School children belonging to 15 child rights clubs of Karachi have said that education is the basic right of children and not a privilege. "To provide education to all children of the country is the responsibility of the state, but dismal state of education and services prove that our right of education is not recognised", they said in an appeal-cum-demand issued through Society for Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) here on Friday.
The appeal was made on the occasion of Universal Literacy Day being celebrated all over the world, including Pakistan. According to the Society, out of total of 160 million population about half of the population comprises children less than 18 years of age, while out of 40 million children of age group ranging 5 to 14 years an estimated 22 million are out of schools, 80 million never had access to education and others dropping out before completing primary education.
The Society said that alarming dropout ratio and involvement of 10 million children in labour and a large number of helpless street children portrays a dismal picture.
During last five years, the Society claimed, there had been a steady decline in children enrolment in government schools where overall share slumped from 72 percent in 2004-05 to 65 percent in 2005-06. Besides other factors, it cited corporal punishment as the main reason for increasing dropout ratio.
It said that due to lack of interest and proper management 12,737 educational institutions in Pakistan are non-functional--58 percent in Sindh alone. It is estimated that 23 percent urban areas and 21 percent villages of the country are without educational institutions.
The Society said that absence of basic facilities in educational institutions show government apathy towards educational development. About 53,481 institutions are without boundary walls, 46,766 without drinking water, 81,633 without electricity 57,216 without latrines and 9776 are without any building facilities.
According to the Society, lack of interest to cope with illiteracy is quite evident from the fact that only 4 percent of GDP has been allocated for education in the 2007-08 budget. The government has earmarked Rs 24 billion for education facilities and services for 2007-08 while a tiny 1.9 billion has been allocated for pre-primary and primary education.
Sparc pointed out that Pakistan being a signatory of UN Conventions is obligated to ensure commitment to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) fixed by the international community. The goal is to ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete a full course of primary schooling.
But the fact is that Pakistan, having over six million school age illiterate children is one of the countries where global literacy is concentrated. "We are well aware of the fact why we have been ignored," the children asked, and retorted that "because we are voiceless, and deprived of decision-making process".
"We appeal to all of you to listen to us and think about our future. Let us enjoy all our rights as outlined in the Constitution and prescribed in international laws", they said. "Our demand is to ensure education for us without having any discrimination in standard and services."