Never too late, to take such intiatives to bring postive change in the society.
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly passed the “Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill” on Tuesday to ensure provision of free-of-cost education to children of age 5-16 years, **reported Radio Pakistan](http://www.radio.gov.pk/newsdetail-31908).
**Speaking on the occasion‚ Minister for Religious Affairs Syed Khurshid Shah said that providing free and compulsory education to children is the basic priority of the government.
He also expressed the hope that after the passage of the bill, the provinces will also follow it.
The bill has already been passed by the Senate.
A recent UN report noted that Pakistan had the second worst global rate of children out of school with as many as 5.1 million children out of classrooms. Of these, 3 million were females.
According to the report, Pakistan has allocated only 2.3 per cent of the budget for education, which is 0.3 per cent less than in 1999. Nine per cent of government spending is on education, placing Pakistan 113th amongst 120 countries on the Education Development Index.
NA passes Right to Free and Compulsory Education bill – The Express Tribune