The count of children in Pakistan who are not enrolled in school has surged to 28 million, surpassing the highest percentage of out-of-school children globally, says a report on Wednesday. The caretaker Federal Education Minister – Madad Ali Sindhi – expressed his concerns in a letter to the Punjab Education Minister, revealing that about 28 million children are out of school in the country, which was 18.7 million back in 2021. According to the previous estimation, the number of Out-of-School Children was 22 million, meanwhile, in 2021 the cabinet was told that the number of Out-of-School Children was 18.7 million, while every four out of one child was out of school at that time which now increased drastically.

The data disclosed that Pakistan has the highest percentage of Out-of-School Children in the world. The letter urged all provincial education ministers to share a concise working document that includes relevant statistics, administrative and financial obstacles, as well as strong recommendations for a lasting solution to the issue. On the other hand, sources close to the development revealed that a total of 1.7 percent of the country’s GDP is spent on education, however, for improvement in the education sector the government needs to reserve at least 4 percent share.

 Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP)