Of 22.6m out-of-school children nationwide, 7m are in Sindh: CM

Murad Ali Shah launches 2nd phase of digital learning programme to address education crisis

KARACHI:

Nearly 22.6 million children in Pakistan are currently out of school, with seven million in Sindh alone, Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah revealed on Friday, underscoring the gravity of the education crisis in the province. "This staggering figure exceeds the total population of several countries," he said and stressed the need for innovative educational solutions.

CM Shah made these revelations at the launch of the second phase of the Accelerated Digital Learning Programme (ADLP), a flagship initiative of the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF), aimed at providing technology-based education to disadvantaged and out-of-school children across the province.

The second phase follows the success of the pilot phase, which was launched in June 2023 in collaboration with the Teach the World Foundation (TTWF).

Speaking at the ceremony, the chief minister highlighted Pakistan's position as the fourth largest economy in South Asia, ranking also fourth in literacy. However, he added that despite this economic standing, Pakistan faces an educational challenge that requires modern, tech-driven interventions.

"The need for modern educational solutions is more pressing than ever. We cannot afford to ignore the millions of children who remain out of school, especially when we know that the future of the country depends on the education of its youth," he stated.