Education has been a key priority sector in Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA) Programme, which is designed to provide assistance to the refugee-affected and refugee-hosting communities, enhancing peaceful co-existence and social cohesion in the areas. In recent years, UNHCR Pakistan’s education strategy focuses on facilitating the mainstreaming of refugee children into public schools in line with UNHCR Strategic Directions 2017-2021. UNHCR will strategically place RAHA programme as a platform to continue advocating on mainstreaming refugees into public education system with federal and provincial education departments by involving local authorities in identification of needs.
The projects are expected to include: rehabilitation of existing public schools, improvement of school infrastructure through construction of additional classrooms, boundary walls, play grounds and provision of missing facilities (e.g. school latrines, water facilities, teachers’ office); provision of school furniture, school materials and supplies; provision of reading materials to the students; teacher training on inclusive education, pedagogy, child protection, prevention and response to sexual and gender-based violence (e.g. identification and referral).
Priority will be given to public schools situated near to the refugee village schools to support the schools to accommodate Afghan Refugee students previously studying in these schools. In 2020 it is expected that some 10 public schools in different districts of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan with higher concentration of Afghan Refugees in the hosting areas will receive assistance under RAHA.