The Prime Minister has rightly lamented recently on the lack of access to education of children generally and especially from poor families or those resident in the backward areas of Pakistan. He has highlighted that in Pakistan today as many as 26 million children, aged 5 to 16 years, are out of school. This is almost 36% of the total number of such children in the country. This high percentage of out-of-school children is one of the highest in the world.

The distribution of such children is concentrated in rural areas. 70% live in villages and the remaining 30% in towns and cities. This is clearly a reflection of the limited access to schools. Also, 58% of the children are females. Greater priority continues to be attached to the education of the male child.

The various surveys by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, especially the Living Standards and Social Measurement Surveys, highlight the differential access to education of children belonging to different household income quintiles.

The enrollment rate of children in the top income quintile is over 150% or twice as high as children in the bottom quintile, depending on the level of education, from primary to high school.

Therefore, the lack of access to education is one of the key factors contributing to the perpetuation of inter-generational inequality in Pakistan. Raising the enrollment rates will also contribute to a more productive labor force.

The central issue is whether the expansion in the school system in the country has kept pace with the number of children of school-going age. A perhaps less-known source of education statistics in........

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