PESHAWAR: Upper Chitral has emerged as a positive example in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\’s education landscape, with only 10% of children out of school – the lowest in the province.
However, the situation in other districts is far more concerning, according to a report available with ChitralToday.
According to the report by the provincial education department, over 4.92 million children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are not attending school, representing approximately 37pc of the province\’s total child population.
In Peshawar alone, more than 800,000 children are out of school, while Kolai-Palas Kohistan has the highest proportion relative to its population, with 80,333 out-of-school children. In Lower and Upper Kohistan, a staggering 79pc of children are not enrolled in any school, highlighting the severity of the educational crisis.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa\’s Minister for Education Faisal Tarakai acknowledged that over 4.8 million boys and girls remain out of school. He noted that 1.3 million children were enrolled last year, and the government has set a target to enroll another one million this year.
Nationwide, more than 26 million children are currently out of school, posing a major challenge to Pakistan’s education system and its future.