This blog was previously published on UNICEF's website.

Hangu District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: Umer Farooq (11) beams with joy after quenching his thirst with filtered water from the newly installed electric water cooler at his school in Hangu district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

He is a Grade 5 student at Government Primary School in Khasari Banda where he has been studying since kindergarten.

"I’m happy to have access to clean drinking water that will be cold in summertime. Before this, we had water, but it wasn’t filtered and it wasn’t cold either, even during the hot summer. Now, we also have a regular water supply in the washrooms. I don’t have to worry about the use of washroom anymore,” said Umer Farooq.

It’s a sunny day, one of the warmest in November. A group of students are playing and chasing each other, then making rounds to the water cooler.

The warm weather is keeping Umer Farooq and the other children in a cheerful mood.

The newly painted walls featuring cartoon characters and educational quotes in Pashtu and Urdu add to the warm, positive environment.

The school is located in the rugged terrain of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where power supply, access to safe water and poor infrastructure in schools are the biggest challenges in attracting and retaining students.

UNICEF, through generous support from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), has installed a water filter, an electric water cooler and a solar system to power the water pump, lights and fans for children in the school as part of the School Development Plan.

“Now we have good lighting in classroom which helps us to read, write and concentrate on our studies,” adds Umer Farooq who loves watching cricket but does not play it.

He is a star debater and participates in inter-school debate and public speaking contests. Mathematics and English are his favorite subjects. He aspires to become a teacher to educate other children.

Although the Government Primary School Khasari is a boys’ school, female students from the nearby houses can also come to study. The Head Teacher of the school, Muhammed Shair explains that there are more than 400 students including 35 girls in different grades.

“We used to have serious problems with drinking water and water supply in the washrooms, poor lighting in classrooms and power cuts. It was difficult to engage students in studies, particularly in summer, both for children and teachers,” said Muhammed Shair.

“After the implementation of this project, we now have a solar system that provides a regular power supply for the water pump, lights, and fans in the school building. We have strengthened the security in the school through adding barbed wire and we painted the building. The school environment has improved significantly, and students are eager to learn,” he added.

A dedicated Early Childhood Education room will soon be established at the school. This will provide activity-based learning to young students aged 2 to 4 and it will be an excellent way to attract younger children to the school.

Farman Ullah (27) is a primary school teacher working in the school for the last four years. He received ECE teacher training in January 2024.

“In the training, I not only learned about early childhood education but also acquired new skills for teaching and engaging young children,” says Farman.

He uses the ECE teaching techniques to engage children. He teaches the alphabet, the names of different objects and counting through different activities.

“The activities-based teaching helps children enjoy learning and they eagerly come to school.”

Thanks to GPE, UNICEF in collaboration with the Directorate of Elementary and Secondary Education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is supporting 1,600 schools, including 800 boys’ schools and 800 girls’ schools, through School Development Plans across 20 districts.

The School Development Plan has helped create a conducive learning environment for 185,000 students like Umer to learn and progress toward a bright future.