A Pathway Back to School: Hamza and Mustafa's Story

On a weekday afternoon in Karachi, Hamza, 12, and Mustafa, 14, sit cross-legged on a colourful mat in their tiny classroom. The boys and their small class eagerly raise their hands to answer questions woven into a lively learning game. Today's lesson is wrapped in a game called Even and Odds, where students solve simple math problems amidst laughter and quick mental math.

A couple of years ago, the idea of being in school — and actually enjoying lessons — would have seemed impossible to the boys. Both students had been forced to drop out of school because their parents couldn’t afford the school fees. They weren’t too sad about it — school was boring anyway. They were more than happy to spend their days wandering the neighbourhood and playing with friends.

But the impossible became possible when they enrolled in a free accelerated learning program offered by Right To Play that allowed them to complete five years of primary school in just two years. Not only that, they got to play in their reading and math lessons, which made learning the subjects they’d missed out on feel easier and, to their surprise, fun.

A DIFFERENT PATH

Access to quality education in Pakistan can be a challenge. Many families struggle to afford school fees, uniforms, and supplies, and many public schools are far from home and overcrowded. Nearly 22.8 million children across Pakistan are out of school, and those living in poverty are the most affected.

This was Hamza and Mustafa’s story after they were forced to drop out of school. Though their mother, Farhat, had a job as a health worker, their father was ill and couldn’t work, and the family couldn’t afford the boys’ school fees on one salary. Farhat worried about the boys’ futures: she knew that being out of school would limit their opportunities, and she knew that even if she was able to find income to pay for their school fees, it would be hard for them to catch up to their peers.

Mustafa and Hamza, though, didn’t mind being out of school. They’d always found it boring and suffocating anyway. “We didn’t have any interest in school,” says Mustafa. “We used to roam about in the streets, fly kites, and play football all day.”

One day, a colleague told Farhat that her daughter, Shaheena, had started an education program in a Non-Formal Education (NFE) centre nearby as part of the Right To Play’s Roshan Rastay Program, funded by The Light Foundation.

NFE centres provide a structured accelerated learning program outside the formal school system, catering specifically to out-of-school children. It enables children who have missed years of education to complete five years of primary school in just two years and earn a certificate that allows them to stream back into the school system. Classes are held in a variety of informal learning spaces like community centres and teachers’ homes that are near to where the children live. Educators teach literacy, math, and other subjects using play-based activities that make learning accessible, fun and participatory.

Farhat enrolled the boys, hoping this method would reignite their interest in education. At first, the brothers weren't convinced. “My mom told me about the games. She said, ‘Go for the games, just try it.’ I had no interest in education at all. But I liked games, so I went,” Hamza recalls.

DISCOVERING A LOVE OF LEARNING

In the classroom, the boys’ teacher, Ms. Shaheena, made good on their mother’s promise. She used games to help the boys catch up on foundational learning skills, including literacy, numeracy, and life skills like teamwork and confidence.

“I teach conjunctions through a game called Hope Hope Joy,” she explains. “It’s similar to duck-duck-goose, but with a learning twist.” Children sit in a circle while one walks around tapping heads, saying “hope, hope, hope… joy!” When they say “joy,” the tapped child jumps up and both race around the circle. The child who doesn’t reach the empty spot in time identifies a flashcard with the right conjunction, reads the word out loud to the class, and places it in a fill-in-the-blank sentence posted on the wall.

“It’s fun, but it’s also effective,” Ms. Shaheena says. “They’re reading, moving, thinking and learning without even realizing it.” Ms. Shaheena says the interactive approach helps children retain knowledge far better than traditional methods.

"If you just tell children that a conjunction is a word that connects two sentences, they might remember it for a short time. But through games like Hope Hope Joy, they truly retain the learning because they're actively participating and they enjoy it," she says.

Ms. Shaheena’s dedication to teaching in non-formal education centres comes from her belief that every child deserves a chance to learn and grow, regardless of their circumstances. "I want these children to see a future ahead of them, to have hope and the skills they need to succeed," she says. "That's why I'm committed to this work."

At first, Hamza and Mustafa were hesitant. But during one activity in their class, they noticed younger children answering questions they couldn’t. That moment stirred something in them —curiosity, and a little humility.

“It made us feel guilty. That’s when we realized—we wanted to learn too,” says Mustafa.

As their enthusiasm grew, so did their influence. Friends who had no interest in learning began to notice the change in the boys, and they too joined the NFE centre. Having their friends there made learning even more fun.

Together, the boys worked to complete their primary education to be able to enroll in Grade 7. Ms. Shaheena was there the whole way, working at the front of the class to make learning fun and exciting, and in the background galvanizing support for the program and the centre. “At first people had no interest at all. But through monthly meetings with parents and strong community support, we slowly increased admissions.”

In total, 90% of the 1,500 students who enrolled in the first phase of the accelerated learning program graduated and earned a certificate that allows them to stream into the regular school system.

For children who had never seen a classroom as a welcoming space, the NFE approach was transformative, so much so that 95% of participants say they now believe they’re more likely to complete secondary education.

For Farhat, the center brought profound relief. “Books, pencils, and notebooks were provided for free,” she says. “I didn’t have to bear the costs. That’s why my kids are doing well today.”

A TRANSFORMATION BEYOND THE CLASSROOM

The change in Hamza and Mustafa’s lives is nothing short of remarkable. “Coming here regularly helped me learn so much. Now I’m in Grade 7. I love reading and learning,” says Hamza. “I want to become an engineer. Playing games and learning has given me confidence and skills that I want to use to help others.”

The shift has also changed the boys’ home life. “They used to use street language,” says Farhat. “Now, they are polite. Their language and manners have improved greatly.”

Ms. Shaheena is proud of what the boys have accomplished. “They are confident, curious, and determined to keep learning,” she says.

“I want to become a scientist—the kind who experiments with different things,” says Mustafa. “Education has changed my life, and I want to share that with others.”

Roshan Rastay was designed to increase access to education for out-of-school children and to improve the quality of learning for Pakistani students affected by their government's inadequate investment in schooling. Active from 2021 to 2024, the program was implemented in Thatta, Sujawal, Karachi, and Islamabad thanks to financial support from The Light Foundation.