Islamabad: Awaz Foundation Pakistan (Centre for Development Services) convened the First Multi-Stakeholder Task Force Meeting on Girls’ Education in Punjab, bringing together representatives from government departments, parliament, civil society, and education experts. The meeting aimed to push for an immediate enhancement of girls’ education stipends and stronger conditional cash-transfer mechanisms.
The meeting followed the presentation of the latest study, “Economic Cost of Out-of-School Girls (OOSG): Estimating Pakistan’s Losses from Incomplete Secondary Education.” The study revealed alarming national and provincial figures, along with significant economic losses resulting from Pakistan’s failure to ensure girls’ completion of secondary education.
According to the study, Pakistan has 25.15 million out-of-school children, 48% of whom are girls — a massive gender disparity that worsens at the secondary level. Punjab alone has 9.69 million out-of-school children, with 4.8 million girls affected. Sindh and Balochistan show even more severe gender gaps, and 50% of public schools across Pakistan have dangerous buildings, impacting access to secondary education.
The study estimated that a one-time investment of Rs1,258 billion is required to provide basic facilities in each public school, and enrolling all out-of-school girls under public-private partnership models would require Rs504 billion annually.
Zia Ur Rehman, Founder and Chief Executive of AwazCDS-Pakistan, stressed that increasing the stipend from Rs1,000 to Rs2,000-3,000 under schemes like ‘Zewar-e-Taleem’ and ‘Waseela-e-Taleem’ is a political decision that will shape Pakistan’s economic future. He underscored that inter-departmental coordination remains one of the biggest gaps in Punjab’s education response.
Speakers, including Irfan Gondal from the Punjab Social Protection Authority and Bilal Awan from BISP, supported the proposal to raise stipends and introduce performance-based top-ups. Teachers Union Leader Nadia Jamshed highlighted the need to address the trend of handing over public schools to the private sector and NGOs, ensuring compliance with the minimum wage law, and restoring dignity and fair compensation for teachers.
Published in The NEWS on November 26, 2025.
