TAKE A CHILD TO SCHOOL

In partnership with British Council Pakistan Sewa Development Trust Sindh implemented Ilm-Possible: Take A Child To School - TACS program in 3 districts of North Sindh i.e. Khairpur Mir’s, Larkano and Ghotki in order to reach 9,100 out of school children with quality primary education to contribute in National Target of 135,000 enrollments. The British Council in partnership with the Educate a Child-EAC; in association with Children’s Global Network (CGN), School of Leadership Foundation (SoLF), Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) and Sewa Development Trust Sindh as local partner formed the programme. The overarching goal of the ILMPOSSIBLE project is to enroll 9,100 OOSC and secondly, to help ensure that an estimated 80% of students stay in school and complete a full course of primary education in 03 districts. The project is working to accomplish this by using a holistic approach that engages all education stakeholders to ensure children enrollment in school, stay in school, and learn while in school. For these stakeholders, the project delivered: (1) an increased number of better informed parents who are committed to enrolling their children; (2) strong, coordinated ownership amongst the community influencers and partners who will facilitate access to schools and enrolment and (3) a positive learning environment. Project activities engage and train over 910 young volunteers as Ilm-Ambassador, formation of 15 Mohalla Committees, trained school staff at 454 schools, and mobilize civil society organizations, communities, and district education offices to work alongside parents and children to increase enrolment and reduce dropout rates.

1. Capacity Building of Youth 2. Enrollment of Out of School Children 3. Retention of enrolled children 4. Formation of Muhallah Committees 5. Dosti with Schools 6. School grants for missing facilities. 7. Community Events..

1) Engaging & Training Youth: Engaged young volunteers named ILMBASSADORS and Mohalla Committees in their respective areas, who were then trained on planning and implementing enrolment drives. So far 946 volunteers have been trained who committed to not only identifying and enrolling 10 children each but to also mentor them. These ILMBASSADORS worked with parents, teachers and communities to build awareness in addition to addressing issues such as infrastructure, teacher absenteeism, and girls’ education among others. The idea was to create champions for education, to spark a movement where communities take ownership of ‘Education for All’ along with the state. 2) Identification & Enrollment of Children: Based on data collected, these groups identified and prioritized schools and communities with large number of out-of-school children and high drop-out rates. The enrolment drives comprised of community meetings in villages and neighborhoods, door-to-door campaigns, school visits, individual and group meetings with parents whose children are out-of-school or dropped out. It also involved interaction with the education department, district authorities, and community influencers like elders, member of provincial and national assemblies, and other public figures. These activities were focused on raising parents’ awareness, assisting teachers and schools with enrolling children, and generating support for schools to accommodate new enrolments and improve retention. Total of 9,331 out of school children have been brought into 282 Schools. 3) Muhalla Committees Formation of 5 Muhalla Committees in each district total 15 Muhalla Commitees have been formed. These Mohalla Committees enhance the child retention through an effective methodology, which is sustainable in the long-term. The strategy is composed of four elements: Detail Orientation, Union Council Mapping, Formulation of One Year Action Plan and Capacity Building. Retention of Students, Access to Communities, Re-opening of closed Schools and Community Development were the focused area. From these 15 Muhalla Committees 4 have been transformed into Community Based Organization (CBO) to expend. 4) DOSTI: 16 Schools are implementing life skills education programed, in order to inspire children to stay in school. This component includes life skills education and sports coaching sessions in order to create positive learning environment in schools. The life skills education is being delivered by 32 trained school teachers (2 from each school), volunteer facilitators and youth workers. Sports coaching sessions are being delivered by coaches and young volunteers who are a part of “DOSTI team” in every school. SoLF is building capacity of schoolteachers, facilitators, youth workers and coaches/volunteers in order to deliver life skills education and sports sessions. A DOSTI Sports Kit has been provided to each DOSTI School which contains 32 different game items. Three Mega DOSTI Sports Events arranged in which 720 students from 16 DOSTI Schools from Ghotki & Khairpur Districts took part in 10 DOSTI games. Along this guests from British Council, School of Leadership Foundation, Education Department, Muhalla Committees, Parents, Journalists and Ilmambassadors participated in the event. 5) School Grant: Financial Grant of Maximum Rs.200,000.00 has been provided to 7 selected Schools for provision of Missing Facilities which includes Construction of Class Rooms, Toilets, Boundary wall, Repair of Class Rooms, Color etc. 6) Community Events: (Certification of Ilm-Ambassadors) Community event is a showcasing event to recognize the contribution of all stakeholders i.e Volunteers, Muhalla Committees, Education Department and communities in shape of awarding Awards, Certificates and honorarium to Ilmambassadors. This event also provides a networking opportunity to volunteers and provides them a chance to show their work to government and no governmental organizations. .

1. an increased number of better informed parents who are committed to enroling their children 2. strong, coordinated ownership amongst the community influencers and partners who will facilitate access to schools and enrolment and 3. a positive learning environment. Project activities engage and train over 14,500 young ILMPOSSIBLE volunteers, 250 Mohalla Committees, and staff at 120 schools, and mobilize civil society organizations, communities, and district education offices to work alongside parents and children to increase enrolment and reduce dropout rates .