Tanvir Hussain, a 10-year-old boy whose family moved to Karachi from a village near Multan, dropped out of school in the first grade and never returned. Unable to afford the uniform and notebooks required by his government school, his education came to a halt.

Now, at an age when he should be in a classroom, he tells Dawn.com that he remains reluctant to return, insisting he would rather learn how to work.

Education is not just crucial for personal development but also vital for improving one’s quality of life and future opportunities. Despite the Constitution guaranteeing “free and compulsory” education under Article 25-A, Pakistan is facing a growing out-of-school children crisis.

The Missing Third of Pakistan

A recently published report titled “The Missing Third of Pakistan” by the Pak Alliance for Maths and Science (PAMS) presents a research study on out-of-school children in Pakistan. The analysis is based on data from the 2023 Population and Housing Census, released earlier this year.

The report offers a tehsil-wise breakdown of out-of-school children (OOSC), highlighting disparities within provinces and districts. It serves as a valuable statistical resource for policymakers, education managers, and development partners to improve both access to and the quality of education.

Pakistan is home to 71 million children aged five to 16. An estimated 36 per cent, or 25.3 million, of these children are out of school.

Among the out-of-school children, 53 per cent are girls and 47pc are boys.

According to the study, 51pc of the children aged five to nine years are not in school today. This age group makes up 45pc of all children aged five-16, accounting for 32m out of 72m. These statistics not only highlight a severe education deficit in the country but also a threat to future literacy rates.

While 21pc of OOSC are those who have dropped out, 79pc of them have never attended or enrolled in school, according to the report.

The report highlights that out of the 45 tehsils contributing to 26pc of Pakistan’s out-of-school children crisis, 30 are in Punjab, 12 in Sindh, two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one in Balochistan.

Kot Mandai in Sibi district, Balochistan, ranks as the worst-performing tehsil, with 92pc of its children out of school, followed by Toi Khulla in South Waziristan, KP, where at least 91pc of children are not attending school.

‘Relying on conventional strategies alone risks perpetuating educational exclusion cycle’

Huma Zia, Programme Lead at PAMS and one of the report’s author, tells Dawn.com, “The takeaway is straightforward: each tehsil and district needs its own tailored approach, reflecting its unique circumstances and challenges.

“If we continue to rely on conventional strategies like enrollment drives without addressing the underlying factors that contribute to high OOSC rates, we risk perpetuating the cycle of educational exclusion,” she adds.

The report urges federal and provincial education authorities to address the out-of-school children crisis through a data-centric approach based on the study in order to achieve impactful results.

It states, “The complexity of the OOSC issue requires data-driven insights that inform targeted policy actions and a robust system for tracking progress.”

The report also highlights the need for “targeted interventions” instead of a “one-solution-across-the-board management style”.

“We can only provide access to quality education if we realise the link between quality and access, and shedding the existing state’s delivery structure to design one that is based on our children’s needs,” it adds.

Myriad of challenges

Statistics show that the education system has failed to provide access to education and ensure the quality of education because it has not been able to respond to children’s local circumstances and needs despite the government’s promises to improve the education sector.

Access to education suffers from various barriers such as economic factors, cultural barriers, and inadequate infrastructure. Girls are especially vulnerable to cultural norms further restricting their education opportunities. When it comes to schools, many of them lack toilets, potable water, electricity among other basic facilities, which shows the dismal state of affairs.

Public schools have only worsened in recent times.

Salman Naveed Khan, the CEO of PAMS, says there is an increasing disparity between the public and private education sectors.

Government schools cannot provide for children from extremely poor backgrounds as the system itself perpetuates inequity, according to Khan.

He also mentions that government schools in the past encouraged social cohesion and justice but things have changed.

“A significant number of kids from our parents’ generation went to government schools and had classmates from different backgrounds in the same class, but now, we are observing a huge gap that is being filled by the private sector,” he explains.

In terms of quality, government schools cannot provide the kind of education children need to improve their future.

“There are a number of people who don’t see the value of sending their kids to school,” he says, adding that because the system is not considerate of the kind of education children need and the finances to deliver the kind of education that it should.

Considering Pakistan’s economic conditions and high opportunity costs, poverty will ensure that the parent’s decision is an “economic one” instead of a “future of the child one” Khan says.

Since children have no incentives to attend school in such circumstances, Khan suggests that the education system should provide a learning environment and school experience that encourages children to go to school.

Breaking the cycle of poverty

Imran, aged 12, who chose to be identified with his first name only, works as a garbage collector in Karachi. He is working out of necessity due to his family’s economic conditions. While his parents have encouraged him to attend school at times, he is unable to give up his employment.

There are many such children who join the workforce at a young age. Work becomes a convenient option whether it is to support their families or put time to better use.

Khan mentions that the state should accommodate the economic conditions of working children by giving options to attend school in two-hour shifts at 7am or 5pm when they are not working.

“The state should not take away their economic opportunity but give them the opportunity to come out of the poverty cycle,” he says.

Addressing the economic barriers that push children out of school is crucial.

One of the major reasons behind out-of-school children in Punjab, for example, is the economic situation of the families which forces them to send their children to work instead of studying, says Rabia Dar, programme coordinator at Bargad Organisation for Youth Development.

According to Dar, a solution to this problem could be a “door-to-door education system” where kids can get formal or informal education at their doorstep by teachers or educated people of the community, and the government can engage local educated people and education for children at their locality.

Closing the education gap for every child

Tanvir’s story reflects a harsh reality faced by countless children across Pakistan, where financial barriers and systemic gaps force them out of school and into a life without education.

While the government promises free and compulsory education, the challenge lies in making it accessible and practical for children like Tanvir.

Without innovative solutions, these children may continue to slip through the cracks, missing out on opportunities that could change their futures. The responsibility now falls on both the government and communities to ensure that education reaches every child, regardless of their circumstances.