ISLAMABAD: Education experts at a policy dialogue organized by the Pakistan Institute of Education (PIE) on Thursday said that the large number of out-of-school children in Pakistan is a major challenge that requires urgent action.
The dialogue, titled “”Tackling Education Exclusion: Population Dynamics and Out-Of-School Children”, was held at the PIE conference room. PIE Director General Dr. Muhammad Shahid Soroya said that the 26.2 million out-of-school children are a major challenge.
“We need to use all options to provide them with education,” he said. “We also need to provide quality education to the 40 million children who are already in school so that they can excel in their future education.”
Dr. Soroya said that the PIE’s 2023 statistical report is in progress and will provide the latest verified data on out-of-school children. He said that the Islamabad Zero Out-of-School Children campaign is a good model for all other provinces, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
Dr. Faisal
Bari, Dean of the Faculty of Economics and Management Sciences at LUMHS, said, there are as many out-of-school children in Pakistan as the total population of Canada. “It is not possible to increase the number of educational institutions to bring these children to school, but all options should be used, including non-formal education and public-private partnerships.”
Dr. Bari said that there is an urgent need for educational emergency, as the country’s literacy rate is only 60%. He said that women who are housewives and have matriculation, intermediate, graduation or master’s degrees can be trained under the Ministry of Education’s program to provide education to out-of-school children through non-formal education.
Nasiruddin, Director General of the National Commission for Human Development, said that Pakistan has many responsibilities in the field of education in the light of international conventions.
He said, “Our neighboring countries have not only passed laws for compulsory education at the primary a
nd middle levels, but have also ensured their implementation. We also need to enact laws for compulsory education and implement them on an emergency basis.”
Rabia Awan, Deputy Director General of the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, said that reliable data is essential to address any problem.
“On the one hand, we have a large number of out-of-school children, and on the other hand, there are challenges in terms of the educational skills of the children who are in school,” she said. “In addition, the annual increase in our population is also a major challenge.”
Ms. Awan said that effective databases can be used to develop sustainable policies and programs. She said that according to the PBS 2019-20 survey, the literacy rate for 10 years and above is 60%, the nursery to primary literacy rate for 6 to 10 years is 64%, the nursery to middle literacy rate for 11 to 13 years is 37%, the nursery to matriculation literacy rate for 14 to 15 years is 27%, and the out-of-school children rate for 5 to 16 years is 32%.
She said that the PBS will be conducting the Pakistan Social and Living Standard Measurement Survey 2021-22 next year. This survey will include reliable data on out-of-school children, educational institutions in the country, and the total number of children. This data will be helpful for all policymakers.
Dr. Irfan Muzaffar, who was present via video link, said that data on educational quality, out-of-school children, and basic facilities in schools has emerged.
“This data has also given rise to some questions,” he said. “We all have to sit together and find answers to them to address this challenge.”
JICA Project Director Abid Gul said that we need to focus on non-formal education to bring out-of-school children back to school.
“The level of non-formal education should be raised to middle level so that the number of children going to matriculation can be increased,” he said. “The 2023 statistical report shows that the number of out-of-school children is likely to increase in terms of population growth.
We need to accelerate our efforts.”
At the end of the ceremony, PIE Director General Dr. Muhammad Shahid Soroya distributed certificates to the officers and team of the institute on the completion of one year of its establishment.