VOA常速英语:“路边学校”改变了巴基斯坦少女

Every morning 12-year-old Shagufta Nafees heads off to school.It is a long walk and the location is less than ideal but Nafees is happy to be here.

My parents could not afford to send me to school.We have a big family and we live in a rented house that is why my mother got me a road school.I really like studying order and science class.They teach us about various things regarding the world as well as laws.I love science.

It’s not an ideal environment but these teachers say the students are desperate to learn.

All the sound pollution and noise due to traffic is very disturbing often the children cannot hear what I’m saying.Most of the children are from the streets while the rest are from low-income families but they are extremely hard-working and we are positive they will do great things in the future.

The founder of this footpath school says she is fighting not just for space but also against a mindset that often sees girls as moneymakers.

The children who study here are those who are either used for a begging or criminal activities and those who used and abused them do not want them to get educated as they want to use them as a source of income. Such people try to create hurdles.

Statistics suggest more than 20 million Pakistani children between the ages of 5 and 16 are not in school but Nafees is determined to beat that statistic.

I want to join the Pakistani army as not everyone has the good fortune of having the opportunity to make a sacrifice for their country.

Leaders in the nationwide footpath school movement say they helped enroll more than 200,000 Pakistani children in school, half of them girls.

Kevin Enochs, VOA News.