The Ministry of Education has disclosed alarming figures during a National Assembly session, revealing that approximately 2.62 crore children are currently out of school.The statistics indicate that 1.07 crore children aged 5 to 9 are not attending school, including 49.72 lakh boys and 58.01 lakh girls. In the 10 to 12 age group, 49.35 lakh children are missing out on middle school education, with 21.06 lakh boys and 28.28 lakh girls affected.

The high school level shows 45.45 lakh students who are not enrolled, comprising 23.06 lakh boys and 22.38 lakh girls. Additionally, 59.50 lakh students are deprived of higher secondary education, including 29.92 lakh boys and 29.58 lakh girls.On Sunday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared a nationwide education emergency, urging the private sector and civil organizations to collaborate with the government to address the critical education crisis.

According to a report by UNESCO, three out of four children in developing countries cannot read or understand a basic text by the age of 10. Furthermore, there are still 754 million illiterate adults globally, with two-thirds of them being women.