In an effort to address the issue of out-of-school children (OOSC), Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui announced on Wednesday that the ministry was developing a plan to declare an emergency in the field of education.

When British High Commissioner to Pakistan Jane Marriott paid him a visit at the ministry, he said as much. James Hampson, the country director of the British Council, and Mohyuddin Wani, the secretary of education, were present at the meeting.

As per the minister, there are an increasing number of OOSC in Pakistan, and putting the issue on the national agenda is the only way to handle it. He claimed that the number of OOSC was rising as a result of large cities' slums and unchecked urbanisation, since slums were disregarded in all education policies.

According to a news release, he emphasised the significance of making sure that no child is left behind. Mr. Siddiqui pleaded with the UK to back the effort to end school dropout rates. He emphasised that in order to focus and streamline operations, we must put all parties involved—donors in particular—on the same page.

The minister states that Pakistan's out-of-school children are a national issue that needs to be addressed.

"Expense on education is not expenditure but investment," the minister stated, outlining the steps being taken to improve the education system.

According to the British high commissioner, Pakistan and the United Kingdom have been close allies since 1947. According to her, the UK has fostered the growth of its green project, which may increase the number of Pakistani students enrolled in UK universities through remote learning. According to her, Google Education is eager to assist Pakistan in tackling the problem of educational access.

Following the devolution of education to the provinces, the high commissioner and the minister of education also spoke on the potential and problems.

According to the education secretary, the ministry is working on a comprehensive plan that will proclaim a national emergency in education and bring all parties involved into agreement.

The minister had earlier stated, "We have set a target to train one million youth in the IT sector," during a discussion regarding youth.

He anticipated that Pakistan would rank among the world's top providers of IT specialists in the medium run. He requested assistance from the UK in obtaining internationally accepted IT certification for professionals with IT training.

The minister stated that the government wants to set up offices for mental health resources and awareness in each of Islamabad's colleges.

Pakistan had the largest British Council programme, second only to China, the country director informed the minister. He announced that in May, the worldwide chief executive of the British Council will pay a visit to Pakistan.

The minister praised the British Council's initiative and stated that he hoped to strengthen ties between Pakistan and the council, particularly in terms of expanding educational outreach projects for the nation's slums in its major cities.