DESPITE their scale, out-of-school adolescents and youth (OOSAY) are probably the most ignored demographic, remaining largely invisible in coverage discourse and programmatic prioritisation. Census 2023 information reveals {that a} whopping 63 % of Pakistan’s youth inhabitants and 23 % of adolescent inhabitants have by no means obtained any formal schooling. Gender disparities are stark, with practically three-quarters of ladies aged 15-29 having by no means enrolled in class, in comparison with about one-half of males.
These figures replicate extra than simply statistical gaps; They seize the lived realities of a majority of younger individuals who expertise early and sustained exclusion from correct schooling, resulting in marginalization on a number of fronts, together with different studying alternatives, first rate employment, well being entry and civic engagement.
Their focus within the casual economic system limits the supply of well timed and dependable information, constraining evidence-based, focused responses to help their reintegration. Furthermore, coverage frameworks routinely collapse OOSAY into broader youth classes, assuming publicity to formal education that many by no means had. This successfully renders them excluded from the very help supposed for them.
SDPI, in collaboration with UNFPA performed a mixed-methods ‘wants evaluation’ of OOSAY throughout KP and Punjab. The goal was to know the type of help OOSAY themselves say they should help their reintegration throughout 4 key domains: schooling, employment, well being, and engagement.
Out-of-school adolescents and youth must be acknowledged as a definite demographic.
Outcomes from the research present that throughout each provinces, monetary boundaries are probably the most binding in hindering college entry, affecting practically three out of 4 respondents. These are compounded by obligations at residence or work, gender norms, unavailability of colleges, lengthy commutes, lack of transportation, threat of harassment, and early marriage, all of them significantly restrictive for women.
The impacts of being out-of-school are largely gendered, with boys usually pressured into early, low-skill, bodily strenuous labor. Within the pattern, practically two-thirds of male OOSAY mentioned they felt pressured to economically help themselves and their households, resulting in youngster labor. Alternatively, women are anticipated to shoulder the burden of family obligations and unpaid care work. Findings present that 85.4pc of feminine OOSAY spend their day performing home chores and unpaid caregiving actions, limiting their availability for education, abilities coaching, or paid work. Many ladies are additionally pressured into early marriage. In our pattern, the median age of marriage for feminine OOSAY was 18 years, indicating that just about half had been married at or under the minimal authorized age of marriage.
The implications of exclusion from schooling spill into the labor market, with practically three-quarters of OOSAY missing entry to paid work, together with an awesome 95pc of feminine respondents. Job alternatives are extraordinarily restricted, casual, and unstable, with practically half of working respondents incomes lower than Rs25,000 monthly regardless of working 12-15-hour-long shifts. That is even under the minimal wage fee.
Forty-two % of working OOSAY depend on every day wages with no job safety, stability, or advantages. Workplaces lack security, supervision, or alternatives to sustainably train technical abilities that these younger folks can harness in the long term.
These vulnerabilities are magnified because of an absence of entry to different studying alternatives. Within the pattern, greater than 90 % of the respondents reported that they’ve by no means enrolled in any abilities growth or vocational coaching program. Solely about 12.6pc (principally males) pursued casual apprenticeships, and round 15pc (principally females) relied on home-based studying.
Well being outcomes additional replicate this structural neglect. Many OOSAY undergo from malnutrition, persistent physique pains, and psychological well being points, however are unable to entry healthcare because of unaffordability, mobility boundaries, and low consciousness. Practically three-fourths depend on public hospitals due to value issues, with many usually resorting to self-medication and home-based treatments. Two out of 5 respondents present indicators of psychological misery, however solely 7.2pc acknowledge a necessity for counseling because of stigma. Psychological well being providers are extraordinarily scarce, with solely 6.1pc reporting availability of their chosen well being facility. Furthermore, 82.5pc of married OOSAY have by no means accessed sexual and reproductive well being providers because of stigma or unavailability of providers.
Additionally it is necessary to notice that being out-of-school is an intergenerational phenomenon: younger folks with out schooling usually find yourself in low-paid jobs and can’t afford education for their very own youngsters, perpetuating a cycle of illiteracy, unstable employment, and poverty. Therefore, authorities consideration is required to deal with the difficulty. Whereas a number of present insurance policies goal out-of-school youngsters, their focus stays largely on re-enrollment throughout the school-going age bracket, overlooking the truth that many have already aged out of the system and require different types of help.
Going ahead, there’s a want for policymakers to acknowledge OOSAY as a definite demographic that requires focused help past re-enrollment efforts. This requires a coordinated nationwide and provincial technique with clear mandates, devoted budgets, and built-in information programs, alongside stronger enforcement of labor legal guidelines, reforms in youngster labor legal guidelines, and focused poverty discount measures.
These coverage interventions have to be complemented by programmatic help within the type of inclusive schooling planning, versatile and phased bridging and abilities growth pathways aligned with market demand, formalized apprenticeships, and employment or entrepreneurial help channeled via district-level youth facilities. There’s additionally a have to undertake gender-responsive fashions that prioritize women’ entry via secure areas, mobility help, and group engagement. Failure to behave will proceed to lock thousands and thousands into cycles of low productiveness, poor well being, and financial precariousness, placing the nation’s demographic dividend in danger.
The author is a researcher on the SDPI, Islamabad. The views are the author’s personal and don’t replicate the SDPI’s place.
X: @AroojWDar
Revealed in Daybreak, January seventh, 2026
