LAHORE - About 20.4 per cent school-age children in Pakistan are not going to school while13.5 never enrolled in any school and 6.5 per cent stopped going to school after enrolment, 50.1 per cent of all these categories are girls. This state of literacy and education despite high claims of improvement in the sector, were presented at a Public Dialogue on Education for All Global Action Week organised by UNESCO in collaboration with Idarala Taleemo-o-Aghi, Open Society Foundation and Pakistan Coalition for Education at Lady McLagon Higher Secondary School here the other day. The worst plight of children was registered in Balochistan and Sindh where 35.1 per cent and 31.7 per cent children never went to school respectively. The focal person, former Director Education for Rawalpindi Region Jamil Najam, Talimo- Aghis Miss Mughal, Naheeda Sharif, Ms Shahnaz who chaired and a number of educationists and experts while participating in the Dialogue urged for meaningful steps towards empowerment of women in the light of 18th Amendment in the constitution, creation of awareness towards women education, better salary package for women teachers in schools and allocation of almost double the existing allocation in the GDP in education sector. The speakers presented their stories of success in overcoming the hurdles in education and transforming their thoughts into action which inspired the audience female teachers who were drawn from various schools and colleges. They reiterated their pledge to do whatever they could for the education and literacy particularly for girls.