Pakistan tops global list of out of school
children
During an awareness session at Begum Nusrat
Bhutto Memorial Library in Larkana, Asif Abrar, the education specialist from
the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), highlighted Pakistan's alarming
position as the global leader in the number of out-of-school children. He
stressed that it is the government's responsibility to convince parents to send
their children to school and increase overall enrolment.
Asif called upon parents, teachers, education
department officials, and members of civil society to actively participate in
efforts to boost the number of school-going children.
According to UNICEF's data, approximately 22.8
million children aged 5-16 are currently not attending school, accounting for
44% of the total population within this age group. Among children between the
ages of 5 and 9, five million are not enrolled, and as they reach
primary-school age, the number of out-of-school children doubles, with 11.4
million adolescents between 10 and 14 years old lacking formal education.
The disparities in educational access based on
gender, socio-economic status, and geographic location are concerning. In
Sindh, 52% of the poorest children (including 58% of girls) are out of school,
while in Balochistan, an alarming 78% of girls are not attending school.
At the primary level, around 10.7 million boys
and 8.6 million girls are currently enrolled, but this number drops
significantly to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary
level. These figures emphasize the urgent need for collective action to address
the issue of out-of-school children in Pakistan.
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