Article 25-A

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Article 25-A
Farrukh Saleem

25 million Pakistani children are out-of-school. Pakistan is ranked number two in this category

Pakistan is ranked number 1: More than six million Pakistani children of primary school age are not enrolled in a primary or a secondary school. Pakistan is ranked number one in this category; no other country on the face of the planet is worse off than Pakistan. Sudan, at number two, has three million.

Pakistan is ranked number 1: Close to four million female Pakistani children are out of school. Pakistan is ranked number one in this category; no other country on the face of the planet is worse off than Pakistan. Sudan, at number two, has 1.5 million.

Pakistan is ranked number 2: 25 million Pakistani children are out-of-school. Pakistan is ranked number two in this category. Nigeria is the only country on the face of the planet that has more out-of-school children than Pakistan.

Pakistan is ranked number 2: Pakistani girls enrolled in primary schools expressed as a percentage of total number of pupils in primary schools stands at 35.9 percent. Pakistan is ranked number two in this category. Afghanistan is the only country on the face of the planet that is worse off than Pakistan. The same percentage in Afghanistan is 32 percent.

Pakistan is ranked number 2: The duration of compulsory education in Pakistan is five years. Pakistan is ranked number 2 in this category. Angola is the only country on the face of the planet where the duration of compulsory education is four years. The same in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands is 13 years.

Pakistan is ranked number 3: More than 30 million Pakistani women aged 15 or over are illiterate. Pakistan is ranked number three in this category.

Pakistan is ranked number 4: Pakistan spends 7.8 percent of overall government expenditure on education. Pakistan is ranked number four in this category. The only three countries that spend even less are: Panama, Slovakia and Equatorial Guinea. Imagine, Thailand spends 28 percent and Malaysia 20 percent.

Pakistan is ranked number 4: More than 18 million Pakistani men aged 15 or above are illiterate. There are only three other countries where there are more illiterate men aged 15 or above.

Pakistan is ranked number 5: Pakistan spends 1.8 percent of its GDP on education. There are only four countries on the face of the planet that spend even less – the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Ecuador and Equatorial Guinea. Imagine, Cuba spends 18.7 percent of its GDP on education, Malaysia 8.1 percent, Israel 7.5 percent and India 4.1 percent.

India spends 4.1 percent of its GDP on education and we spend 1.8 percent. No wonder, India produces around 13,000 scientific and technical journal articles and Pakistan less than 400.

Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Chapter 1: Fundamental Rights- Article 25-A: “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such manner as may be determined by law.”

For the record, a mere six percent of Pakistanis are aware of their constitutional right to a “free and compulsory education” (Alif Ailaan).

The writer is a columnist based in Islamabad.
Email: farrukh15@hotmail.com.
Twitter: @saleemfarrukh

http://e.thenews.com.pk/9-10-2013/page7.asp