Getting children back to school in Pakistan

What we've achieved so far

• Four transitional learning centres have been established.
• 236 children (105 girls and 131 boys) have been enrolled in the centres and provided with learning supplies.
• 358 children (139 girls and 219 boys) have attended awareness sessions in their schools and communities around safeguarding and child rights.
• 219 parents have attended awareness sessions in communities around safeguarding, child rights and gender-based violence (GBV).
• We've trained six school teachers,16 school management committees members and four education champions on GBV, providing psychosocial support, and safeguarding and protection mechanisms for children.
• We've developed Information Education Communication (IEC) material around child safeguarding.

The education sector was severely impacted by the 2022 flood and rain emergency in Pakistan, in terms of destruction and damages to schools, disruption of schooling, and psychosocial stress experienced by children, adolescents, and teachers.  

Data from provincial Education Departments and VSO needs assessment show that at least 30,389 schools were damaged/destroyed due to the flood: 19,808 schools in Sindh, 7,439 in Balochistan, and 2,096 in Punjab. Additionally, at least 5,492 schools were used to accommodate displaced people. 

Our staff, volunteers and partners on the ground, alongside our donors FCDO, mobilised in camps to ensure that access to education is still possible.

We established transitional learning spaces (TSS) to support the education, protection, and psychosocial wellbeing of children.

After floods of 2022, VSO Pakistan has supported the provincial education departments to ensure provision of safe learning environments for all children, especially girls and children with disabilities. VSO has leveraged its prior knowledge and experience in the affected areas (particularly in Balochistan and Sindh) by engaging with national and international emergency management teams to ensure a well-planned education response in flood affected areas. 

The Back to School Project was developed under the FCDO funded ACTIVE (Active Citizenship Through Inclusive Volunteering and Empowerment) project for providing education services for flood-affected children in Baluchistan (District Naseer Abad) and Sindh (District Dadu). 

The project ensured access to education by establishing four climate-resilient structures with zero carbon footprints. These TSS also served as protection centres against future flooding.

Funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) ACTIVE grant.

Footnotes

1. https://www.unicef.org/pakistan/education