The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed two Grant Agreements (G/A) totaling up to 1,734.8 million yen with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan in Islamabad on February 10.
The following two grant aid projects have been awarded.
(1) Project for expansion of girls’ first semester secondary school in rural Sindh (1,686 million yen)
(2) Taxila Museum equipment maintenance plan (48.8 million yen)
Details of each project are as follows
(1) Expansion Plan of Girls’ First Semester Secondary School in Rural Sindh
(The Project for Upgrading Primary Girls’ Schools into Elementary Schools in Rural Areas of Sindh)
Purpose and Outline of the Project
In Pakistan, more than 40% of the school-age population (5-16 years old), or approximately 22.8 million people, are out of school, the second highest number in the world. In particular, the net enrollment rate (the percentage of the school-age population who are enrolled in school) in the first semester of secondary education (grades 6-8), which corresponds to junior high school in Japan, is only 49% (53% boys and 45% girls), making it an urgent issue to improve the enrollment rate among girls. In Pakistan, there is a strong socially accepted resistance to sending girls to schools outside their communities, and the lack of schools in the neighborhood is one of the factors that keep children (especially girls) from attending school.
This project aims to improve girls’ access to middle school by constructing new middle school buildings and equipping them with classroom furniture in rural areas of Sindh, where the net enrollment rate of middle school is low at 34% (37% for boys and 30% for girls). This project will contribute to the improvement of school enrollment rates and the correction of gender disparities in the target areas, and will contribute to SDG Goals 4 (provide quality education to all) and 5 (achieve gender equality).
© Source JICA