No right to learn.

THERE are certain responsibilities a state has towards its children. The most fundamental of them is providing access to education, alongside the other basic rights of nationality, housing, recreation, freedom, protection and belonging.

Inability to access education is one of the major challenges faced by people in Pakistan. The non-existence of quality public institutions leads to few opportunities and possibilities. In marginalised communities, there are home-grown schools that parents send their children to as a last resort. However, these schools are unable to retain their students due to lack of quality engagement and nurturing and the inflicting of corporal punishment. This combination results in children dropping out of school or playing truant.

Education in Pakistan is a luxury that most cannot afford. Without educating children, there is no hope for empowerment and progress. In this landscape, we have a large population of children who are stateless: ie, they are without any identity or citizenship documents in their country of residence, which makes them virtually non-existent.

The requirement for school admissions and subsequently taking high school exams is a Child Registration Certificate. There are countless families in Pakistan that, because of the lack of documentation, are unable to acquire a CRC. Struggles of this nature exist not only in communities that are stateless, but also among those who have a generational lack of documentation.

Lack of documents is depriving children of education.

The kind of challenges faced by children and young people due to this requirement are unimaginable. There have been cases of children who have been removed from school in secondary grades or whose studies have been aborted midway. In most cases, there has been no access to schooling as schools refuse to enrol a child because of lack of documentation. There are students who have managed to complete their college degrees but are then unable to get their certificates, rendering their education useless.

These are violations of the fundamental rights of the child guaranteed by the Constitution of Pakistan, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that have been ratified by Pakistan. Pakistan has therefore accepted its legal obligations and is bound to make the changes required to ensure implementation.

The Constitution of Pakistan in Article 25A clearly lays down that 'The state shall provide...