ISLAMABAD: New data published by Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) on the world’s out-of-school children reveals little progress over more than a decade as roughly 258 million children, adolescents and youth were out of school in 2018 — around one-sixth of the global population of school-age children aged 6 to 17 years.

Even more worrying is the fact that unless urgent measures are taken, 12m primary school-age children will never set foot in an institution, warns the Unesco Institute for Statistics (UIS), which released the data the other day. In view of such figures, it will be difficult to ensure inclusive quality education for all, one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set by the international community for 2030, the data shows.

It confirms recent Unesco projections showing that, at the present rate, one in every six children will still be out of primary and secondary school in 2030, and that only six out of 10 young people will complete secondary education.

The data also highlights the gap between the world’s richest and poorest countries. According to data, 19 per cent of primary-age children (roughly 6 to 11 years old) are not in school in low-income countries, compared to just 2pc in high-income countries. The gap grows wider still for older children and youth. About 61pc of all youth between the ages of 15 and 17 are out of school in low-income countries, compared to 8pc in high-income countries.

Published in Dawn, September 16th, 2019