More than 25 million children in Pakistan have remained out of school for decades, with inadequate funding, fragmented education systems and weak governance identified as key factors behind the country’s education crisis, according to a policy report by the Civil Services Academy.
The report said that more than two years after the federal government declared a national education emergency, efforts to bring between 25.1 million and 26 million out-of-school children into the education system have failed to achieve the desired results.
According to the Civil Services Academy’s comparative policy review, all provinces have prepared ambitious education roadmaps under the National Education Action Plan 2026. However, the main challenge is not policymaking but effective implementation.
Historical data from the Pakistan Institute of Education shows that the education crisis has developed over several decades. Poverty, rapid population growth, weak governance and persistent underinvestment in education have continued to worsen the situation.
The report said that from the 1990s to the 2010s, monitoring of out-of-school children remained the responsibility of the Academy of Educational Planning and Management. During this period, public education infrastructure failed to keep pace with population growth.
The review assessed education policies in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of effectiveness, efficiency, equity, ethics and feasibility.
According to the report, Pakistan has between 25.1 million and 26 million out-of-school children. Despite the constitutional guarantee of free and compulsory education under Article 25-A, the country carries the world’s second-largest burden of educational deprivation.
The declaration of a national education emergency on May 8, 2024, brought significant political attention to the crisis. However, the report said each province faces different structural challenges and a uniform national strategy may not deliver the required results.
Punjab faces the country’s largest number of out-of-school children, while Sindh struggles with students leaving the education system after primary school and the impact of climate-related disasters.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, insecurity, difficult geography and a shortage of female teachers remain major obstacles. Balochistan faces weak institutions, vast distances and non-functional schools.
The report identified Punjab as carrying the country’s largest education burden, with between 9.6 million and 10.4 million children out of school.
According to the Punjab School Education Department’s 2026 baseline report, 6.4 million children have never enrolled in school, while another 3.16 million have dropped out before completing their education.
The findings indicate that Pakistan’s education challenge is not limited to school enrolment but also includes keeping children within the education system.
