More than 25 million children in Pakistan have remained out of school for decades despite the government’s education emergency, according to a Civil Services Academy (CSA) policy report. The report attributes the crisis to inadequate funding, weak governance, fragmented administration, and uneven provincial capacity. It warns that poor implementation, rather than policymaking, remains the biggest obstacle to improving education access.
The report says more than two years have passed since the federal government declared a National Education Emergency, yet progress has remained limited. Although all provinces prepared education roadmaps under the National Education Action Plan (NEAP) 2026, structural weaknesses have slowed implementation. The review stresses that addressing governance failures is essential to achieving meaningful results.
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According to the report, Pakistan currently 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, Pakistan continues to carry the world’s second-largest burden of educational deprivation. Historical data from the Pakistan Institute of Education links the crisis to poverty, rapid population growth, weak governance, and decades of underinvestment.
The policy review examined education systems in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Islamabad Capital Territory, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. It found that each region faces distinct challenges, including climate-related disruptions, insecurity, difficult geography, institutional weaknesses, and shortages of female teachers. The report concludes that a single national strategy cannot effectively address these varying provincial realities.
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Punjab was identified 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 3.16 million dropped out before completing their education. The findings highlight that retaining students is as significant a challenge as enrolling them.