QUETTA, Feb 15: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) has urged Balochistan government to take steps for legislation on free and compulsory education for children in the province.

Speaking at a conference titled “Article 25-A: Right to Education” organised jointly by the UN agency and provincial education department, Unesco’s Senior National Education Specialist Arshad Saeed Khan said: “We are ready to extend our technical support and collaboration to the Balochistan government for legislation on free and compulsory education for children.”

He said the provincial government should use all available resources to spread education in the province.

He said a recent survey had revealed that 58 per cent of people in Balochistan had never attended school and presently 44pc of the children were not enrolled in schools.

He said that Balochistan should follow the lead of Sindh government and take practical steps to get a bill on free and compulsory education for children aged between five to sixteen years passed by the provincial assembly.

Higher Education Secretary Sher Khan Bazai said that lack of financial resources was becoming a hurdle in implementation of Article 25-A of the Constitution. He said that educational institutions in Balochistan were in a dilapidated condition which needed special attention for improvement.

Vice Chancellor of Balochistan University, Prof Dr Rasool Bakhsh Raisani, Unesco Balochistan chapter representative Qaisar Khan Jamali and other officials were present on the occasion.