The Punjab government will open separate schools for transgenders in selected cities of the province and the first of its kind will be established in Multan very soon.
Punjab Minister for School Education Dr. Murad Raas made this announcement while addressing a ceremony held regarding Insaf Afternoon School Programme (IASP) here at a local hotel on Tuesday. Senior officials of the Education Department, Chief Executive Officers of Education Authorities, and Danish Schools were also present.
The minister said that the government decided not to enroll transgenders in regular schools because of some reservations about the behavior of other students. He added that the attitude of students of regular schools could be insulting towards the transgender community; that was why separate schools would be established for them.
Read more: Rights of Transgenders in Pakistan
He said it was unfortunate that no government except for the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf, thought about the welfare and provision of education and jobs to this community.
Appreciating the efforts of the education chief executive officers (CEOs) and the teachers for successful enrollment drive across the province, the minister hoped that a large number of out-of-school children would be admitted to schools.
He said that selected schools under the IASP would be upgraded according to the needs before starting classes. He said the registration of such schools was in progress and would be completed by July 15.
Read more: Transgenders enabled to access Ehsaas multi pronged initiatives
We are opening first ever #Transgender School in #Pakistan. Why would we deny education to anyone in our country? Our first school is opening in #Multan tomorrow.We will open such schools in all Districts of Punjab InshAllah. One step at a https://t.co/AvJQIsueuv for ALL. pic.twitter.com/PUO4Cv7bPG
— Daud Samuel Rajput98 (@DaudSRajput98) July 6, 2021
A historic step towards improvement
To a question, he said that only a few private schools were open for summer classes to cover the syllabus, adding that from August 1, all government institutions would also be reopened. He urged the parents and school heads to ensure implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) about coronavirus in schools.
Dr. Murad Raas termed the implementation of the Single National Curriculum from August 1, 2021, as a historic step towards the improvement of education standards.
Read more: Single National Curriculum set to be introduced in primary classes
He said that keeping in view the importance of teacher training, the government arranged training under Microsoft certification for improving the capacity of Punjab teachers.
APP with additional input by GVS