Tine Girls Model School, AJK

Tine Girls Model School (TGMS) is an education initiative launched in 2016 under the Community Services Program (CSP) with a strong commitment to promoting girls’ education in underserved communities. The project was established with the objective of ensuring quality education while minimizing the financial burden on parents and local communities. TGMS primarily focuses on rural areas of Islamabad, the districts of Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJ&K), where access to quality education for girls remains limited.

Currently, TGMS operates 15 schools across Islamabad, Punjab and Azad Jammu & Kashmir. Through these schools, CSP is working to create safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environments for young girls. In addition to regular schooling, CSP also runs the Orphan Support Program (OCP), under which orphaned children receive completely free education along with educational materials such as uniforms, books, notebooks, shoes, and school bags. This initiative ensures that vulnerable children are not deprived of their right to education due to financial hardship.

At its initial stage, to actively promote girls’ education, CSP established the first Tine Girls Model School in Village Fateh Jang District Attock Punjab in March 2016. Now with financial assistance from the Embassy of Japan, CSP has constructed its own school buildings in Islamabad and Muzaffarabad and has provided essential facilities including WASH facilities, furniture, stationery, and learning materials. Community Services Program (CSP) is now working on the provision of interactive digital boards in schools for students, tablets for lectures and laptops for teachers to meet the standard of today world.

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.