Islamabad - About 28 percent children under the age of ten are out of school in the country.
The survival rate of students from grade-1 to grade-5 is only 62 percent in the country while the average pupil-teacher ratio in the country is 37:1, according to Pakistan Education Atlas 2015 — an annual publication produced by the World Food Programme and the Academy for Education Planning and Management.
The report has come at the time when progress on the millennium development goals (MDGs) is being assessed. Pakistan has failed to meet its MDGs for education. The report details the situation of education in each district as well as presents a comprehensive national outline.
The report reveals that 39 percent of the total government primary schools have no drinking water facility while 35 percent are without toilet, 46 percent do not have electricity and 34 percent lack boundary walls.
Overall net enrolment rate has increased by 4 percent from 68pc in 2012-13 to 72pc in 2013-14 which is a significant gain, it says. In Pakistan although the number of out-of-school children is falling (from 6.7 million in 2012-13 to 6.1 million in 2013-14) and efforts are underway in getting more out-of-school children to schools yet the progress was too slow to achieve MDGs by the end of 2015, it highlights.
Islamabad and Abbottabad are the best districts with regard to adult literacy (15 and above), both at 84pc followed by Karachi, 81pc, Rawalpindi, 80pc, Punjab and Sindh, 59pc, though in Sindh half of its districts are below 50pc, KP, 48pc, and Balochistan, the lowest 39pc. There is a huge gap between male and female ratio as in Balochistan only 18pc women are literate as compared with their male counterpart (39pc). In Sindh the female adult literacy rate is 50pc while male ratio is 72pc. Punjab has fared well as 50pc female adults are literate while among male the ratio is 59pc.
Country Director WFP, Lola Castro while speaking at the launch of the report termed the Pakistan Education Atlas 2015 a unique tool that allows researchers and policymakers access to the decentralised information on educational planning indicators. By going through the findings, they can focus education interventions across the country in areas identified through emerging social patterns in respect to population and geographic data, she said.
Castro attached high importance to education in girls: “as we all know its multiple positive impacts on their future sons and daughters’ nutrition and food security status.”