GILGIT: Fifty-five per cent of children in Gilgit-Baltistan are out of school, reveals the United Nations Children`s Fund.

In a report, which was launched here on Wednesday, the Unicef said GB had better education indicators compared to other regions of the country, especially on the primary education front.

According to it, considering that GB is predominantly rural with small urban centres, non-formal education plays a significant role in the region`s education system.

Currently, more than 58,000 students are enrolled in community schools and around 60 per cent of them are girls.

Ironically, GB has yet to legislate to implement Article 25-A of the Constitution, which guarantees the right ofeducation to all citizens.

The Unicef said significant inequalities existed in the education sector of GB, especially at district level.

`According to the government`s statistics, over 70,000 children of primary school level are estimated to be out of school in GB,` it said.

The Unicef said three in every 10 primary school age children weren`t enrolled in GB schools.

During the report launching ceremony here, GB Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman said his government had accorded top priority to the development of education and health sectors in the region.

He said the Unicef report would help the government address the issue of out-ofschool children through effective policies and measures.

The CM said the fee of the students of master`s, MPhiland PhD courses was being paid by the federal government, while Rs340 million had been released to the Karakorum International University for the purpose.

He said the government had allocated nine per cent of the development budget for education sector in GB, while free textbooks were given away to the students of classes 1 to 10.

The CM said the government was also taking effective steps to execute the Social Action Programme for the welfare of schoolteachers.

He said 58,000 children were enrolled in the SAP schools.

The CM said special education centres would be established in all districts of the region. Unicef Pakistan representative Angela Kearney said every child had a right to education and serious efforts were needed to ensure its provision to the children.