EDITORIAL: Our Constitution places responsibility on the state to provide free and compulsory education to all children of five to sixteen years of age. Yet an estimated 22.8 million children, an alarming 44 percent of the population in this age group, have never been inside a classroom.
Many of those who do get enrolled also tend to drop out due to extraneous circumstances. Gender and economic status-related disparity is most pronounced not only between provinces but also within provinces.
The issue came up for discussion at a consultation workshop co-hosted in Lahore by NGOs Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy and Water Aid under a rather longish title: “Advancing gender responsive, inclusive and climate-resilient approach in legal and policy frameworks and promoting women’s leadership in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH)”.
The participants comprising a cross-section of female representatives, including legislators, lawyers, and officials from different provincial government departments, highlighted WASH issues, and the need for civil society to take concrete step to provide safe water, sanitation and hygiene facilities to girls in schools and women in offices and public buildings. For girls, especially in rural areas, the path to schooling is hindered not only by social prejudices but tangible barriers.
A major issue, as pointed out by various survey reports, is missing facilities, including boundary walls, drinking water, toilets, and electricity, which act as disincentives for girls to attend school.
As per Pakistan Education Statistics (PES) 2022- 23 report put out last year by Pakistan Institute of Education Ministry & Professional Training, 14 percent of girls’ schools have no toilets, 17 percent lack access to clean drinking water, while 22 percent are without electricity.
Besides, according to the PES report, the high school dropout rate in general and for girls in particular is a chronic issue in rural Sindh.
Rural-urban, gender and economic status disparities are quite significant in Punjab as well. Hence the demand by women leaders at the event in Lahore that the government provide water and hygiene facilities for girls in primary, middle and high schools of the province’s rural areas, where a large number of female students are forced to discontinue education due to lack of these conveniences.
The challenge before the provincial governments, therefore, is not only to ensure that all children are enrolled in schools, but also that they stay on to complete high school level education. Equally important is the need to
close the gap of gender inequality to foster individual development and its contribution to socio-economic progress of society.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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