PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) elementary and secondary education department to start double shift classes in 589 schools in different districts of the province, including Peshawar.
According to sources in the Department of Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, thousands of children in the province are missing schools because of various reasons. The officials added that schools for double shift have been selected according to the number of out of school children in the area.
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The double shift classes will also be stared in 100 schools in provincial capital, Peshawar. Sources said that two primary schools in Abbottabad, 13 in Bannu, 34 in Charsadda, one school in Battgram, 14 in Buner, three primary schools of Dera Ismail Khan, 62 primary, middle and high schools in Upper Dir, five schools in Hangu, 33 primary and high schools in Haripur, five primary schools in Karak and 21 primary schools in Kohat, One school in Kohistan Lower, six primary schools in Lakki Marwat have been identified for the first phase of the project. Similarly, government schools in Mardan, Nowshera, Mansehra and Swabi have also been selected for double shift classes.
According to the education department, the second shift classes aimed to reduce the dropout rate. A recent survey by the education department found that 3.7 million children between the ages of five and 16 were out of school. The report said that 74% of girls in the tribal districts are out of school, while 78% of girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa drop out of school after primary school due to poverty.
The education department has set a target of 1,000 schools for the second shift so that all those children whose homes are far from school or have been left out due to lack space, can get admission in schools.