Education as a challenge for Pakistan

Pakistan faces a serious challenge to ensure that all children, especially the most disadvantaged, are in school, staying and learning. While enrollment and retention rates are improving, progress in improving education outcomes in Pakistan has been slow. An estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 are out of school. Currently, Pakistan has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children (OOSC) with an estimated 22.8 million children aged 5-16 not attending school, representing 44 per cent of the total population in this age group. In the 5-9 age group, 5 million children are not enrolled in school and after primary school age, the number of OOSC doubles, with 11.4 million youth aged 10-14 not receiving formal education. Disparities based on gender, socioeconomic status and geography are large; in Sindh, 52% of the poorest children (58% of girls) are out of school, while in Balochistan, 78% of girls are out of school. Almost 10.7 million boys and 8.6 million girls are enrolled in primary education and this drops to 3.6 million boys and 2.8 million girls in lower secondary education.