Nations cannot progress if their children are out of school. From the period of Enlightenment to the Industrial revolution, education has continuously reshaped the socioeconomic landscape of the world. Therefore, the right to accessible education remains a top priority in all developed nations.
Unfortunately, Pakistan has made limited progress in its educational and literacy sectors. Despite the right to ‘free and compulsory’ education being enshrined in the country’s constitution, it fails to deliver on its promise.
According to a recent report by the Ministry of Education in Pakistan, nearly 26 million school-aged children are out of school — one of the highest numbers in the world. This crisis is accompanied by an ever-growing epidemic of child labour, which is prevalent in many parts of the country. Due to intolerable inflation, parents often encourage their children to partake in labour for daily wages instead of investing in their education which would simply be another unaffordable expense.
This rising trend actively endangers the country’s prosperous future. It serves as a wake-up call for the country’s authorities to take immediate measures in eliminating grassroots level inefficiencies in our schooling system.
The government must also promptly fulfil the shortage of teaching staff, introduce new methods of learning, improve fragile infrastructure and rigorously start awareness campaigns in remote areas. There is a dire need to introduce effective policies that decrease the dropout rate of children from schools. As a nation, we cannot move towards a bright future unless our children remain out of school.
ARYAN KOLACHI
LARKANA
