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ISLAMABAD, Apr 10 (APP):The Director-General of Civil Services Academy, Farhan Aziz Khawaja has stressed the need to tackle and address the issue of out-of-school children on an urgent basis, as it is being ignored continuously.
He was speaking at a two-day Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) workshop, organized by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) with the collaboration of the British Council, said a press release issued here on Thursday.
Khawaja said: “Pakistan, as a nation and society, is facing multiple challenges; and the issue of out-of-school children is one of the most pivotal among them.” Despite numerous interventions, we have yet to make a significant dent in this problem, he added.
He further said that global public policies and knowledge-based frameworks have proven successful, and we’re optimistic that this consortium will bring a real change in our education system by engaging people and communities at grassroots level.
The workshop that assembled key stakeholders from across Pakistan called for strengthening collaborative efforts addressing the country’s educational challenges, particularly the pressing issue of out-of-school children. It served as a platform to review progress, exchange ideas, and shape future strategies under a shared commitment to inclusive education.
The ILMpact Programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and led by the British Council, aims to bring about a systemic change in access to school and quality of education.
The event brought together representatives from leading organizations, including Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), British Council, Think Equal, NRSP, SRSP, ITA, Mojaz Foundation, Muslim Hands, Sightsavers, PAMS, and Pratham, all of whom contribute actively to ILMpact’s mission.
Speaking to the workshop participants, Farhat Hussain Farooq, the Additional Secretary of School Education Department, and Dr Syed Shabbir Zaidi, the Director of the Civil Services Academy, underscored the significance of institutional support in this initiative.
The workshop participants were given an orientation on: i) ILMpact’s MEL Strategy and LFA (operationalization and way forward), ii) MEL toolkit mapping with clear roles and responsibilities for each partner, iii) tools development deadlines (prioritization of urgently required tools), iv) dashboard orientation and update (reporting and tracking mechanism), and v) partners’ approach and MEL plans (team composition, responsibility matrix, and organization-wide integration of the project).