Call for Increased Budget Allocation and Declaration of FY 2026–2027 as the Year of Revival of Girls’ Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Made
Peshawar: By Junaid Toru
A pre-budget seminar on girls’ education called the provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for increasing financing for girls’ education in the upcoming fiscal year 2026–2027 and officially declaring FY 2026–2027 as the Year of Revival of Girls’ Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The seminar was jointly organized by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women Provincial Oversight and Advisory Committee on Girls’ Education, Malala Fund, and Blue Veins. The event brought together a diverse range of stakeholders, including parliamentarians, members of the provincial assembly, representatives from government line departments, academia, media, legal experts, religious leaders, civil society representatives, and young girl students.
Female parliamentarians, including MPA Amina Sardar, Shazia Tehmas, Mehar Sultana Advocate, Shazia Jadoon, Rehana Ismail, Ashbar Jan, Farzana Shireen and former MPAs Madiha Nisar, Asia Saleh Khattak, also participated in the seminar.
In her welcome remarks, Dr. Sumera Shams, Chairperson of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Commission on the Status of Women, apprised participants of the formation of the Provincial Oversight and Advisory Committee on Girls’ Education. She stated that the committee is mandated to provide strategic oversight and guidance on girls’ education initiatives in the province to ensure girls’ participation in education and promote gender equity in the education sector.
Qamar Naseem, Malala Fund Education Champion and Program Manager Blue Veins, emphasized that gender-responsive allocation of resources is essential to address the barriers to girls’ education and ensure that girls have access to future opportunities.
Senior Planning Officer of the Elementary and Secondary Education Department, Luqman Malik, presented an overview of the department’s ongoing schemes and initiatives. He reaffirmed the department’s commitment to improving elementary and secondary education in the province, stating that, “enrolment of out-of-school children, particularly girls, provision of missing facilities in girls’ schools, construction of additional classrooms, and scholarship programmes, have been included in the Annual Development Programme 2026–2027”. He further noted that, Peshawar remains a top priority district due to the high number of out-of-school children and girls. “The department is adopting divisional and district-level strategies to ensure the effective on-ground implementation of allocated resources”, he added.
Additional Chief KP Child Protection and Welfare Commission, Ijaz Khan, highlighted that lack of education puts girls at the risk of exploitation and abuse. He remarked that education is essential for protecting girls from such vulnerabilities and reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to collaborating with civil society organizations in their efforts to advance girls’ education in the province.
Speaking at the occasion, Maham Nafees, member of the Rise and Shine Girls Education Leadership, identified transportation as one of the major barriers to girls’ education. She stated that rising inflation and increasing fuel costs are forcing many girls to drop out of school because families are unable to afford transportation expenses. She called for the expansion of the free transportation facility currently provided by the provincial government to middle school girls in ten districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to all districts and high schools across the province.
Other girls members of the network, demanded the establishment of functional science laboratories and libraries, provision of clean drinking water, improved WASH facilities in girls’ schools, solarisation and technical and vocational skills training for girls.
Dr. Nishat Riaz, Chief Executive Officer, Malala Fund Pakistan, noted, “Unless every girl is enrolled in school, the constitutional right to education cannot be fully realized”. She mentioned that gender-responsive education budgeting must be prioritized through targeted investments in schemes and initiatives to improve girls’ education.
Maulana Tayyab Qureshi, Chief Khateeb Khyber Pakhtunkhwa emphasized that religious leaders, civil society, and communities must join hands to launch public awareness campaigns and promote the value of girls’ education.
Members of KPCSW Provincial Oversight and Advisory Committee on Girls Education and Rise & Shine Girls Education Leadership Network also submitted Recommendation Papers for Gender Responsive Education Budgeting in the Upcoming Fiscal Year 2026-2027 to the Education Department to improve girls access to secondary education.
The seminar concluded with a strong consensus among the stakeholders to increase Education Development Budget and declare the Fiscal Year 2026-2027 as the Year of Revival of Girls Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
