Pakistan: 25 million children out of school, number rising every year

Islamabad: A new report by the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) has revealed that over 25 million children across the troubled country are currently out of school, with 20 million of them having never attended school. The report, some content of which was revealed in a report by ‘The Nation’ on Saturday, highlights that 1,084 transgender children are also among those not enrolled in any educational institution, raising concerns about inclusivity and access. A province-wise breakdown shows deep disparities.

Punjab accounts for 9.6 million out-of-school children, including 4.7 million boys and 4.8 million girls. Sindh follows with 7.8 million children not attending school 3.7 million boys and 4 million girls. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 4.9 million children remain unenrolled, comprising 2 million boys and 2.9 million girls. Balochistan reports 2.9 million out-of-school children, split between 1.4 million boys and 1.5 million girls. “Even the federal capital faces a significant challenge: 89,000 children between the ages of 6 and 16 are out of school, including 47,849 boys and 41,275 girls. The PIE report warns that the number of out-of-school children is rising by 20,000 every year, underscoring the urgency for government action. Education experts stress that effective and immediate policy measures are needed to ensure all children have access to formal education,” the report in the leading Pakistani daily detailed. “The findings highlight persistent problems in Pakistan’s education sector particularly issues of access, equity, and quality and call for coordinated efforts by the government, civil society, and educational institutions to address the growing crisis,” The Nation highlighted. Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Dawn reported that girls in the Upper Kohistan area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continue to suffer as nearly 60 per cent of primary and middle schools remain shut due to a shortage of teachers, absenteeism and administrative failures.

Another report citing sources claimed that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had virtually discontinued a programme of giving stipend to girl students studying in government schools as it did not pay the money to them during the past three years. The stipend programme for girls was implemented by the provincial government formed following the elections in 2008 and led by Awami National Party primarily to retain enrolled girls, increase their attendance and decrease dropout ratio, Dawn reported. According to sources in the elementary and secondary education department, the department required Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 3.8 billion each year to give stipend to 600,000 entitled girl students in the province. However, they said that official documents demanding release of money was shuttling between finance and education departments for the past three years. They said that PKR 200 was given to each girl from sixth class to 10th class under this program. However, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government in the province stopped paying the stipend to girl students from 2022-23.