Seven million children out of primary school

Special focus on enrolling girls, reducing disparities in education.

Unicef is supporting the nationwide ‘Every Child in School’ campaign, which encourages parents and communities to ensure that all primary school-aged children are enrolled for the new school year, according to a press statement.

This is especially significant at a time when militants are blowing up schools across the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced by ongoing military operations, depriving children from tribal agencies access to education.

An estimated 7.3 million primary school-aged children in Pakistan do not attend school, depriving them of their right to education, and preventing them from reaching their full potential.

A special focus is being placed on enrolling girls, who represent 57 per cent of primary school-aged children who are out of school.

Around 20 million children in Pakistan, including those of primary school age, are not in school.

“The realisation of Pakistan’s vision for social and economic development depends on the success of its education system,” said Unicef Pakistan Representative Dan Rohrmann.

“Investing in children and their education is both a right in principle and in practice due to the positive impact it has on socio-economic dimensions. It is therefore vital that all children in Pakistan, both boys and girls, have the opportunity to attend and complete their schooling,” he added.

Girls from poor families in rural areas receive just over one year of education, on average, compared with boys from wealthy urban families who receive an average of more than nine years of education.

The 18th constitutional amendment has provided an added opportunity to realize this right as article 25 a requires the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children between the ages of five and 16, as determined by law.

“The disparities in education are influenced by multiple factors such as wealth, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, early learning opportunities, access and quality of learning,” said Rohrmann.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2012.