Seven to eight million children benefited from teleschool: Shafqat

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood Monday said according to a survey seven to eight million children got benefited from the teleschool launched by the government to teach them during the COVID 19.

Speaking in the Senate here, he said the government took a range of measures to make it possible for children in educational institutions to continue receiving their education during the coronavirus pandemic.

The minister said the government also launched Radio School to deliver lectures to children confined to their homes, adding, after coronavirus reached Pakistan early last year and the schools were closed the government launched its distance learning programme.

As many students faced the issue of non availability of internet in far flung and border areas, the Universal Service Fund will be used to provide internet access and connectivity in all areas of the country.

The government was working on facilitating blended learning with use of all the available technologies including tablets, computers and smartphones.

Now the focus will also be on teacher training, adult learning and education of out of school children, he informed.

Later, the Senate passed a resolution of Senator Seemee Ezdi stating that the house was cognizant of the fact that COVID-19 had adversely affected education in Pakistan resulting in the closure of over 300,000 schools in the country since March 2020 as majority of the students did not have access to smartphones, 3G/4G wireless and internet especially in the far flung areas of the country.

The house recommended that in order to save the educational career of students all over the country, the government should devise a comprehensive distance learning strategy containing the utilization of all technological tools available in Pakistan in collaboration with the provincial governments.