QUETTA: The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has approved a $9 million grant aimed at increasing access to and the quality of early childhood and primary education in Balochistan, with a strong focus on improving reading and numeracy skills across the province.
Furthermore, the funding will be implemented through two key agencies the World Bank and UNICEF each managing specific components of the project to ensure a coordinated and complementary approach.
The grant targets both learning environments and educational outcomes, especially for underserved and refugee-impacted communities.
In this sense, the World Bank-managed component will implement a continuous professional development (CPD) programme for early childhood and primary teachers across seven districts, including Quetta, Qila Abdullah, Pishin, Chaghi, Chaman, Qila Saifullah, and Noshki.
These areas, several of which host large refugee populations, were previously included in the Balochistan Human Capital Investment Project. The initiative also includes the rollout of a revised Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum and the development of updated learning materials.
Simultaneously, UNICEF will expand the Balochistan Student Learning Improvement Programme (BSLP), originally funded under a previous GPE grant, to 20 districts.
Despite some progress, Balochistan continues to face crucial challenges. The province’s primary-level gross enrolment rate stands at 54%, well below the national average of 78%.
In such a scenario, a major barrier remains the limited investment in early childhood development.
In addition, 1.36 million children aged 3–5, only 14% are enrolled in public ECE programs and about 5% in private ones. Additionally, just 9% of schools in the province have dedicated ECE teachers, while multigrade classrooms remain widespread.
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However, recent steps, including the recruitment of 11,000 teachers the first since 2019 aim to address the shortage of qualified educators, offering a much-needed boost to Balochistan’s struggling education system.
