e-Newsletter, December 2020

Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) remained a strong education champion throughout 2020 with field programs covering complex aspects of: Access, Learning, Quality, Evaluating Low Cost Private Schools, Inclusion, Child Protection, Gender Justice and Education, Tolerance, Citizenship, Health and Hygiene Interventions, and Technical and Vocational Training Programs with government, communities and public and private school systems. ITA wishes everyone a Happy New Year. Let there be more Learning, Innovations, Care, Health, Resilience, Trust and Partnerships in 2021.

Siyani Sahelian

ITA has officially launched the EDGE program in partnership with British Council in district Bahawalpur. The EDGE program will focus on enhancing participants’ English proficiency, digital skills and awareness of social issues. Under this program, the British Council will train 40 peer group leaders, conduct F2F/Online sessions in 20 clubs with 300 beneficiaries including Hubs and the community center. The purpose of this project is to improve the life prospects of adolescent girls in socio-economically marginalized communities. As a result, they will be better able to make more informed and independent life choices, as is their right, in order to contribute more fully to the family, economy and society. In addition, EDGE aims to improve the leadership skills of a smaller group of peer leaders drawn from the same communities of adolescent girls..

Creating Spaces

ITA is implementing Oxfam in Pakistan’s "Creating Spaces" project in six districts of Pakistan, aiming to reduce Violence Against Women & Girls (VAWG) and Child Early & Forced Marriages (CEFM) by actively engaging community actors to promote positive gender norms and by supporting women and girls who have experienced violence. On December 31, 2020, ITA and Punjab Women Protection Authority (PWPA) in collaboration with Oxfam in Pakistan organized a consultative meeting on the progress and amendment of laws and bills related to VAWG and CEFM.

Safe School Reopening Pilot (SRP)

The SRP project’s goal is ‘to create a fully-costed scalable pilot for safe and healthy school reopening aligned to the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training (MoFEPT) priorities, community engagement and evidence based best practice’. After completing a crucial milestone of baseline survey and report, during the month of December, ITA’s SRP team had its first Project Steering Committee (PSC) meeting with partners in the Ministry of Federal Education & Professional Development, Ministry of Health and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). After the meeting, work on interventions formally began. Vigilance committees of schools have been created, lists of equipment, infrastructure and trainings for schools have also been finalized.

Children's Literature Festival (CLF)


CLF Publications		The Shared Bookshelf

CLF has published three wonderful books for children. These books include Corona: Dost ya Dushman written by Baela Raza Jamil and Sehrish Farooq, ABCs of Pakistan written by Marzieh Abbas and illustrated by Michile Khan and Main Aik Mian Hun (inspired by Patras ke Mazameen) adapted by Ayesha Masood.		To promote the reading culture among children CLF in collaboration with Children Library Complex has initiated a Book club called The Shared Bookshelf. The Book Club will function bimonthly comprising one Urdu and one English storybook.


Digi Kutub Khana		Young Author Award & Celebrating Young Authors

CLF has launched the The Digi Kutub Khana (DKK) at Mubarak Goth, Karachi. DKK is a learning living library (3L) - an initiative of the CLF and ITA. DKK or 3L aims to mitigate learning losses and accelerate lifelong learning in Pakistan, through culturally relevant and community-based learning.		CLF announced Young Author Award Phase II. Under YAA, CLF organized an online book launch of young published authors Eman Aqail Abbasi to motivate and encourage children to write as well.

Scientists of Tomorrow
CLF is collaborating with Science Fuse to successfully conduct "Scientists of Tomoorrow" at schools which include Siyani Sahelian, LSK schools, and PEF/PEIMA schools adopted by ITA and Akhuwat Foundation. Scientists of Tomorrow is a digital literacy program that aims to encourage an interest in science among students and nurture their sense of natural curiosity by empowering teachers and providing training, tools, and resources to engage students with creative techniques and innovation.

Pakistan Literacy Project (PLP)

ITA is working to establish 20 "Modern School Libraries" in Lahore and Bahawalpur districts under the Pakistan Literacy Project in partnership with Room to Read and in collaboration with School Education Department, Punjab. The goal of the project is to promote and develop book reading habits among primary level students.

The PLP team in December achieved the milestones of getting approval of 28 adaptations of international books and 673 books by local publishers to be place in model libraries from Project’s Steering Committee, comprises of Special Secretary – Planning & Reforms and both CEOs (Bahawalpur & Lahore). Other key activities are the process of procurement of furniture and fixtures is completed and the procurement process of books is in process and will be forwarded to the admin department by the end of December 2020. .

Safe Internet and School Outreach Program (SIOSP)

The scope of Telenor SISOP was to educate 175,000 students regarding digital safety. As the project came to an end, it has covered 175,035 students and 4,127 teachers all across Pakistan. To include the aspect of digital safety in the national curriculum, ITA also arranged policy dialogues in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan this month. Experts from education departments, law making institutions and IT fields also took part in the dialogue and indicated the importance of digital safety. Positive feedback has been received as now everything has been digitalized considering Covid-19.

Life Skills for Kids (LSK)

LSK is a project for the rag picker communities to provide them basic and life skills based education. To keep students engaged and in touch with studies, teachers are constantly visiting their homes to check and assign them home works. Provision of stationery items is also ensured.


LSK vocational centers are also preparing order of school uniforms as well as other orders like face masks and decoration items.		LSK students celebrated Human Rights day by sharing their thoughts through art work.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities


On December 3, 2020, International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Let's pledge to focus on those left behind so as to foster more resilient and equal societies. #AllMeansALL #LeaveNoOneBehind		Community members associated with Aawaz-II project show solidarity with differently abled persons through art work.

16 Days of Activism

Strong women make a strong world! 16 Days of Activism continued at ITA till December 10, 2020.

Human Rights Day

On December 20, 2020, ITA celebrated International Day of Human Rights. The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the inequalities in our society. Let's recover better and stand up for Human Rights. Listen to the "Voices from Youth Leaders" from Human Rights Day.