A brighter future for children of refugee and host communities in Balochistan
With funding from the Netherlands, UNICEF helps children overcome the odds
Quetta, Balochistan: As the bell rings to end the school day, classrooms begin to empty with children rushing out to head home. One classroom, however, begins to fill up with young girls, taking their seats one by one. Brimming with excitement, they can’t wait for the class to begin.
This classroom in the Government Girls High School in Quetta’s Al Muhafiz Colony, is unlike any other in the school. Its walls are adorned with colourful learning materials, a television screen on the front wall, and bookshelves full of diverse collection of books for children.
This classroom is part of the remedial learning camp programme launched at the school by UNICEF. With funding from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and in collaboration with the Balochistan School Education Department, this initiative specifically supports children of the Afghan refugees and host communities in Balochistan.
"Do you know why is it still rainy and cold in Quetta even though it's April?" asks 9-year-old Najiba as she unzips her bag and takes out her stationery box. "It's because of climate change. Our teacher showed us a video about it last week."
Najiba belongs to a registered Afghan refugee family. She was born and raised in Quetta. Her family had migrated here from Afghanistan two decades ago and settled in Al Muhafiz Colony, which is home to many Afghan refugee families and their host communities.
She was previously enrolled in the regular education system at a public school but was struggling academically due to poor learning skills. After completing the second grade, she traveled to Kabul with her family for a vacation at her extended family. Unforeseen circumstances extended their stay significantly.
By the time Najiba’s family returned, the new school year had started, and it was too late for Najiba to join her peers in the third grade.
Given her prolonged absence and her previous academic difficulties, the family decided to place her in the remedial learning camp, rather in a regular school session.
They hoped that it would strengthen her foundational literacy skills and ensure that she could successfully rejoin the mainstream education later.
“The best part about the class is when Ma’am Maheen plays videos on the TV. It makes learning so easy. I also enjoy reading the books present in our reading corner. My favourite books are the ones on science,” states Najiba with a wide smile.
Remedial learning sessions are designed to overcome the loss of learning and low levels of basic reading and writing skills among children between grades three to five.
"Overcrowded classrooms often mean that students who need extra help are overlooked,” says Mehreen Ali, the class teacher.
“Coupled with varied teaching quality and a lack of innovative learning resources, these conditions contribute to weak foundational literacy skills among children,” she adds.
In a province where girls are frequently denied permission to study, poor academic performance leads to low incentives for parents to send their daughters to school and results in a high dropout rate.
The remedial learning programme addresses these gaps with the help of a tailored curriculum, especially designed storybooks and flashcards, as well as innovative digital tools to reinforce the learning from regular classes. Significant improvements in the learning skills of the students, based on periodic assessments, demonstrate the effectiveness of the programme.
Currently, more than 300 remedial learning camps have been established across 5 districts of Balochistan and have an enrollment of more than 12,000 boys and girls belonging to refugee and host communities. More than half of the students are girls.
As part of this programme, the school hosting the learning camp also benefits from significant improvements. The washrooms are upgraded to ensure they are fully functional, and there is a constant supply of safe drinking water. These enhancements are a welcome change not only for the students of the remedial camp but also for those enrolled in the school’s regular education programme.
The remedial learning camps programme is part of a broader collaboration between UNICEF and the Kingdom of the Netherlands, focusing on migration and displacement issues.
Under this partnership, UNICEF is enhancing awareness about the risks of open defecation among Afghan refugee and host communities across Balochistan. They are also being supported to create a healthy environment through investment in sanitation and hygiene.
Due to these efforts, 200 targeted refugee villages and host communities in 06 districts of Baluchistan, have been declared open defecation free and have access to latrines that are culturally appropriate, secure, sanitary, user-friendly, and gender appropriate.
This has enabled the population to realize their right to better health through improved sanitation and hygiene; and focus on reducing and preventing the incidence disease.
In addition to this, the partnership also focuses on the provision of essential child protection services to Afghan refugees and host communities in Balochistan. More than 50 safe spaces for children have been established across 04 districts with the support of Social Welfare Department and DANESH, a local NGO.
These spaces, set up in rooms donated by community members, provide a secure environment for children to participate in recreational activities, gain awareness about protection from violence and abuse and receive psycho-social support from professional psychologists.
“Our safe spaces are crucial for identifying and supporting children who are victims of violence and abuse. Through these initiatives, we can direct these cases to the appropriate child protection units for further assistance and support,” explains Rozina Khilji, lead facilitator at a Children’s safe space in Jinnah Town, Quetta.
The safe spaces have also become popular with mothers in the community who work as maids. They leave their children in a secure environment during work hours.
“With the help of the multi-faceted approach of this partnership between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and UNICEF, children belonging to Afghan refugee and host communities in Balochistan now have the support and resources to pursue a brighter and more secure future,” adds Maryam Darwesh Said, UNICEF’s Chief of Field Office – Balochistan.
