ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal on Friday said Pakistan currently faced significant educational challenges, with over 26 million out-of-school children, one of the highest figures globally.

Speakingat aneventorganisedby planning ministry in connection with International Day of Education 2025, themed `Bridging the EducationDivide:LinkingEducationto National and Economic Development,` in Islamabad.

`Regional disparities, gender gaps, and socio-economic barriers further exacerbate the situation,` he said and pointed out critical challenges, including insufficient classrooms and infrastructure gaps, a shortage of 4,327 science teachers with pending posts at the federal finance level, and the need for improved teacher retention policies, especially in hard-to-reach areas.

He said that to address these issues, planning ministry had launched Uraan Pakistan initiative, which had set ambitious goals, including achieving 100pc primary school enrollment, implementing a transparent teacher recruitment and transfer policy, digitising education infrastructure through GIS mapping, e-transfer systems, and centralised dashboards, and developinga comprehensive national curriculum integrating AI and modern technologies.

Observed annually on January 24, the International Day of Education underscores the indispensable role of education in achieving globalsustainable development.

It aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4), which emphasises inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all. This year`s global theme, `AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation,` highlights the opportunities and challenges posed by artificial intelligence in the education sector.

The event brought together key stakeholders, including representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, Provincial Education Departments, Unesco , Unicef ,NAVTTC, NGOs, and vice chancellors and principals of federal e ducation institutions.

Antony Kar Hung Tam, Officer-in-Charge of the Unesco office in Pakistan, highlightedin his remarks the need for addressing gender and digital divides in Pakistan.

During the event, the District Education Performance Index (DEPIx) was highlighted as a key initiative to enhance evidence-based policy making, resource allocation, and governance transparencyin the education sector.

The DEPIx serves as a performance evaluation framework designed to identify highand lowperforming districts for targeted interventions, encourage competition among districts to improve education delivery, support data-driven policy decisions, and promote accountability within the education system.

The DEPIx measures district performance across key indicators, including access and literacy, learning outcomes, financing, governance, use of IT, and equity, providing a comprehensive evaluation of the education landscape.

The School Education Department Gilgit-Baltistan (SED GB) has implemented several reforms to improvethe education sector, such as the adoption of the Foundational Framework for Learning and Progress (FFLP 2024) to cover early childhood education to Grade 3, establishing school management committees to empower local communities in school operations, and introducing policies such as the Medical Hardship Policy and Hard Area Policy to retain teachers in challengingregions.

In his closing remarks, Minister Ahsan Iqbal reiterated that education is not merely a social service but a key driver of sustainable development and national prosperity.

He emphasized that every dollar invested in education yields significant returns in economic resilience, competitiveness, and social cohesion.

He highlighted that Balochistan holds vast untapped potential due to its rich mineral resources and underscored the need to align educational initiatives with economic development efforts, ensuring every district in Balochistan gains access to modern educationalfacilities.