A new report published by UNICEF has raised alarm bells over the decline of primary education in Punjab, where just 66 percent of children in the province are completing primary school, and close to 10 million are out of the education system for good.
The report suggests a grim situation with regard to foundational learning, with just 12 percent of middle school pupils having basic mathematics abilities.
Experts in education have raised serious alarm, warning that if there are no prompt reforms and a balance between population growth, education, and skills development, Pakistan’s education crisis would get even more out of hand.
Nationwide, more than 25 million children are out of school, the report points out, which puts Pakistan in the list of leading countries with the largest number of out-of-school youth.
In Punjab alone, the massive figure of children who remain unschooled is now estimated to be more than 10 million.
Experts also condemned the uneven distribution of educational resources, asserting that government schools are 3.5 percent more resource-heavy than schools operated by the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), widening class barriers and hampering access to quality education for poor children.
They emphasized that denial of basic education is not merely a matter of social concern, but an impending danger to the nation’s development and stability. “If we do nothing now, the expanding education gap will erode our economic prospects and widen social disparities,” one specialist cautioned.
The report demands an immediate shake-up in education policy, with a focus on balanced funding, better quality, and specific measures to get out-of-school children—especially in rural and disadvantaged regions—back into the classroom.
