Rawalpindi: 27 Jan 2025 – Fareezah School, a welfare institution dedicated to providing education to underprivileged children, recently held a ceremony to announce its examination results and award honorary certificates to top-performing students.
The event was attended by a large number of parents, prominent personalities from the field of education, and distinguished guests, including Professor Dr. Afshan Huma from the Department of Education at the Allama Iqbal Open University, Lecturer Muhammad Yunus from the Department of Islamic Studies at National Skill University, renowned human rights activist and former head of the Institution for Strengthening Societal Development (SPO), Saleem Malik, and Advisor to the UNDP’s Reconstruction Department, Usman Qazi.
During the ceremony, a dialogue was organized between the parents and guests on the significance of education despite poverty and financial constraints.
Fareezah School was founded in 2016 by Ms. Sehrish Khan Sadozai, a lecturer in the Higher Education Department of Punjab, along with her friends provides education to children of domestic workers and underprivileged families. The institution offers quality education up to the fourth grade and ensures that children are enrolled in local government schools for further education.
The urban migration of families from remote areas in search of employment has resulted in a significant number of children being deprived of basic education. Many of these families, often illiterate and unaware of the value of education, work as day laborers or part-time domestic workers in affluent localities. Consequently, their children are denied access to quality education due to their parents’ poverty and lack of necessary documentation for government school admissions.
According to Ms. Sehrish Khan, Fareezah School bridges this educational gap by providing quality education and training to children whose parents are unable to support their educational needs. By doing so, Fareezah School strives to break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy, empowering children to gain identity, independence, and a brighter future.
Lecturer Muhammad Yunus from the National Skill University informed the participants that our society comprises segments for whom the doors to education have yet to be fully opened. He said that when individuals like Sehrish Khan establish institutions like Fareezah School, it is not just an institution but a movement, a beacon of hope for these marginalized groups.
He emphasized that we should all become part of this movement to further its cause. He mentioned that our religion makes education obligatory for both men and women, with no discrimination based on gender. Those who promote misleading ideologies under the name of religion are, in fact, enemies of education.
Dr. Afshan Huma raised an important question about why some people in our society still consider girls’ education unnecessary or impose restrictions on it. In response, Mr. Saleem Malik shared excellent examples from his relationship with his daughter, clarifying that the time when girls’ education could be overlooked has long passed.
Usman Qazi, an advisor at UNDP, called education an “individual obligation” and praised Fareezah School for fulfilling this important duty as a “collective responsibility.” He highlighted the sacrifices of his maternal grandparents for his mother’s education and the struggles of his parents for his own education, stressing that parents should make every possible sacrifice to provide their children with education.
Maulana Asif Hussain, another guest at the event, mentioned that while we are all striving to build homes for our children, the most important thing is to first build our children into useful members of society.
Ms. Sehrish Saddozai shared her vision and determination, stating that her dream is to nurture a generation that is as capable and self-confident as the elite of society, so that poverty does not become an obstacle to their progress, and they can prove themselves as indispensable members of society.
Lecturer Muhammad Yunus described the event as not just an educational ceremony but the beginning of a movement. He said that Fareezah School’s efforts are not only about education but also about achieving social justice and raising awareness. It is our collective responsibility to support this mission with our energy and resources so that this light continues to spread, driving away ignorance from our country.
Other distinguished guests at the event included Professor Dr. Mamoona Khan, Head of the Fine Arts Department at Fatima Jinnah Women University, Ms. Maham Imran, Lecturer at National College of Arts Rawalpindi, Muhammad Tayyab from Al-Sirat Foundation, and Mohammad Sami Ullah, Head of Young Minds’ Organization.
