1.8 million children out of school in K-P

PTI govt urged to invest more in education as more than half of children in tribal areas are out-of-school

PESHAWAR: According to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Elementary and Secondary Education, 1.8 million children aged 5-17 are out of school in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Of these, 64% are girls while 36% are boys.

This was said in a sensitisation session organized by Blue Veins here at Peshawar.

According to the Pakistan Education Statistics’ Report 2016-17, there are around 51.53 million children in Pakistan between five-years-of-age and 16-years-of-age, adding that 44 per cent children are still out of schools, Blue Veins Coordinator Qamar Naseem.

He further added that the report said that the newly merged tribal districts 57 per cent of children population are not in school while 34% of children in K-P were out of school.

The report also found that there are 5.06 million children of primary school going age who are currently out of school. In the middle, high and higher secondary level, the number of out of school children are 6.51 million, 4.97 million and 6.29 million respectively.

He added that their greatest disparity was seen in ex-Fata districts where 73 per cent girls, compared to just 43 per cent of all boys followed by Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where 49 per cent girls, compared to 21 per cent of boys.

According to the Education Management Information System (EMIS) report by Directorate of Education in (FATA) in 2018, Overall 73 per cent students including 69 per cent boys and 79 per cent girls, quit schools after primary education. It also tells that there is a 50 per cent drop out of girls at a middle and high level.

The report said that over 12 million girls out of school. According to the annual statistics report 2017-2018, there are total 5,538 secondary schools out of which 39 per cent are for girls.

The report said that missing facilities in girls’ schools require immediate attention. The most urgent need for girls’ schools is boundary walls for security purposes and toilet and drinking water facility for hygiene purposes. The girls reaching their puberty tend to drop out of schools with non-functional toilets and lack of running water. Around 37 per cent of schools does not have basic sanitation or toilet facilities.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 26^th, 2019.