4.9 Million Children Remain Out-of-School in KP

Despite significant government spending on elementary and secondary education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), over 4.9 million children remain out of school across the province’s 35 districts, according to the 2023 Digital Population Census.

The data shows that among these out-of-school children aged 5 to 16 years, 1.99 million are boys and 2.92 million are girls, highlighting a significant gender gap.

District-wise Breakdown of Out-of-School Children:

• Peshawar tops the list with 519,928 children out of school (200,142 boys and 319,767 girls).
• Bajaur follows with 292,894 children (113,677 boys, 179,210 girls).
• Swat: 294,320 children (114,918 boys, 179,386 girls).
• Dera Ismail Khan: 264,567 children (120,201 boys, 144,361 girls).
• Bannu: 214,143 children (90,954 boys, 123,188 girls).
• Mardan: 230,969 children (97,752 boys, 133,215 girls).
• Khyber District: 213,510 children (80,749 boys, 132,756 girls).

Several other districts, including Abbottabad, Kohat, Mansehra, and North Waziristan, also report thousands of out-of-school children, with girls making up the majority.

Concerning the Trend of Rising Numbers:

• In 2018, a survey by KP’s Elementary and Secondary Education Department estimated that 1.8 million children were out of school, despite a cost of Rs227 million.
• By 2021-2022, this figure rose dramatically to 4.7 million, as revealed in the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) census.
• The latest 2023 census shows an increase to 4.9 million out-of-school children.

Government Response and Ongoing Efforts:

The KP Assembly’s Standing Committee on Elementary and Secondary Education, chaired by Taj Khan Tarand, recently addressed the issue, directing the education department to investigate the causes and prepare a detailed report.

Despite repeated attempts, KP’s Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education Faisal Tarakai could not be reached for comments on how the government plans to tackle this growing education crisis.

The rising number of out-of-school children, especially among girls, underscores the urgent need for effective interventions to improve access to education and address gender disparities in KP.