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<p>The UK Government remains firmly committed to promoting and protecting the right
to freedom of religion or belief, as set out in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. We are concerned about reports of abuses against religious minorities
in Pakistan. The annual report of US Commission on International Religious Freedom
identified ‘discriminatory’ content against minorities in provincial textbooks in
Pakistan as a particular concern but did not note the progress made where DFID is
providing provincial governments with support.</p><p>Since 2011, UK aid has benefited
more than 6.8 million children in primary school education. The programme is an £800
million investment from 2011 to 2020 undertaken in partnership with the provincial
governments in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and focussed on the poorest, especially
girls. Our investments support improving access to education and raising quality,
improving learning outcomes, increasing teacher and student attendance and improving
school facilities. We are providing £420.5 million from 2013 to 2019 to the Punjab
Education Support Programme II, working with the provincial government to ensure more
children in Punjab have access to a good quality education.</p><p>The UK has worked
alongside these two provincial governments including through supporting the Punjab
Curriculum Textbook Board which have taken significant steps to update textbooks and
replace any content that promotes prejudice and discrimination against religious or
other minorities. Independent evaluations in 2007 and 2013 confirmed this curriculum
to be based on values of democracy, pluralism and peace aimed at educating students
to be able to think critically about these issues. This has included introducing girls
as central characters, showing girls participating in stereotypically male roles,
and making the illustrations more representative. They have also worked to remove
any overt bigotry linked to minority groups and continue to consider these issues.</p><p>The
pilot Education Fund for Sindh (EFS) programme came to an end in 2016. The new Sindh
Education Non State Actors (SENSA) Programme is following on from EFS. School providers
in both EFS and now SENSA follow the 2006 Pakistan national curriculum. Independent
evaluations of the reformed curriculum have confirmed it to be based on values of
democracy, pluralism, and peace. All textbooks which enter into schools have to be
approved by the provincial government, in this case the Sindh Textbook Board, to ensure
they meet the requirements of the 2006 National Curriculum. This is a legal requirement.</p>
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