Staggering 25 Million Pakistani Kids Out Of School: Rural Areas At Crisis Point

Pakistan is currently facing a significant education crisis, with a staggering 25.3 million children aged 5 to 16 out of school, representing 36 percent of the country’s school-age population. Rural areas are particularly the worst affected, showing the highest deficit in enrollment.

Based on data from the 2023 Population Census, the report, “The Missing Third of Pakistan,” published by the Pak Alliance for Maths and Science (PAMS), sheds light on the startling reality of out-of-school children (OOSC) in Pakistan. This report is the first comprehensive analysis of OOSC at the tehsil level, as reported by The Express Tribune.

The report reveals a major issue within Pakistan’s education system, noting that 74 percent of Pakistani children live in rural areas. Efforts to boost enrollment in these regions face significant hurdles, such as restricted access to schools, poverty, and social barriers. The data also show that the rural-urban divide in education is widening, with around 18.8 million out-of-school children residing in rural areas.

Children between the ages of 5 and 9 are especially at risk, with 51 percent of them never having attended school. Alarmingly, 50 percent of children have either dropped out or are no longer attending school. These early setbacks are expected to have long-lasting impacts on literacy rates in Pakistan, as fundamental educational skills are typically acquired during this period.

The delay in enrollment is a major issue, particularly in rural communities, where economic conditions and limited resources prevent many children from entering the classroom. Gender disparity further exacerbates the crisis. The report indicates that 53 percent of the children not attending school are girls, with the problem being particularly severe in rural areas where female literacy rates are already low.

The report highlights that, in some tehsils of Pakistan, 80 percent of girls aged 5 to 16 have never attended school, underscoring deep-rooted gender inequality in accessing education.

Urban areas, often seen as better equipped for education, are also affected. Cities such as Karachi and Lahore, despite being provincial capitals with more educational resources, still have significant numbers of out-of-school children. Karachi, in particular, has nearly 1.8 million children who are not enrolled in school, further emphasizing the severity of the crisis.

Notably, Pakistan has the second-highest number of out-of-school children in the world. The prime minister declared a state of emergency over the issue at the beginning of May. However, no concrete action has yet been taken.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Newsx staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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