Islamabad Government Mandates Cybersecurity Training For Schools

Recent reports indicate a worsening education crisis in Pakistan, with over 26 million children currently out of school, as revealed in the 'Girls Education Statistics and Trends Report 2023-24 (GESTR)' released by Federal Minister for Education Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui. The report specifies that 25.37 million children aged 5 to 16 are out of school, including 13.41 million girls and 11.96 million boys. Punjab province remains the most affected, accounting for 9.6 million out-of-school children, followed by Sindh with 7.82 million and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa with 4.92 million. Alarmingly, while 20.815 million children enroll at the primary level, only 2.825 million progress to the intermediate level, and just 718,000 enter university degree programs. The report also highlights a decline in education funding, with education's share in the national budget dropping from 13 percent to 11 percent, and 94 percent of that allocation directed towards salaries, limiting development opportunities.