Islamabad has 17,000 out-of-school children, parliamentary panel told

ISLAMABAD: Lawmakers were told on Thursday that around 17,000 children in Islamabad remain out of school, while education officials also confirmed that Cambridge Assessment had confirmede a mathematics exam paper leak, according to discussions at a parliamentary committee meeting.

The disclosures were made during a meeting of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Education, chaired by acting chairperson Syeda Aamna Batool, where officials from the education ministry, the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA), the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and the National Vocational and Technical Training Commission (NAVTTC) briefed lawmakers on multiple education-related issues.

Education Joint Secretary Hameed Niazi told the committee that a survey conducted across 30 union councils in the federal capital identified 17,000 out-of-school children. He said that education authorities aimed to enrol all of them by May 30.

The committee also discussed allegations of a Cambridge examination paper leak, with IBCC officials informing lawmakers that Cambridge had acknowledged the leak of a mathematics paper and that a detailed report had been sought on the matter.

During the meeting, committee member Shazia Somroo criticised what she described as the education ministry’s lack of seriousness, saying senior officials, including the secretary and minister, frequently failed to attend committee sessions.

Former PEIRA chairman Ghulam Ali Mallah told lawmakers that authorities had identified 50 unregistered schools in Islamabad and formed inspection teams to review their status.

He said private schools were legally required to allocate 10 per cent of admissions free of charge and that a mechanism for implementation had been finalised.

According to officials, around 500 out of 1,600 schools had so far submitted reports regarding free admissions, while out-of-school children who passed entry tests would be eligible for free education at elite schools.

Mallah also said PEIRA would work with the Anti-Narcotics Force to address drug-related concerns in educational institutions.

The committee additionally reviewed admissions in federal government educational institutions, where Director General Education Junaid Akhlaq said admissions were being granted strictly on merit and that schools had capacity for 32,000 students.

Lawmakers, however, expressed concerns that the online admissions portal was difficult for low-income families to use.

Separately, NAVTTC Executive Director Mohammad Amir Jan told the committee that more than 76,000 young people had completed vocational training programmes ranging from three to six months, adding that the employment rate for graduates stood at 53 per cent during 2023-24.