Knowledge Is Power: Handling The COVID-19 Pandemic In Schools In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Like most countries in the world, Pakistan closed its schools and universities to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus and sought ways to address the resulting loss of learning. Even without a pandemic, however, a large population of children and youth are unable to access school in many parts of Pakistan. In the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where I work, official statistics estimate that one million children are out of school. Among the many initiatives seeking to enroll these children in schools, two free primary schools named Ujala (or “light”) have been established in Peshawar by our non-profit charitable organization, Association of Business, Professional and Agricultural Women, KP.

These schools run according to two different models, which draw on the work of comparative education scholars, background papers for EFA GMR, policy frameworks, local community needs and supply and demand-side factors. In the first model, popularly known as double-shift school, afternoon school, or half-day school, students are taught for three hours in the afternoon by one paid female teacher and two volunteer members.  The second model involves collaboration between the charitable organization and a low-cost private school……………………………..