ISLAMABAD: The UK pledged on Saturday to donate £130 million ($160 million) to support women’s education in Pakistan, a country where millions of girls are out of school.
Pakistan has an estimated 22.8 million out-of-school children, the second highest in the world, according to UNICEF. A majority of them, about 12.2 million, are girls, who face cultural and social barriers preventing them from seeking formal education, specially in rural areas,
The UK program, titled Girls and Out of School: Action for Learning (GOAL), is part of the British government’s initiative to support the administrations of Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab province, where the literacy rate for girls is significantly lower than for boys.
“The United Kingdom (UK) on Saturday announced a bilateral program worth up to £130 million to support girls’ education in Pakistan,” the British High Commission said in a statement.
The program will support 250,000 marginalized children in in the least developed districts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and will also support an additional 150,000 girls in learning to read by the age of 10.
“Getting girls into school is a key driver of growth," Dr. Christian Turner, the UK high commissioner to Pakistan, said. “We want to give girls awaaz and marzi, voice and choice, and unleash the potential of the next generation.”