracy, skills and qualifications for the people in the province. It will do so through improving access to quality primary and middle-level education and by increasing accountability, reporting and transparency of the Secondary Education Department.
The overall cost of the project is 22.2 million euros which Unicef co-financing will be 4.8 million euros (Rs 0.92 billion).
Balochistan Education Support program to improve access to education
According to Ambassador of the European Union to Pakistan Androulla Kaminara, “An educated young generation is the basis for Pakistan to pursue a path of inclusive growth and development. Education is a basic human right and key to ensuring that people do not fall behind in society and in life.”
He further said, “The EU is committed to ensuring access to quality education for all boys and girls in Balochistan, which would enable them to follow their dreams and contribute to a better future for Pakistan. The pandemic has had a significant impact on education and our support will focus on addressing some of these challenges.”
“The EU will continue to work closely with its partners including the government of Balochistan and Unicef to support and strengthen Pakistan’s education system.”
However, Balochistan, is the country’s largest province in terms of land area, faces serious challenges in the areas of quality of education, access, low educational outcomes and poor governance.
