A webinar titled ‘SDG 4, Covid-19 and Building Back Better’ was held here on Saturday to identify the most effective strategies through which Pakistan’s education sector may build back better after schools reopening and is able to provide learning continuity to all those affected by the school closures, forming the hard core of Sustainable Development (SDG) Goal 4 and Right to Education (RTE) challenge.
Organized by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA), in collaboration with Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) Pakistan and some other organizations, the webinar was part of series that aim to bring together experts and practitioners to discuss Covid-19 and its multiple challenges, particularly in the fields of learning and education.
While the world was already going through a learning crisis, Covid-19 has further exacerbated the learning losses. In many ways, the constitutional Right to Education Article 25-A and the SDG 4 goal on education is under threat of being further derailed. Under such circumstances, the webinar brought together the thought-leaders and practitioners to discuss the options available for the education of All children in the post-Covid era and share the practices which are most relevant in the context of Pakistan and SDG 4.
The panelists included MNA Mehnaz Akber Aziz, Member of National Parliamentary Taskforce on SDGs and Chairperson Special Group on Child Rights; Umbreen Arif, Technical Advisor at the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training; Qaiser Rasheed, Additional Secretary Budget & Planning, School Education Department Punjab; Nargis Sultana from FOSI-Pakistan; M Ali Kemal, Economic Policy Advisor at the Federal SDGs Support Unit; Ashfaq Ahmed, Director Education Sector Reforms Unit (ESRU), Elementary and Secondary Education Department, KP; Sadiqa Salahuddin, Executive Director Indus Resource Centre; and Hidayat Ullah Wazir, Senior Planning Officer at Elementary and Secondary Education Department, KP. The webinar was moderated by Baela Raza Jamil, CEO ITA.
Covid-19 crisis has laid bare the gaping and persistent inequities in educational opportunities in Pakistan which may not only result in large scale learning losses but also widen the learning and enrolment gaps across class, gender, location, disability and other markers of social positioning. Speaking at the event, Ms. Aziz highlighted the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the education of all children and insisted on the need to have a robust system in place to mitigate the negative effects of any future crisis.
With over 39.6 million pre-primary, primary, and secondary students affected in Pakistan, the initial response by the federal ministry and the provincial education departments was to test out the use of distance learning solutions such as TeleSchool, TaleemGhar and learning apps. Ms. Arif highlighted these efforts undertaken by the federal government to facilitate children’s education during Covid-19 and shed light on the government’s plan on building back better the education system of the country.
Ms. Sultana shared the activities of FOSI-Pakistan and the support that the organization has been providing to different stakeholders in the education sector of Pakistan.
All the participants of the webinar appreciated ITA’s efforts in tracking the progress on SDG 4 and RTE in Punjab, Sindh and KP, and highlighted the need to expand and continue such activities which are essential for achieving SDG 4 and providing education to all children.
