The event, attended by teachers, students, parents, and #NFE service delivery partners from #BECS, #NCHD, #NEF, and others, highlighted the collective commitment to reducing the number of Out-of-School Children #OOSC and expanding access to flexible, community-based learning.

Federal Minister for Education, Dr. Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui graced the occasion and stressed the urgency of mainstreaming #OOSC, with a special focus on urban katchi abadis, and the need to ensure women’s participation in education and employment as central to national development.

Presenting the key findings from the #NFEAnnualStatisticalReport 2023–24, Dr. Shahid Soroya, Director General #PIE, and his team shared that:

There are 35,427 #NFE centres operating across Pakistan.

The system is supported by 36,403 #NFE teachers—with 83% women.

Over 1.29 million #NFE learners are enrolled, 57% of whom are female students.

Mr. Abid Gill, Deputy Chief Advisor #JICA, emphasised that these figures reflect the critical role #NFE plays in providing second-chance education to over-aged and marginalized learners who cannot access formal schooling.

Federal Secretary #MoFEPT, Mr. Nadeem Mahbub, spoke on the Ministry’s newly launched #NFE Strengthening Roadmap, which aims to:

Establish a dedicated Federal #NFE Policy for unified governance and financing

Increase funding to sustain and scale #NFE

Introduce a Teacher Management & Capacity-Building Framework

Reinstate the 5th Grade Examination to support reintegration into formal schools

Implement standardised in-class assessments in partnership with #PIE & #JICA

Roll out a robust Monitoring & Evaluation system linked to #NFEMIS

Leverage partnerships with key organisations including #NEF, #NCHD, #BECS, #PIE, #JICA, #FDE, #AIOU, and Taleemabad leading the reform

Launch ‘Adopt-a-NFE-Centre’ schemes and inclusive learning centres for Khwaja Sira learners

Deliver #NFE teacher training and provide #NFE teacher aid kits

Other speakers included Prof. Nasir Mehmood, Vice Chancellor #AIOU, all reaffirming the importance of recognising #NFE as an essential part of Pakistan’s education system.

The event also celebrated the achievements of high-performing students from #BECS, #NEF, and #NCHD, who were awarded trophies for their outstanding efforts.

This marks a significant step towards building an inclusive, adequately funded, and accountable #NFE system that leaves no learner behind.