The country’s growing population, poverty and lack of facilities have deprived 2.9 million girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of getting an education. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has the highest number of out-of-school girls i.e. 74.4 percent in tribal districts. If we talk about the total number in the province, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa up to 47 lakh children have not received education. If population and poverty rates are not controlled, the number of girls deprived of education may increase in the future.
Amna Afridi, a social activist who works for girls’ education in tribal districts, says that most of the girls in tribal districts, i.e. 74 percent, are missing out on education, so after the upcoming elections, there is a golden opportunity to discuss and find solutions to the problems faced by girls’ education in tribal districts and other parts.
This has been revealed by the civil society of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa referring to a recent survey report under the Benazir Income Support Program. According to civil society, where girls are not going to school, 64 percent of the 23 million children in the country have not received education. Belonging to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
According to social activist Qamar Naseem there are many reasons why girls are deprived of education, such as early marriage, transportation facilities, insecurity, lack of teachers, lack of educational institutions, low budget for the education sector and many other social constraints.
Qamar Naseem says that a UNICEF report says that 21 percent of girls are married before the age of 18. Similarly, according to a report of the Health and Demographic Survey, 23 percent of girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are married at an early age. Obviously, when girls get married, they cannot study further. Due to the double shift classes and other measures taken by the Department of Primary and Secondary Education and the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, there has definitely been an improvement in the education sector. Similarly, 70% of the budget spent on education in the province during the last 4 years was spent on girls’ education and the remaining 30% on boys’ education.
But there is still a lot of work to be done as a total of fifteen thousand more schools need to be built in the province and due to lack of resources it will take 50 years to build these schools.
Qamar Naseem says that Pakistan has promised to spend 6% of its GDP on education globally, but Pakistan is currently spending 2.8% of its GDP on education, which is the lowest among neighboring countries. If the education rate is to be increased, then the Public Private Partnership formula is the best solution, as has been done by the Sindh government.
Also, the government should include education experts in the Standing Committee on Education of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly. This can also be a reason that people are not dedicating land to the government due to the high cost of real estate, so the government has to take measures.
Similarly, the political parties and the incoming government have to bring up the education of girls and gender equality as priority topics, while the government also commits to resolve the national and provincial commitments on priority basis and take practical steps in this regard.
Aliza, another social worker, told media during the conversation that due to climate change, the education of girls is also having a bad effect today, as many educational institutions were damaged after the floods last year. Similarly, due to untimely rains and floods, girls are affected the most as they drop out of education under such conditions. In such a situation, we have to save the educational institutions by dealing with the situation arising due to climate change in the coming days.
Girls in remote areas need transport to go to school, which is not available, thus they miss out on education. If dropout is seen in the province, more than 50 percent of girls are losing education after class 5. The rate of girls attaining matriculation or beyond drops to less than 30 percent.
Aliza says that reasons such as regional traditions, lack of quality of tehsil government schools are also obstacles for girls to get education. If the government wants to improve the education of girls and increase the rate, then it has to pay full attention to the quality and facilities of education in government schools. Government is spending on government educational institutions, but the quality is very poor. Majority of the parents in the province cannot afford to send their girls to private educational institutions. Civil society, media, politicians and the government must work together to create a society based on gender equality. There is a need to increase existing resources for girls’ education and thus ensure optimal utilization of these resources.
On the other hand, education experts say that the overall education rate of girls in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is around 43 percent. Due to terrorism in the tribal districts, where dozens of educational institutions have been blown up, the majority of them are girls’ schools.
According to a report by Pak Alliance for Maths and Science, more than 32 million children are out of school in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in which the rate of girls is more than 60 percent. There have been many other reports in which concern has been expressed about the lack of education for girls.
This is an alarming situation no doubt. Education experts, public and private bodies, ministries, provincial and federal government all have a role to play in this regard. This alarming situation can’t be overlooked at any cost. Only educated girls and women can ensure a peaceful and prosper Pakistan.
