Bright future? Pakistan out-of-school children totalled at 26.2m in 2020-21
Pakistan
Alarming figures are in addition to poor quality of education, lack of human resource development
ISLAMABAD (Web Desk) – The number of out-of-school children (OOSC) aged 5-16 in Pakistan stood at 26.2 million, says the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training, as the figures present an alarming picture for a country that is way behind in human resource development at a time when the world is all set for the Fifth Industrial Revolution.
With a society that hasn’t gone through the original Industrial Revolution, the millions of children on streets present a challenge to Pakistan which is facing the worst economic crisis in its history amid record-high inflation, shrinking purchasing power and worsening cost of living crisis.
According to the UNICEF, Pakistan enjoys an unwanted distinction of having the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, despite the fact that access to education is a basic human right.
The report, which is based on the 2020-21 data, means the current numbers are much higher thanks to the increase in population and economic turmoil.
Punjab tops the list with 11.73 million out-of-school children followed by Sindh 7.63 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3.63 million, Balochistan 3.13 million and Islamabad 0.8 million.
However, the figures have improved somewhat when compared with 2016-17 when the out-of-school children were 44 per cent of their population share. It is 39pc in 2020-21.
So the question is what will the future of these children? In other words, what future we can foresee as a nation?
Read more: Quality of education: An unprecedented decline in teenagers' mathematics and reading skills
Another neglected subject is the quality of education, which has been stopping the production of critical minds and skilled workers. Now add this to the out-of-school children numbers and start reasoning about Pakistan’s future.
Until and unless we are ready to introduce a wholesale and holistic set of reforms to the education system, any hopes of a bright future will only remain a dream in the years and decades to come.
