A review meeting on the Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) 2024-25 was held in Islamabad recently in which the planning minister stressed the need to review stalled projects and initiatives aimed at out-of-school children, ensuring timely intervention. The importance of this directive lies in the fact that a staggering 25.3 million children aged 5 to 16 are currently out of school in Pakistan, representing 36% of the country’s school-age population.
This was revealed in a report released by the Pak Alliance for Math and Science (Pams) titled ‘The Missing Third of Pakistan’. The finding is based on the Population Census of 2023, and is the first out-of-school children report in Pakistan that provides a tehsil-level analysis of these numbers, magnifying disparities that exist within districts and provinces. Significantly, it is the first comprehensive analysis of out-of-school children (OOSC) at the tehsil level, based on data from the 2023 Population Census.
The report is a damning indictment of the country’s education system, with a significant majority of these children – 74% – residing in rural areas. The rural-urban divide in educational access is widening, with approximately 18.8 million out-of-school children living in rural areas alone. Children aged 5 to 9 are particularly vulnerable, with 51% of this age group never having enrolled in school.
Even more concerning, over 50% of these children have dropped out or are no longer attending school. The drop-out phenomenon has a long-lasting impact on literacy rates, as basic educational skills are acquired at this stage. The report revealed that 53% of the out-of-school population consists of girls, and the problem is especially acute in rural areas where female literacy rates are already low.
In some tehsils, more than 80% of girls aged 5 to 16 have never attended school, highlighting the deep-rooted gender inequality in educational access. This gap in educational attainment between boys and girls is widening, with cultural and socio-economic factors often preventing girls from pursuing education. The problem is equally concerning in cities like Karachi and Lahore, which despite being provincial capitals with more educational resources, still house significant numbers of out-of-school children.
Another report on the performance of the education sector released by the Pakistan Institute of Education, a subsidiary of the education ministry, last year showed a dismal state of affairs in the sector, particularly the disparity in the availability of essential facilities such as toilets, potable water and boundary walls in different regions of the country. The Pakistan Education Statistics 2021-22 underscored a lack of funds, poor pupil-teacher ratio, missing basic facilities as well as the out-of-school children. The report covered 313,418 education institutions, catering to 54,870,964 students with the support of 2,139,631 educators. It said there was a pressing need for strategic planning and sustainable investment in critical sectors, particularly education, to build a resilient and inclusive society.
Yet another official report released some time back placed the country’s education system in the ‘low’ performance category and highlighted critical areas requiring attention to improve the education outcomes. The District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) Report 2020-23, released by the Planning Commission stated, “Pakistan’s national average score in the DEPIx is 53.46, placing the country in the “low” performance category. Among the five domains, infrastructure and access scored the highest at 58.95, while public financing recorded the lowest score, highlighting the need for increased and better-targeted spending in the education sector. The learning domain also scored poorly, reflecting persistently low learning outcomes among students.
The report said that over the past decades, the country has reached middle-income status and made commendable progress in developing its human capital. However, this progress has been slower than that of other developing countries and regional peers. The slow pace of human capital development poses challenges in realising the potential demographic dividend and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The reports and many other similar surveys emphasise the urgent need for a data-driven approach to tackle the educational deficits in Pakistan. They call for targeted interventions, particularly in tehsils with the highest concentration of out-of-school children, to bridge the gap between rural and urban educational opportunities.
The delay in enrolment is a major issue, especially in rural communities, where economic pressures and limited infrastructure prevent many children from entering the classroom. Efforts to increase enrolment in these regions face considerable challenges, including limited access to schools, poverty, and social barriers.
The need is for the federal and provincial governments to work together to address the deficiencies in the education system and to prioritise the development of infrastructure that can support increased enrolment. Experts warn that without immediate action, the situation could worsen, jeopardising Pakistan’s future workforce and economic development. There is little doubt that the education sector is a critical area in need of reform. Policymakers, educators, and civil society all need to come together and devise solutions to what is an existentialist crisis for the future of Pakistan.