Corporate philanthropy to promote education

Former federal education minister and Executive Director Pakistan Center for Philanthropy (PCP), Shahnaz Wazir Ali, has said that the PCP was working for promotion of quality education, especially in rural areas of the country. Speaking at a meeting of Rotary Club of Karachi Centennial at a local hotel, she said that the PCP was actively facilitating the corporate philanthropy for education through a demonstrative model of public-private partnerships.
She said that the public-private partnerships had brought together the corporate sector, government and civil society organisations in four districts, including Thatta, Ghotki, Faisalabad and Kasur.
The PCP chief added that eight companies committed in 2004 to provide Rs 20 million for the improvement of 70 primary schools to benefit 9,600 students.
She said that till the end of 2004, the center initiated various types of programmes, mechanisms and channels, being applied by other centers to promote individual and corporate philanthropy.
While in 2005, she added that the center would expand its capacity to achieve the target.
She said that the PCP's objectives were to improve the quality education in government-run schools in Esra's focused districts of Sindh, including Thatta, Ghotki, Khairpur, Sukkur and Hyderabad by increasing individual and corporate philanthropy and introducing policy level changes through public-private partnership.
She said that a number of schools in Sindh were in deplorable conditions and they need interventions to make a difference to children studying there.
Interventions include major and minor civil works, furniture for students and teachers, uniform and learning materials/stationary for students, teaching kits, teachers training and teachers' salary.
She said that the PCP offers in house expertise to influence policy at the national and provincial level, streamline public-private partnership procedures and resource mobilisation for sustainability, building district government's ownership, capacity building of communities, building trust among the stakeholders and better monitoring mechanism.
Navaid M Khan, Charter President Rotary Club, also spoke on the occasion.