Balochistan covers more than 44% of the total area of Pakistan and has a population of 6.6 million. More than 85% of this population lives in rural areas1. UN (2001) describes that “Balochistan Province was adversely affected by the drought of 2000 and low rains in 2001 had significantly worsened the situation. During 2001, 1.911 million people had been affected and of the 9.31 million affected livestock 1.76 million had perished. A total of 0.978 million hectares of cultivable land also remained uncultivated due to lack of water. Generally the economic and human conditions in Balochistan present a dismal picture of underdevelopment. The reasons for this state of affairs are many ranging from the limited socioeconomic opportunities, lack of education, poor infrastructure (particularly road networks), limited cultivable land, scarcity of water & irrigation schemes, Afghan Refugees overload, limited access to health and Education services and a lack of industry”.
Afghan refugees in Pakistan have had a major impact in the local economy and the host communities. They are major consumers of various agricultural commodities. It is estimated that they consume around 20 million kg of wheat a month, leading to a deficit in local markets. Demand by Afghans for health, education and other social services have also resulted in significant overload on existing social services network. The influx of cheap Afghan labor has contributed to a construction boom, much to the satisfaction of the contractors, but has suppressed local wages and incipient attempts at labor organization, much to the consternation of workers. This is a situation which is threatening to become permanent and this is alarming to the local people and Pakistan Government officials, leading to hostility towards refugees.
The public educational facilities in the Afghan refugees setting in UC Circle-1 and UC-Bawar, Tehsil Bori District Loralai require attention. According to the Comprehensive Need Assessment (CNA) Partnership with private schools for increase in girls enrolment, Establishment of new schools, Enrolment enhancement campaign, Provision of missing facilities and Construction of additional rooms in educational facilities are the priorities in UC Circle-1 and UC-Bawar of District Loralai.
The proposed project addresses the issues in the Education sector specifically focusing 1 boys and 1 girls schools of UC Circle-1and 1 girls school of UC-Bawar in Tehsil Bori District Loralai of Balochistan as identified by OCSD and significantly pointed in the CNA priorities sheet’s Education component.
