Policy Dialogues & Consultations
Harvesting Hope: Advancing GESI in Education
THEMES
GEDSI
Girls' Education
Youth Agency & Engagement
In collaboration with Bahria University, PCE hosted Harvesting Hope: Advancing GESI in Education, a policy dialogue with youth, experts, and policymakers on inclusive education in Pakistan. Framed by context-setting remarks from PCE's National Coordinator, Zehra Arshad, the roundtable ran in two phases,
Phase 1: Fostering Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) in Education
Phase 2: Advancing Girls' Education in Pakistan
The expert panel featured Dr. Shahid Soroya (Director General, Pakistan Institute of Education), Dr. Nishat Riaz (Chief Executive, Malala Fund), and Dr. Majid Hussain (Senior Assistant Professor, Bahria University). This was followed by an open discussion and interaction with students.
Key takeaways:
25 million children are out of school, half of them girls, and fewer than 1% of children with disabilities are in school; youth voices must guide the policies meant to change this.
Higher education is both a privilege and a social responsibility, and universities should be driving action-oriented research.
Disaggregated data, flexible curricula, and equitable financing are essential to genuine inclusion.
The young participants brought their own angles into the room, sharing personal experiences of the system, particularly around curriculum relevance and inclusion, and raising issues often left out of the frame, from boys' dropout rates to minority exclusion and the balance between cultural preservation and access. Several drew on their own research, including thesis work on education, to offer policy recommendations grounded in their evidence, and spoke about the initiatives they are already leading in their own communities and how these might be scaled. Their ideas were warmly welcomed and noted to take forward.
Closing remarks were delivered by Rear Admiral Naeem Sarwar SI(M) (Retd), Director General, Bahria University Islamabad. The group reaffirmed a shared commitment to inclusive, evidence-driven policies and to youth engagement in the pursuit of education for all.
