AWAM Pakistan Hosts Consultation on Privatization of Education and Gender Gap
AWAM Pakistan organized a one-day consultation meeting titled “Privatization of the Education Sector: Challenges for Bridging the Gender Gap in Education” on February 13, 2025, at Chiniot Palace Hotel, Faisalabad. The primary objective of the event was to analyze the factors contributing to the increasing female school dropout rate, the gender gap in education, and the impact of privatization on ensuring girls’ right to education.
The keynote speakers included Ms. Sonia Javed (Executive Director), Mr. Ahmad Ali (Youth Coordinator), Ms. Laiba Shoukat (Project Coordinator), Mr. Hafiz Mehmood-ul-Hasan (QAED Trainer), and Mr. Naseem Anthony (Lecturer, GC University).
During the consultation, Ms. Sonia Javed, Ms. Laiba Shoukat, and Mr. Ahmad Ali briefed the participants about AWAM’s vision and mission. They also briefed participants on AWAM’s Girls’ Education Programme, which focuses on mobilizing communities to ensure girls’ access to education. The speakers highlighted key barriers, including the rising trend of underage marriages, patriarchal societal structures, and gender insensitivity, all of which have exacerbated the female school dropout rate and widened the gender gap in education. Additionally, they shared AWAM’s achievements in 2023 and 2024, including the enrollment of 1167 girls in educational institutions and technical and vocational education and training (TVET) institutes.
In This Regard, The Awam Frequently Arranges Training Workshops For Capacitating The Local Community Leaders For Equipping Them With Skills To Take Advocacy Initiatives To Influence The Authorities And Political Decision Makers For Having New Laws, Reforms In Existing Laws And Policies, And Introducing Affirmative Measures To Protect And Promote The Rights Of Marginalized Sections Of Society Including Working Women Of Informal Sectors Including Women Home Based And Domestic Workers, Persons With Disabilities, And Religious Minorities.
Mr. Hafiz Mehmood-ul-Hassan, a senior trainer at Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development (QAED), provided a technical overview of the privatization of educational institutions. He commended the government’s initiative to adopt a public-private partnership model to bridge the gender gap in education. He emphasized that the government is actively addressing this issue by engaging private sector stakeholders to ensure the effective implementation of Article 25-A. However, he cautioned that without a robust monitoring mechanism, such efforts may not yield the desired outcomes. He also pointed out that challenges in teacher recruitment and pedagogical skills could hinder the success of this policy. He urged authorities to involve civil society organizations in establishing a comprehensive monitoring framework to enhance the effectiveness of public-private partnerships in the education sector
The keynote speakers included Ms. Sonia Javed (Executive Director), Mr. Ahmad Ali (Youth Coordinator), Ms. Laiba Shoukat (Project Coordinator), Mr. Hafiz Mehmood-ul-Hasan (QAED Trainer), and Mr. Naseem Anthony (Lecturer, GC University).
Mr. Naseem Anthony, Member of the Advisory Council of NCHR and Visiting Faculty, International Relations, Government College University Faisalabad, underscored the role of patriarchal structures, particularly in rural areas, in discouraging girls’ education. He highlighted that the legal marriage age of 16 in Punjab exacerbates the issue of female school dropouts. He recommended raising the legal marriage age to 18 for both sexes, asserting that this measure would not only help curb underage marriages but also contribute to improving female school retention rates in Punjab.
The consultation concluded with a collective call for stronger policy interventions, enhanced community engagement, and strategic partnerships between the government, private sector, and civil society to ensure equal educational opportunities for girls.
In This Regard, The Awam Frequently Arranges Training Workshops For Capacitating The Local Community Leaders For Equipping Them With Skills To Take Advocacy Initiatives To Influence The Authorities And Political Decision Makers For Having New Laws, Reforms In Existing Laws And Policies, And Introducing Affirmative Measures To Protect And Promote The Rights Of Marginalized Sections Of Society Including Working Women Of Informal Sectors Including Women Home Based And Domestic Workers, Persons With Disabilities, And Religious Minorities.
