Tine Girls Model School, AJK

Background:The State of Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) is divided into 3 divisions – Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Poonch and 10 administrative districts with Muzaffarabad city as the capital. The 10 districts are further subdivided into 189 union councils and 1,771 villages. Each village consists of an average 60-80 households.

Village Chirran is located in District Muzaffarabad at a distance of 28 Km from Tehsil headquarters Pattika. The village consists of 189 households where the average family size is 8.5 members. The population of Chirran is approximately 1,750. The overall, socio-economic condition of communities in village Chirran is very poor where majority of the people are labourers or farmers and rear livestock for their livelihoods.

Village Chirran

Is a remote village accessed via a dangerous unsealed road which only 4 wheel drive jeeps can access. The village has no govt. school facility particularly for girls. Due to its remoteness, it’s on the lowest priority level of government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In this village, approximately 75% boys attend primary school while only 30-35% girls go to school. Most of the girls can’t attend school due to the cultural barriers regarding the co-education systems in the existing private school in village. In addition to this, girls’ education is not the priority of the local community in Chirran.

In order to promote the girls’ education, CSP started Tine Girls Model School in village Chirran in March 2022. So far, 76 girls from village Chirran have been enrolled in this school. The local community is happy to send their girls here because it is girls only. Currently, the school is functional in a temporary shelter with no proper infrastructure or classrooms.

CSP, with the support of the funds collected from various places, has started the construction of a new school building. Funds have also been raised for uniforms, books and classroom furniture from Australia.

Rationale for educating girls

There is ample evidence worldwide that improvements in girls’ education benefits the status of the family and empowers women in society. CSP is dedicated to improve the quality of education for girls and to remove obstacles that hamper active participation. The gender gap is widest in remote villages. In Chirran levels of literacy, school enrolment, school dropouts, and opportunities for vocational training is very poor. Although the people of  Chirran are not against girls’ education, culturally they don’t allow their girls to attend school with boys.

This issue has been resolved by CSP by starting the Tine Girls Model School where the girls can be educated without these issues.

Newly established school for girls

The newly established Tine Girls Model School in Chirran has received some much needed funds recently. Money has now been raised from fund raising efforts in Australia for 45 girls who belong to the most needy families for books. The fund raising efforts in Australia will also provide furniture, uniforms and teaching aids so this school can deliver quality education to the local girls of village Chirran.  For the school to continue to thrive, ongoing funding will be required.

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