As many as 1.5 million children in Pakistan are on the street and the country has not yet achieved 50 percent literacy ration even after 65 years of independence, a representative of a non-governmental organisation said in a function on Sunday to mark the World Literacy Day.
According to Imran Takkar, the Programme Manager of Sparc, the ratio of child labour and street children in Pakistan has increased against other countries in the region. "The government's lack of seriousness on the issue of child labour can be gauged from the fact that no data is available since 1996," he said.
Citing unofficial statistics, he said that there were 10.2 million children involved in child labour in Pakistan.
"The government has already declared education as a fundamental right of every individual under Article 25-A of the Constitution," he said, adding that it was essential to sensitise people of the importance to the right to education. Urging the government to take immediate steps to increase the education ratio in the country, he said that under the 18th amendment, child rights fell under the domain of provinces.
"The government should increase the minimum age of employment under the Employment of Children Act, 1991, from 14 to 16 years, allowing children to avail their fundamental right to education," he suggested.
Furthermore, he said, enforcement of policy and legislative initiatives at the grassroots level could be ensured by establishing a strong implementation regime.
"The Employment of Children Act 1991 is not being enforced comprehensively, owing to inadequate administrative structure."
The literacy day celebrations were attended by a large number of street children, school children, community members and media personal in the Drop-In Center for Street Children in Sikandar Town, Peshawar.
The centre was set up in 2006 for providing street children facilities of education, recreation, health hygiene and reunification.