Modest Village School  —  Celebrated College

Bagrot‘s oldest Girls School, today College for Girls in Datuchi / Bagrot Valley, Pakistan

Project Report 2025

– Never forget that this is also your world! –
At the beginning of 1992, we were still miles away from this sentence, which we take for granted. The Monika Girls School project began with the founding of a neighbourhood school for girls. Until then, girls and women in the Bagrot Valley had no opportunity to attend school. They learned neither the Pakistani lingua franca Urdu nor reading and writing or basic arithmetic. The aim was to offer school lessons for the girls on site. In the first years, our project school was attended by girls from all villages, because it was the only girls' school in the entire valley.

Following our good example, a state girls' school has been established in every village of Bagrot over the past 33 years. Buildings have been erected for this purpose and sufficient teachers have been hired. The girls' school, which we founded in 1992, has been under state responsibility up to the 10th grade for several years. The spatial expansion of the school into a state higher secondary school (1st to 12th grade) has also been completed. Two of the existing school buildings were raised by one storey and the school grounds were levelled and walled. The new upper floors with additional classrooms are used intensively, even in the afternoons. But the most important thing is still missing, the subject teachers for grades 11 and 12.

Since 2005, we have been promoting college teaching, the bridge between school and university. Since then, almost 1000 young women have completed 2-4 years of college after graduating from secondary school. In the meantime, we are concentrating on this offer. The college classes (11^th-14^th grades) run in the afternoons in the buildings of the government girls' school.

Our motto: Education at Home.
This is the only way girls from economically poorer families have access to further education today. The aim is to make possible what is otherwise not possible in the Bagrot Valley: in 1992 it was school attendance for girls, from 2005 it was the attendance of the upper school and today it is the entry into a university degree. Studying in the Bagrot Valley for the first few years, because studying outside of Bagrot is associated with high costs. Classes are free of charge for the students. There are no monthly or semester fees, and the college is financed by private donations. Please help!

103 female students currently attend grades 11, 12, 13 and 14 of the college, which is financed by donations. The total of six class groups are taught by 14 subject teachers, 10 male and 4 female. In addition to the associated tasks, the local project manager teaches in grades 13 and 14. In addition, we employ an assistant for the personal care of the students and the babies of individual teachers. Without this offer, the young mothers would have to stay at home. All teachers come from the Bagrot Valley and enjoy great trust among parents and students.
The subjects taught in the first two years of college: Urdu, English, Pedagogy, Sociology, Politics, Social Studies, Islamic Studies and in the science-oriented classes Physics, Biology and Chemistry.

From the 3rd year (grade 13), students can prepare for the degree 'Bachelor of Science Education' (short: BS Ed.), which is a teacher training course. The subjects taught in the 3rd and 4th years of college focus on subject-specific and methodological skills for teachers. After successfully completing the first two of four Bachelor's years, the students can transfer to the university or to a full college in the provincial capital Gilgit. 10 out of 26 graduates of the new degree programme took this step in the summer, and the entire family always stands behind this decision. Female student with her baby on her way to college
The students come from all the villages in the valley. For the young women from the 3 most distant ones, we have set up a transport service, which is used by 32 female students. We share the costs with the parents.

My Visit

In May, I visited the college for girls in the Bagrot Valley. What I have observed is that everyday teaching is well organized. The students are ambitious and also courageously address problems. Satisfaction with the teachers is high. The four young female teachers are much more energetic in class than their male colleagues.
Offers beyond the classroom increase the visibility of the college and the knowledge imparted there in the public. For example, we have organized information events on current and important topics for the students and older students of the girls' school: Women's health (menstruation, pregnancy, breast cancer screening) Oral hygiene and dental health
Islam and Hygiene, Health, Environmental Protection (lecture and garbage collection campaign on the school grounds)
We have purchased 5 large garbage cans for the school grounds so that paper, packaging, etc. can be disposed of appropriately in the future.

To support the subject lessons, an Internet-enabled multimedia set was purchased this year. Unfortunately, the network in the mountainous region is not always stable.
A loudspeaker system was purchased for events. The acoustics in the auditorium require this.

Current Affairs
In July and August, heavy rain, floods and mudslides and debris avalanches shook the Bagrot Valley. The damage to roads, bridges, fields and houses in individual hamlets is considerable. Fortunately, the school grounds are designated as a safe haven by disaster relief workers. The house in which we have been living for 33 years during our visits, on the other hand, has suffered severe damage. A debris avalanche has crossed the farm. It is still unclear what will happen to the house.

Milestones

Today, we can hire very well-trained female teachers for new hires. This was practically impossible in the past.
The first graduates of the new Bachelor of Science Education course are moving to the university in Gilgit for a higher education degree. In October, a 'Sports Week' was held for the first time: The subject of sports has so far been missing from the official, i.e. state, curriculum. Students and teachers competed in a cricket tournament and in running and jumping. At the end, there were award ceremonies in all disciplines and a small buffet with local delicacies, to which everyone contributed. Sporting activities will be offered regularly in the future.

Project Costs

The total costs for the specialist teachers and material costs of the college, which are financed by private donations, amount to EUR 17,500 for the year. We are very grateful for any support. There are good examples of this:

• ‘Donations instead of gifts’: Dear fellow human beings have once again used private occasions to donate
• ‘One seam a day’: A friend sews for a good cause in her free time. She donates the profits from the sale of Cologne key chains, neck pillows, pencil cases, bags and other practical items to the project.
• ‘Monika Girls School. Every donation helps!’: Free fundraising on the new season jersey of the women's handball team of the LSC in Cologne. The cycling team ‘Marx Städter Bike Scheune&squo; will also wear the advertising on the new season jersey.
• ‘Donate Fee’: Lecture at the Society for Geography and Cultures of the World e.V. in Lübeck about our educational project.
• Some permanent donors, long-standing supporters and also the members of the Forum Kinder in Not e.V. make a significant contribution to the continuation of the project.

The students, parents, teachers and many other people from the Bagrot Valley and we would like to thank all donors for their support, trust and loyalty. They keep the project alive and running.

With kind regards
Monika Schneid, December 2025

Further Information:

Donation Account: Kreissparkasse Tübingen,
IBAN: DE31641500200002753609,
BIC: SOLADES1TUB,
Forum Kinder in Not e.V.

For earmarked donations, enter the keyword "Pakistan". Please support us with your donation, which is tax deductible. A donation receipt will be sent to you by Forum Kinder in Not e.V. if you provide your postal address on the bank transfer.

Photos: Bettina Keil-Rüther, Saira Ahmed and Monika Schneid, 2025