Islamabad: The Ministry of Education has decided to seek financial help from the community and support informal education (NFE) schools in the capital that have been facing “ongoing challenges including limited infrastructure, scarce learning materials, inadequate sanitation facilities, and minimal teacher support.”
According to the Ministry of Education, Islamabad has 1,300 community schools and 1,700 teachers provide informal education. These schools are run by Basic Education Community Schools (BEC), the National Human Development Commission (NCHD), and the National Education Foundation (NEF). The ministry said 65,000 students are currently receiving education in these schools.
The support of Informal Education (NFE) schools is committed to strengthening the flow of Informal Education in Islamabad – a basic avenue to provide external learning opportunities including inclusive, flexible and high-quality learning.
It says NFE schools focus on basic literacy and algorithms, life skills and vocational training, helping learners bridge educational gaps and pursue lifelong learning.
More than 65,000 students are educated in these schools
The ministry said NFE schools are small, community-based centers that are often run in a single room by dedicated teachers and serve multiple grades.
They offer free, certified-based primary education (up to 5th grade) and accelerated learning programs (ALP) for older learners seeking a recent-centered education.
Although the role of these schools in reaching underserved communities is critical, these schools face ongoing challenges, including limited infrastructure, scarce learning materials, insufficient sanitation facilities and minimal teacher support. To address these gaps, NFE support packages have been developed, providing targeted resources such as stationery, workbooks, puzzles and teaching aids. These packages directly improve learning quality, improve school environment and enhance student well-being, read press releases.
“Across the more than 1,300 NFE schools across the Islamabad Capital Area (ICT), the program creates a practical and inclusive funding model that invites individuals, businesses and community organizations to collaborate to ensure every child’s education.
“Most of them are single-disk settings, multiple grades, mixed ages, and a dedicated teacher, and these spaces are often the only hope for learning in marginalized communities. With your support, we can inspire education in a vibrant, vibrant, inspiring, inspiring educational place, and provide enduring lives for children over 35 years of age and inspire their lives and enduring lives and communities.
A ministry official said citizens can donate at two packs of Rs 50,000 and Rs 2.5 lakh per year.
In a pack of Rs 50,000, the school will be provided with stationery (packaging pencils, erasers, sharpeners) and a stationery bag for learners, a whiteboard with markings and dusters, flash cards, educational charts, storybooks, a currency record, a teacher’s diary, notebooks, notebooks and floors.
While in the Rs 2.5 lakh package for the second Rs 2.5 lakh, one can provide a school with a full year overall support.
Posted in Dawn on September 23, 2025
