Task Force to be constituted to carry out researches in major areas of gender disparity in education.

LAHORE, June 26, 2009 (Balochistan Times) -- A Task Force will be constituted to carry out researches in major areas of gender disparity in education in Punjab by Gender in Education Policy Support Project (GEPSP). It was decided in a group meeting of Working Group on Gender in Education (WGGE) comprised of leading educational institutions in Punjab formed by the Department of Education Punjab to support gender sensitive education policy formulation, implementation and research based analysis to ensure gender parity and equality in education. It is pertinent to mentioned that the WGGE is a part of the initiative under Gender in Education Policy Support Project (GEPSP), a tri-partite agreement of the Ministry of Education Pakistan, UNICEF and DFID. The WGGE, one day session was organized by UNICEF, in UNICEF Provincial Headquarters and attended by some of the leading academic institutions and NGOs including, GC University, Lahore College for Women University, Kinnaird College University of Education, Beaconhouse University, Department of Gender Studies of Punjab University, Ali Institute of Education, SAHE, and ITA. The Government and UN agencies also participated including Federal Ministry of Education, Ministry of women Development, AEPAM Islamabad and Punjab Education Departments. The Participants shared their experiences and expertise in research on Gender in Education and discussed areas for further research. There was a session on the GEPSP Web Portal Gender in Education that is ready to be launched in July on the Ministry of Education website. The forum was informed that similar three WGGE chapters were launched in NWFP, Sindh and Federal level. A national consortium of the WGGE is scheduled for November 2009 in Islamabad. The National consortium will be one of the largest think tanks on gender in education in the region with research network that is established as a part of overall GEPSP, to increase the capacity for knowledge management and to ensure effective gender mainstreaming in education policy formulation, implementation, information generation and sharing with provincial and district education system.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)