1.8 million children out of school in KP

PESHAWAR: While the world observes the Universal Children’s Day today (November 20), the Elementary and Secondary Education Department says that more than 1.8 million children are out of schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone.

The survey conducted by the department revealed many factors of the missing children from school, including lack of interest, poverty and absence of schools.The survey findings showed that out of school children in the province were 23 percent of the total population of the children aged 5 to 17 years. It said that of the out-of-school children, 64 percent are girls and 36 percent boys.

Out of the total children, at least 1.152 million (64 percent are reported as ‘never enrolled’ and 0.648 million (36 percent as ‘previously enrolled’ or dropped out. Both incidences of ‘never enrolment’ and ‘previous enrollment’ are substantially higher for girls than boys.

Overall, 34 percent of boys across the province have never gone to school or dropped out against 66 percent for girls.A child rights activist, Imran Takar, told The News that Pakistan signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) on November 12, 1990 to become the first Muslim country and sixth country in the World to sign and ratify the UNCRC.

He said that many developments took place on legislative and policy front, but unfortunately very few solid steps have been taken to implement the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and related local laws and policies in its true spirit to bring positive changes in the lives of the children of Pakistan.

The activist said that the federal and provincial governments should not waste further time and prioritise child rights and take effective steps for the implementation of the UNCRC.Senior lawyer Muhammad Khurshid, who has been fighting a legal battle for the rights of children in the high court, said that even today there is no drinking water for the special children at the Special Education Complex in Hayatabad and water is supplied for some time on a temporary basis on the high court orders.

He had also filed a writ petition in the high court against child labour and living of children in miserable conditions in government-run Darul Aman in the province.The lawyer also challenged child begging in the province in the high court and said these cases were still pending in court due to unsatisfactory replies of the concerned government departments.