10m children out of school in Punjab

Around 10 million children in Punjab are out of school, a fact sheet issued by a nonprofit organisation has revealed, urging the provincial government to create educational opportunities for them.

The report released by Population Council cited shortage of facilities, infrastructure, inflation and unemployment as the major reasons of a high dropout ratio of children from schools.

It pointed out that 19,000 more schools were required in the province by 2040 to cater to the millions of children in future.

Educationists said there was a dire need that the government frame a strategy to control population growth and fulfil its needs in future.

At a time when the Punjab government is engaged in outsourcing and privatisation of public sector schools, the latest report released by the Population Council stressed that the number of children out of school was alarming.

The report for the first quarter of the year ongoing year shed light on the latest situation regarding population in the provinces and its impact on related sectors, especially education.

It highlighted the dropout ratio of students, lack of infrastructure and shortage of government schools in Punjab.

According to the facts and figures shared in the report, the percentage out of school girls aged five to 16 years is higher than boys. The data showed that 28 per cent girls of the age group are out of schools, while the percentage of boys is 26.

The fact sheet revealed that there are 25 million children out of school in the country, of whom 10 million area in Punjab, eight million in Sindh, five million in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and three million in Balochistan.

It showed that 57,000 more public sector schools are required to educate all children across the country, including 19,000 in Punjab, 5,700 in Balochistan, 19,000 in Sindh and 12,000 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa by 2040.

The fact sheet also indicated that following the increase in the population of Punjab, there is also a dire need to create employment opportunities for the youth.

There is a need to create 59 million new jobs for youth by 2040, it added.

Population Council Director Ali Mazhar said, “A rapidly growing population means ever increasing demands for jobs, educational institutions, health facilities and infrastructure, and there is need that we should consider the futures challenges and prepare to counter them.”

A leader of a teachers’ union, Rana Liaqat Ali, said the schoolteachers of Punjab had been protesting for the past year against privatisation of government schools.

He said the teachers were opposing the move because it would result in increasing the dropout ratio because the poor people could not afford expensive education.

He said international organisations and population experts were calling for building more schools but the local policymakers were outsourcing the institutions, leaving fewer options for the people lacking financial resources to educate their children.

Population Council Senior Director Dr Ali Mir said the huge population growth was a big hurdle in the country’s progress and it was time that the government play its role to cope with the future challenges.

“Especially the challenges in the fields of health, education, jobs and infrastructure will be serious in the future and there is need that our policymakers should understand the situation and take timely steps,” he added.