Islamabad, June 12, 2015 - The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training concluded a week-long workshop to establish national standards for Urdu reading skills.  The program was led by the Pakistan Reading Project, a program funded by USAID.  Thomas LeBlanc, USAID Pakistan's Education Office Director, and Mr. Baligh-ur-Rehman, the Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training presided over the closing ceremony.

"These new reading standards will enable teachers across Pakistan to track the progress of their students and provide clear benchmarks for measuring the children's development.  Setting this standard will also support the Government of Pakistan to objectively monitor the children's early grade reading abilities and adopt more effective approaches for improving their reading skills," said Thomas LeBlanc.

The five-year, $160 million Pakistan Reading Project aims to improve the reading skills of children in grades one and two through changing classroom learning environments, strengthening education policies and systems, and garnering community support for reading.

Over 65 educators, linguists, and government officials spent the week developing reading standards and creating tools to assess students' fluency in Urdu.  Participants discussed the factors that indicate fluency in Urdu at each grade level. During the closing ceremony, Minister of State Baligh-ur-Rehman thanked the U.S. government and USAID for its support.