Pakistan's out-of-school crisis reflects social failure and economic self-inflicted wound: Report
Islamabad, May 20
Pakistan's out-of-school crisis is not only a social failure but an economic self-inflicted wound, trapping families in cycles in which poverty causes illiteracy and illiteracy leads to poverty, a report has stated.
Currently, 25 million children aged between five to 16 years are not enrolled in school in Pakistan. The number of children who are not going to schools is roughly the entire population of Australia not accessing education system that was supposed to be their way out of poverty, Waleed Rabbani wrote in Pakistan's leading daily The News International.
"The link between being out of school and staying poor is not complicated. A child who never learns to read cannot fill out a job application. A girl kept home cannot become the nurse or entrepreneur her community needs. Research consistently shows that each additional year of schooling raises individual earnings. Across a household, across a generation, those returns compound into something transformative," opined Rabbani.
"Pakistan's out-of-school crisis is not merely a social failure. It is an economic self-inflicted wound, trapping families in cycles in which poverty breeds illiteracy and illiteracy reproduces poverty. What makes this trap so persistent is the mismatch between where the problem sits and where solutions have been aimed. National averages mask brutal local realities," the author further stated.
Balochistan province of Pakistan has nearly 64 per cent of its school-age children out of school while the figure is 47 per cent in Sindh. The data from these provinces showcases that the distribution is deeply uneven and that unevenness is precisely what planners have lacked the data to address, according to the opinion piece.
Last month, families in Pakistan reported that enrolling a single child in school costs between Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 20,000 - PKR 30,000, with expenses including first-month fees and purchasing textbooks, notebooks, uniform, shoes and a bag.
People in Pakistan have protested against the increasing costs. In addition, 40 per cent shortage of new textbooks was witnessed in the market in Pakistan this year. Expenses related to school have also increased - uniforms cost around PKR 3,000, cost of school shoes ranges from PKR 2,500 to PKR 5,000 and price of basic quality school bag starts at PKR 1,500, Pakistan's another leading daily The Express Tribune reported.
Price for applying plastic cover to a single book, it stated, ranges between PKR 75-PKR 100. Cost of larger notebooks and registers is between PKR 120 to PKR 130. Increasing paper costs have raised the prices of all types of notebooks, registers, textbooks, drawing books, practical copies and other stationery items.
Parents have also alleged that such rising costs are intentional, aimed at making schooling expensive in order to make children from low-income families restricted to basic education, The Express Tribune reported. Families have contended that education and healthcare is free in many parts of the world, however, education in Pakistan has been made inaccessible for the poor.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The cost breakdown is shocking - PKR 20,000-30,000 per child just to start school. That's more than many families earn in a month. And the textbook shortage? It's like they're making sure poor kids stay poor. We take our Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for granted sometimes.
Balochistan at 64% out-of-school rate is catastrophic. These regional disparities remind me of our own challenges in Bihar and UP before the education push. But what's Pakistan's excuse? They've had decades of foreign aid and still can't get basics right. Education is the only way to break the poverty cycle.
The article makes a valid point about the poverty-illiteracy trap. A child who can't read can't fill a job application - that's the brutal reality. But I'm also thinking about girls' education specifically. If a girl is kept home, an entire family's potential is lost. Pakistan needs to learn from Bangladesh's community school model.
Looking at this from an economic perspective, each additional year of schooling raises earnings - that's a proven fact. Pakistan is literally destroying its own future GDP. Imagine if those 25 million children were educated workers instead of liabilities. It's like they're choosing to stay poor.
The parents' allegation that costs are intentionally made high to restrict basic education is disturbing. In India, we had similar issues but our government schools at least provide free education up to class 8. Pakistan needs universal free education immediately - not just on paper but actually funded and accessible.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.