Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan states, “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children from the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.” According to this article, the state or the government is responsible for the basic education of every child in the country. Sadly, like every other law in Pakistan, our country has failed to keep its word, as Pakistan continues to have the highest rate of out-of-school children.

Ensuring that all children, especially the most disadvantaged, attend, remain in, and learn in school presents a significant challenge for Pakistan. Although enrolment and retention rates are rising, Pakistan’s educational metrics have hardly changed over the past few years.

With an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5 to 16 not attending school, Pakistan currently has the second-highest percentage of OOSC in the world, accounting for 44% of all children in this age range. 5 million kids between the ages of 5 and 9 are not in school, and as they reach primary school age, the number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million teenagers between the ages of 10 and 14 not attending a formal school. Disparities depending on gender, social level, and geography are significant. In Balochistan, 78 percent of girls are not in school, compared to 52 percent of the poorest children in Sindh (58 percent of whom are female). Nearly 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled in primary school; this number declines to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls at the lower secondary level.

The high dropout rate in Pakistan, especially at the primary level, is caused by a variety of issues. Economic and social standing, parental illiteracy, malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy, parents’ ignorance of the value of education, distance from homes to schools, early marriages of females, and children’s protection and safety are a few of these. These kids frequently have poor life outcomes, behavioural issues, and a dearth of social and life skills as they get older.

Without education, there is no progression in any county and Pakistan will keep its low pace towards development if she continues to ignore one of the most important key of development. It is time that the federal government needs to address this issue as soon as possible and create a supportive environment for all provinces to work in synergy to resolve this issue.

The writer is a student interested to raise social issues