Pakistan becomes one of largest beneficiaries of “Educate a Child” initiative of Sheikha Moza bint Nasser

Islamabad: 29 March 2022 – Pakistan has become one of the largest beneficiaries of the “Educate a Child” initiative of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser after the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation partnered with the Asian Development Bank to enroll 960,000 poorest Out Of School Children (OSSC) into primary education over the next four years.

Ambassador of Qatar, H.E Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has shared the information with Pakistani press.

The new partnership is part of a concerted effort to bring the country’s most marginalized children into primary level education and comes off the back of EAA’s already remarkable track record of enrolling over 10.7 million children into education across the world.

The ambassador indicated that the Education Above All Foundation had previously supported, within the framework of the “Educate a Child” program, the enrollment of more than 1.3 million out-of-school children in Pakistan until 2020, through several projects implemented in cooperation with partners in UNESCO, the British Council and ALIGHT Foundation, and the total support for education through Educate a Child programs in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan has now reached $124 million. The contribution of the Education Above All Foundation in financing these projects amounts to more than $36 million.

In this context, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Qatar Fund for Development in the State of Qatar, which is a strategic partner of the Education Above All Foundation, and the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, on the sidelines of the Doha Forum proceedings in Doha on March 27, 2022.

It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan is facing serious education challenges with one third of 5-16 year olds, 22.8 million children, out of school. Gender inequality, mountainous geography and poverty are counted as the country’s most significant barriers to education.

This project will work within Pakistan’s existing integrated social protection program, known as the Benazir Income Support Program (BSIP), which seeks to strengthen and expand the Pakistan social protection system by facilitating access to health services, nutrition, and social protection. Through BSIP, the joint EAA-ADB project targets the hardest to reach children in the country’s most marginalized families.

It facilitates Pakistan’s ability to provide conditional financial support to marginalized mothers of OSSC who enroll their children in primary education. Women are often the family members responsible for their children’s education and putting cash in their hands not only helps gender equity, but also increases the chances that children can go to school instead of work.

The project also aims to bolster school attendance for girls through additional cash incentives for their enrolment. Currently, for every 100 Pakistani boys who are OSSC there are 144 OSSC girls.

Education Above All’s project, with financial contributions from Qatar Fund for Development and implementation by ADB, is testament to EAA’s commitment to educate every child through strategic partnerships. EAA’s track record shows that the most effective way to eliminate the barriers to education is to work cooperatively across sectors.

Dr Mary Joy Pigozzi, Executive Director of Education Above All’s Educate a Child program explained:

“We are excited to partner with Pakistan and the Asian Development Bank to provide almost one million more children with the opportunity of a quality primary education, no matter their circumstances, gender or geographic location. The project will implement a conditional cash transfers approach to help address one of the most significant barriers to education for children – poverty”.