Pakistan faces a catastrophic education emergency, with census 2023 data revealing that 63 percent of its youth and 23 percent of teens have zero formal schooling. This neglect is consigning vast swathes of the population to perpetual poverty and exclusion.
Policymakers have largely overlooked out-of-school adolescents and youth, who form a shadowy underclass. Gender disparities are staggering: 75 percent of women aged 15-29 are completely unschooled, versus 50 percent of men. As per expert analysis, this shortfall ripples into denied access to quality employment, medical aid, and community involvement for life.
In-depth research from the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and UNFPA, conducted across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, dissects the plight of these marginalized youth. It maps out strategies for their re-entry into learning, jobs, wellness, and citizenship.
Poverty drives 75 percent to abandon education. Compounding issues: family duties, labor demands, distant or absent schools, perilous commutes, and cultural biases hitting girls hardest. Child marriages and abuse fears barricade girls from classrooms.
Young boys dive into exploitative labor young, with two-thirds citing early earning pressures. Over 85 percent of girls are trapped in endless unpaid housework and childcare, erasing chances for education or income. Girls marry at an average of 18, per findings.
Joblessness plagues 75 percent, mostly women, while workers scrape by on under 25,000 rupees in precarious gigs. A shocking 90 percent-plus lack any skills training exposure.
Health crises loom large—widespread malnutrition, persistent ailments, and psychological distress go untreated due to expense, inaccessibility, and ignorance. Pakistan must overhaul its approach to education and support systems to avert a lost generation.
