Sending thousands to school no easy task
In Islamabad, around 30,000 children are not enrolled in the education system, a recent study says
It was at the height of his campaign to become Pakistan’s prime minister — during a rally in Lahore on April 29, 2018 — that Imran Khan unveiled a futuristic 11-point agenda.
Education stood at the top of the list. He promised voters that, if elected, he would invest in a turnaround of the country’s education system.
More than six months later, it has been reported in the media that Prime Minister Khan is going to launch a nationwide enrolment campaign after consultation with stakeholders. He faces a Herculean task if he is to deliver on his promises.
Even in the federal capital around 30,000 children of schoolgoing age (5-16) are not enrolled in the education system, a recent study has found.
The survey conducted by the Academy of Educational Planning & Management (AEPM) has noted with concern that a large number of such children not only exists in the rural areas; but also in urban localities and slums.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is in power for the second consecutive term the number of out of schoolchildren is steadily growing.
According to the Annual Status of Education Report ASER-Pakistan over the past year, overall number of outof-school children in the province increased by one per cent and around one million children, mostly girls are still out of school in this province.
These startling figures were shared during a meeting of the task force constituted by the federal minister to work on enrolment of out-of-school children.
The task force consists of senior officials of the Ministry of Education and Professional Training and Federal Directorate of Education.
Many children are either labouring in workshops or at various markets like Sabzi Mandi (Fruit & Vegetable Market), Itwar Bazaar and auto workshops of Islamabad in order to make ends meet, the survey.
A member of the task force, Rafiq Tahir while talking to Gulf News said, “We have been empowered under the Article 25-A to warn and fine parents and the employers (in case children are working as labourers) and bring them to schools.”
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where Imran’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party is in power for the second consecutive term the number of out of schoolchildren is steadily growing.