Islamabad, 21st November 2017: Senator Sehar Kamran (TI) was a speaker at the two-day national conference on “Let’s Make Education a Priority” as a part of the 8th Annual Convention Coalition for Education held in Islamabad on the theme of “Let’s Make Education a Priority”. Speaking as a panelist on the “Receptive Political Leadership: A Key to Active Citizenry”, she said education was and always will be a basic human right. Pakistan is a signatory to international conventions and has inculcated articles in the Constitution to this end, despite the difficulties and roadblocks in making universal access to education a national reality.
Senator Kamran also said that she was truly privileged to belong to a party that has been the torch bearer of advancing civic and social reforms over the years, including education. She informed the audience that PPP has been leading this debate since it came to power for the first time in 1973, by introducing Article 37 (b), declaring free and compulsory education up till the secondary level, the primary responsibility of the state. She stated that the next concrete step which institutionalized and made the state responsible for providing free and compulsory education also came under the patronage of PPP in 2010, under the 18thAmendment when Article 25 A was inserted into the Constitution, making State responsible for providing free education to Children through the first Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill 2012, signed into law by former president Asif Ali Zardari on December 19th, 2012.
Highlighting the importance of educating girls, she said studies show the positive impact that education of the female population can have for a community. It is pertinent that female role models should be included in the curriculum to inspire young people especially girls.
She stated that it is worrisome that Pakistan ranks second in global ranking of out-of-school children. An educational national emergency needs to be implemented in the country, she opined.
Senator Sehar Kamran, while talking about Sindh’s initiatives to fulfill commitments related to education as per its manifesto, said it should be remembered that under the PPP, Sindh was the first province to pass “Sindh Rights of Children to Free and Compulsory Education 2013 Bill”. She opined that education remains a basic cornerstone for growth and development of the country, the society at large, as well as of every individual member that it comprises. She added that no nation has ever progressed without investing in its people and even our religion gives great importance to education.