NWFP Chief Secretary Sahibzada Riaz Noor has said that a large number of our children are studying in non-formal education system that are religious Madaris and they also need modern education.
He said it would also be in the interest of the world community if these students could acquire modern education, including computer, science, mathematics, English language, etc. He stated this while talking to a delegation of the British Council that called on him at his office in Peshawar on Tuesday. NWFP Local Government Secretary Dr Hammad Owais Agha, Education Secretary Shafiullah Khan and Auqaf Secretary Zubair Shah were also present on this occasion.
Talking to the British delegation, the chief secretary said the students of religious Madaris have been ignored all along and as a result they were cut off from the main education system. He said these students would certainly get excited like the students of other educational institutions if they were exposed to computer and other modern subjects.
Riaz Noor told members of the delegation that linkages with educational institutions of foreign countries, workshops, seminars, provision of teachers, training and equipment could play an important role in bringing the religious Madaris into the mainstream education system of the country.
Regarding steps taken by the NWFP government in the education sector, the chief secretary said earlier the province was lagging behind but now it has excelled by taking innovative interventions.
He said that grant of stipend for girl students, free books, exemption from tuition fee, pick and drop facility for female teachers, etc have yielded very fruitful results. Riaz Noor said the NWFP government also attached immense importance to literacy programme, adding that illiterate parents were hardly able to give education to their children.
Talking about the local government system, he said it was in the teething years and thus needed time to get developed. He said the elected representative had no training, therefore, they confronted difficulties in delivery of services to the people, adding the government is striving for setting up an institute for training of elected representatives in the province.
He, however, said that the system needed attention. It should have linkages with foreign countries. He also deliberated upon the health and other sectors and sought help of the British Council in this respect.