Shafqat, WB team discuss ways to end ‘learning poverty’

Islamabad : Federal Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood led a critical dialogue with World Bank President David Malpass and his high-level delegation on how to ensure all Pakistani children read by the age of 10 years.The meeting was also attended by Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Khusro Bakhtiar, Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Tariq Banuri and provincial education and finance ministers along with their respective secretaries.The two sides discussed critical actions required by the government to help Pakistan come out of its ‘learning poverty’.It was agreed that helping children achieve their full learning potential is critical and requires effective use of technical and financial resources.The education minister said quality education was the single key factor required for building human capital."The government is ensuring the equality of opportunities geographically and across various streams of education," he said.The minister highlighted the role of the education ministry in building a national consensus on key reform areas, especially uniformity in curriculum standards and its implementation.He said plans were underway to reorganise the ministry to set up a policy and research unit to analyse critical information on students learning outcomes, school data and education financing from across Pakistan to ensure better policy and decision making.The planning minister and provincial ministers also discussed with the World Bank, the programmes they had launched and the challenges as well to progress the learning outcomes in their respective domains.The World Bank launched its ambitious 'Leaning Target' this year in the annual meetings held in October 2019.The World Bank president emphasised the need for coordination in political, financial and management approaches to ensure countries can bring students back to school and improve learning outcomes to enhance productivity and economic growth.“The World Bank will continue its support and keen to work with Pakistan on the programs discussed in the meeting,” he said.Minister Shafqat Mahmood appreciated the World Bank's support for education reforms and said he was looking forward to active engagement with the World Bank at the federal level to accelerate human development.He thanked the federal and provincial ministers for joining the immensely important discussion to end learning poverty across the country.

from The News International - Islamabad https://ift.tt/34psyZz