Daily Times

Pakistan has the highest proportion of out-of-school children (OOSC) in South Asia. The Pakistan Education Task Force reported in 2011 that roughly one in 10 of the world’s primary-age children who are not in school are in Pakistan, thereby placing Pakistan as second in the global OOSC ranking. The Out of School Children study by UNESCO estimates seven million children to be out of school in Pakistan. According to the Pakistan Social and Living Measurement (PSLM) survey 2010-11, although overall enrolment has increased to 98 percent, net enrolment at the primary level is only 61 percent, indicating that 39 percent children of the appropriate age group are not in school. According to The State of Pakistan’s Children Report 2012, almost 25 million children and adolescents are out of school in Pakistan, out of which seven million (aged between three and five years) have yet to receive primary schooling. It is evident that Pakistan will not be able to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) target of universal primary education by 2015.

Also, not all children in school complete the primary cycle, thus adding to the out of school children. A breakdown of national data by rural urban categories shows that the majority of out of school children live in rural communities. Another dimension is that of poverty, with children in the lowest income quartile likely to be out of school as shown by the PSLM data. With almost 50 percent girls out of school in rural areas, girls are more likely to be out of school as compared to boys. Furthermore, data collected by UNICEF under the Multiple Cluster Index surveys and other case studies identify children suffering from malnutrition and poor health, orphans, those with special needs, overage and underage children, and certain groups of children defined by disability, ethnicity, language, religion, or caste as mostly being out of school. Children of tribal and nomadic families, with poor access to schools, also fall in the category of out of school children. And child victims of conflict and natural disasters resulting in migration or displacement are adding to the number.

Why children are out of school: the demand side.

Despite abolition of school fees and provision of free textbooks, factors such as distance of school from the home and cost of additional expenditure (notebooks, stationery, uniforms) on education by families contributes to children remaining out of school. Research on school going children shows a considerable degree of awareness on their part of what a better learning and playing environment constitutes, hence the demand for better schools and education. The data shows that in all provinces of the country there are thousands of schools without sufficient classrooms, no boundary wall or toilets, no provision of drinking water, and with no electricity. In the absence of quality education, parents who endorse the value of quality education for a prosperous future, better job employment, good citizenship, and life skills prefer to withdraw their children from school or not enrol them in the first place.

Why children are out of school: the supply side.

Although the UPE campaigns may be an effective approach in getting children into school, keeping them there requires a different approach. In the opinion of teachers, income-poverty leading to child labour, parents’ ignorance, and students’ lack of interest are the common challenges faced by them in ensuring a high enrolment and retention rate. Teachers also tend to hold the education department responsible for not making sufficient effort to improve the chance of every child studying in school by improving school infrastructure and other facilities, especially ensuring an adequate number of qualified teachers in a school. They also cite frequent policy changes such as the teacher and school rationalisation policy of merging single sex schools and introducing English as the medium of instruction, political pressure and undue demands made on them by the department to participate in non-teaching activities as affecting the quality of teaching. However, studies show that teachers are seldom willing to accept their own lack of commitment as a reason for their poor performance and hence the lack of interest on the part of children leading to high school dropout rates.

Thus despite several major government and donor interventions over the last decade including the first Education Sector Reforms Action Plan 2001–2004, the National Education for All (EFA) Plan 2000–2015, more recent provincial education sector reform programmes as well as social safety nets such as the Benazir Income Support Programme and the stipends for girls, the problem of out of school children remains.

It is therefore evident that in order to address the problem of OOSC, key data, analysis and policy gaps need to be identified and addressed. In 2011, UNICEF commissioned a study using international tools and methodologies to identify OOSC, to measure the scope and describe the complexity of exclusion and disparities, to assess the reasons for exclusion, and to inform policy and planning. This study conducted by the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) and the Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE) used a range of existing data collected through administrative records and household surveys. It developed profiles of OOSC and the multiple and overlapping forms of exclusion and disparities that affect them. A systematic analysis of the barriers and bottlenecks to reach underserved populations was carried out so that policies and programmes to address the problem of OOSC and reduce inequalities could be targeted towards specific groups, provinces and districts.

It remains unclear as to whether this study has informed the most recent exercise on finalising provincial education sector plans. Its findings can be extremely useful in helping to operationalise the state’s mandate to ‘remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory primary and secondary education within a minimum possible period’ and its constitutional obligation of the right to education under Article 25-A.

Dr Fareeha Zafar is Director, Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE), Lahore