ISLAMABAD: Speakers at a national consultation here on Saturday proposed the implementation of the law mandating free and compulsory education for children aged 5 to 16 years through state intervention in order to mitigate illiteracy in the country.

The Parliamentary Caucus on Child Rights of the National Assembly hosted the consultation on national education emergency to address the issue of out-of-school children.

Convener of the caucus Dr Nikhat Shakeel Khan presided over the meeting which focused on identifying the reasons behind OOSC issue in Punjab and to devise a tailor-made strategy as per the ground realities in the province.

Speaking on the occasion, she stressed on alleviation of the OOSC problem in Pakistan by addressing its root causes, including financial constraints, accessibility of students, poverty, child labour, migration and displacement, societal norms that discourage girl student enrollment, and early child marriages.

Experts say root-causes behind out-of-school children such as financial constraints, accessibility, poverty, child labour and migration needed to be resolved

The speakers recommended increasing the number of early morning schools to give children the opportunity to learn and earn simultaneously; assigning union councils specific targets for the enrollment of identified OOSC; establishment of sheltered workshops for street children and vocational workshops within schools and raising societal awareness regarding the distinction between child labour and child work.

Some participants recommended that public-private partnerships and collaborations with civil society be strengthened, conducting annual performance reviews for all government school teachers, increasing the number of classrooms in primary schools and upgrading primary schools to elementary level to address accessibility challenges, especially in rural areas lacking secondary and higher secondary educational institutions.

The participants included MNAs Syed Ali Qasim Gillani, Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, Asia Naz Tanoli and Convener of the Punjab Caucus for Child Rights in the Provincial Assembly, Chief Planning Officer Education Department Multan Sarah Ahmed, representatives from the civil society and officers of the National Assembly Secretariat.

Syed Ali Qasim Gillani, while apprising the participants of the initiatives undertaken in Multan district and emphasising the need to replicate these efforts in other districts, also proposed additional measures to address the issue of OOSC. He stressed the importance of focused attention from the provincial government on districts in South Punjab that have the highest OOSC rates.

His recommendations included counseling parents of OOSC students, allocation of funds to ensure the necessary school infrastructure, provision of clean drinking water in schools through the installation of reverse osmosis plants, establishment of IT labs to promote skills in artificial intelligence and information technology, and the initiation of school alumni programmes in all districts to enhance social and financial support.

MNA Asia Naz Tanoli stressed on setting the minimum standard of all teachers being appointed in public and private schools to be set to 16 years of education, ensuring provision of subject-based training and refresher courses to teachers in the schools of all provinces, initiation of public service/awareness messages through sms, TV programmes and other programs for raising awareness among parents of students in rural areas bearing the most burden of OOSC besides resumption Taleem-i-Balighan.

Dr Shazia Sobia Aslam Soomro, MNA, emphasised the need to initiate programmes for children and students focused on basic personal safety - teaching them how to defend themselves, immediately inform their guardians or parents when in a dangerous situation, and escape from dangerous situations.

Ms Sarah Ahmed informed the participants about the launch of prevention campaigns by the government of Punjab in collaboration with Unicef and the Child Protection Bureau. These campaigns are focused on sensitising the police and judiciary to ensure the welfare and well-being of children.

She also emphasised the need for collective efforts from all stakeholders to ensure the provision of vocational, technical, and skills-based training specifically for girl students.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2025