PESHAWAR: Experts on Monday expressed concern over the delay in the enactment of the law on free and compulsory secondary education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and millions of children could reach schools if the law was enforced.

“Free and compulsory education is mandatory under Article 25-A of the Constitution but the government is using delaying tactics to ensure it. According to a study, around 2.8 million children are out of schools in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa but they could get entry to schools if that article is implemented,” Fayyaz Ahmad of the Working Group for Girls Education Initiative (WGGEI) told a news conference at the Peshawar Press Club.

The representatives of NGOs, including Khwendo Kor, Dost Welfare Foundation, Sparc, Save the Children and CGPA, were also in attendance.

The WGGEI representative said Pakistan was signatory to international protocols on promotion of education, so the country could achieve the millennium development goals on education only if it had a compulsory education policy, especially for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Expert says 2.8m children out of schools in KP

He urged the provincial government to immediately legislate on provision of basic right of education to all street children in the province and said street children could become useful part of the society.

Fayyaz Ahmad said the three federating units, including Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan, had made progress by introducing of relevant bill in their provincial assemblies but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lagged behind in this regard.

“It’s unfortunate that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has yet to pass the right to free and compulsory education bill,” he said.

The WGGEI representative said the government had allocated sufficient funds for education in the budget but on the other hand, legislation for the purpose was little.

He said if work on the approval of the proposed law on free and compulsory education was not expedited, it would be very bad for around three million street children.

Fayyaz Ahmad said the provincial government had prioritised promotion of education and was committed to imposing education emergency in the province but it had yet to fulfil its commitment.

He, however, said no progress had been seen in this respect.

Nuzhat Amin of the WGGEI said if the provincial government implemented Article 25-A of the Constitution, then more than 500,000 children in the province would get the right of education.

She urged the provincial government to pass the free and compulsory bill from the assembly without delay.

Published in Dawn, July 15th, 2014