Daily Times

PESHAWAR: As per the National Education Management Information System (NEMIS), at least 22.5 per cent of children in the primary school aged five to nine are out of school which means that 5.1 million out of 22.6 million children do not go to schools.

In order to end the education crisis and expedite its campaign to get students enrollment in schools, the society for the protection of the rights of the child (SPARC) is marking the Global Campaign for Education week in Pakistan. (GCE) is a global civil society movement working to end the education crisis. SPARC’s Regional Manager Jahanzeb Khan said this while talking to media in Peshawar on Thursday. He asked government and international organizations to set the stepping stone upon which governments will build to ensure that Pakistan reaches its Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Increased budget for education up to (7 per cent of GDP) is the need of the time, because the education sector has remained under funded in Pakistan, he added.

About GCE, he said its members bring together civil society organizations, NGOs, teacher unions, child rights activists, parents’ associations, young people and community organizations who work together in coalition in nearly 100 countries. GCE promotes education as a basic human right, mobilizes the public to develop pressure on governments and the international community to fulfill their promises by providing free, compulsory and high quality public education for all.

Keeping in view the current situation of Pakistan which is the second among countries with the most out of school children in the world, he informed. According to the National Education Management Information system (NEMIS), around 22.5 per cent children in the primary school age are out of school and approximately 5.1 million out of 22.6 million children ageing five to nine, he stated.

It is estimated that 23 per cent of rural and 7 per cent of urban children are not enrolled in any form of schooling. Population projections show that nearly 60 per cent of children between the ages of 5-16 currently reside in rural areas.