Education in Pakistan
Education in Pakistan is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education and the provincial governments, whereas the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and the financing of research and development. Article 25-A of the Constitution of Pakistan obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to children of the age group 5 to 16 years. "The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to sixteen years in such a manner as may be determined by law". The education system in Pakistan is generally divided into six levels: preschool (for the age from 3 to 5 years), primary (years one to five), middle (years six to eight), high (years nine and ten, leading to the Secondary School Certificate or SSC), intermediate (years eleven and twelve, leading to a Higher Secondary School Certificate or HSSC), and university programs leading to undergraduate and graduate degrees. The Higher Education Commission established in 2002 is responsible for all universities and degree awarding institutes. It was established in 2002 with Atta-ur-Rahman as its Founding Chairman. Pakistan still has a low literacy rate relative to other countries. Pakistan's literacy rates range from 82% in Islamabad to 23% in the Torghar District. Literacy rates vary by gender and region. In tribal areas female literacy is 9.5%, while Azad Kashmir has a literacy rate of 74%. According to the data, Pakistan faces a significant unemployment challenge, particularly among its educated youth, with over 31% of them being unemployed. Moreover, women account for 51% of the overall unemployed population, highlighting a gender disparity in employment opportunities.Pakistan produces about 445,000 university graduates and 25,000–30,000 computer science graduates per year. Pakistan's population of children not in school (22.8 million children) is the second largest in the world after Nigeria. Only about 67.5% of Pakistani children finish primary school education.
