OUT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN: A THREATENING FACTOR FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

The purpose of the present research paper is to analyze the socioeconomic characteristics of out-of-school children and to highlight the factors
involved in promoting out-of-school children's ratio. The research also aims to
analyze the impact of out-of-school children on sustainable development in
Pakistan. The research is quantitative in nature, in which descriptive research
type was employed. For the allocation and distribution of the population, both
probability and non-probability sampling methods were used, wherein from
probability sampling the sample random technique was used to select 3 districts
of Karachi and in non-probability sampling the purposive sampling technique
was used to select the respondents from the selected districts. The data was
collected from 105 out-of-school children between the ages of 10 to 18 years old
from the district of East, Korangi, and Malir, 35 from each, by using the
questionnaire, which had 75 questions. The research indicates that the children
are mostly out of school due to weak financial status, child labor, gender
inequality, poor environment and corporal punishments in schools. The research
study recommends proper monitoring and reporting mechanisms to monitor and
track out-of-school children's cases at local and community levels to tackle them
promptly as well as the proper implementation of child labor laws and the policy
of giving free primary quality education to every child.