Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of young people from minority backgrounds leaving school early in Pakistan on account of discrimination.

According to UNESCO, Pakistan has the second highest number of out of school children globally, which includes children who have never gone to school and those who drop out early. DFID Pakistan’s education programmes work with the provincial governments of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to increase enrolment and reduce the number of children out of school. We are concerned about every child that is out of school, whatever the reason. DFID’s national education campaign, Alif Ailaan, highlights and campaigns on key educational issues such as out of school children and learning outcomes for the poor and most marginalised.