ISLAMABAD: According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) 24 million children between the age of five and 16 years are still out of school. The educationists are of the view that though some integral measures had been taken, yet much more needs to be done in the country, to decrease this figure. A government data shows that 6.1 million children are in the primary level among 24 million children out of school and the girls portion out of school at this level is two fifth of this number. According to the UNICEF Pakistan stands in the top 10 countries where the out of school children problem exists. The issue prevails not only in Pakistan but in several other countries as well. The UNICEF listed the details in 10 countries including Pakistan. The UNICIF findings state that the Liberia is home to the highest proportion of out-of-school children with nearly two-thirds of primary-aged children not accessing school. The second highest is South Sudan, where 59 per cent of children are missing out on their right to a primary education and one in three schools is closed due to conflict. Afghanistan is another country which has been included in the list of top ten countries where the out of school children rate is very high. In Afghanistan this ratio investigated is 46 per cent, 45 per cent in Sudan, 38 per cent in Niger and 34 per cent in Nigeria. After observing these figures one can notice that how humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises are forcing children out of school on a worldwide scale. The UNICEF data analysis, which comes as millions of children return to school this month, highlights the extent of an education crisis affecting countries already blighted by conflict, prolonged periods of drought, flashfloods, earthquakes and high rates of extreme poverty. The UNICEF fears that without education, a generation of children living in the countries affected by conflict, natural disasters and extreme poverty will grow up without the skills they need to contribute to their countries and economies, exacerbating the already desperate situation for millions of children and their families. Education continues to be one of the least funded sectors in humanitarian appeals. In 2015, humanitarian agencies received only 31 per cent of their education funding needs, down from 66 per cent a decade ago. Despite a 126 per cent increase in education requirements since 2005, the funding increased by just four per cent. Moreover, education systems equipped to cope with protracted crises, cannot be built on the foundations of short-term and unpredictable appeals. During the World Humanitarian Summit, held in May 2016, a new global funding platform, “Education Cannot Wait”, was launched to bridge the gap between humanitarian interventions during crises and long-term development afterwards, through predictable funding. Syria is home to 2.1 million school children aged between five to 17 years old who are not in school. An additional 600,000 Syrian children, living as refugees in the surrounding region, are also out of school. Recent, reliable data from countries including Somalia and Libya are not available either from administrative or survey sources partly due to the continuing conflicts. “For countries affected by conflict, schools equip children with the knowledge and skills they need to rebuild their communities once the crisis is over, and in the short-term it provides them with the stability and structure required to cope with trauma. Schools can also protect children from the trauma and physical dangers around them. When children are not in school, they are at an increased danger of abuse, exploitation and recruitment into armed groups,” said UNICEF Chief of Education, Jo Bourne.