With only 38,000 institutions accessible for a population of 130 million, Punjab is experiencing a scarcity of government schools.

A survey by the Population Council, a non-governmental organization, states that the main causes of the high dropout rate at government schools are their unavailability and lack of infrastructure.

The Punjab government should set aside the most money possible in the upcoming budget to build more schools, the report stated, adding that the province will require almost 19,000 new schools over the next 15 years.

Punjab's population growth has presented the government with numerous challenges, but one major problem impeding efforts to raise the province's literacy rate is the lack of public sector schools.

In its most recent report, the Population Council said that the province's growing population and the lack of government schools are concerning.

It became clear that in order to educate the millions of children, 19,000 additional schools would need to be built during the following 15 years.

In announcing the report, the council bemoaned the children's meager budget and urged the government to provide more funding for building schools and hospitals for them.

A total of 10 million youngsters between the ages of five and fifteen are not attending school, according to the research.

Over 2.5 percent of the province's population is growing, and the ratio indicates that 19,000 more schools must be built over the next 15 years.

Due mostly to a lack of facilities and institutions, the teaching community is having difficulty enrolling out-of-school children in government schools.

There are over 38,000 government schools spread across Punjab's 36 districts, according to a senior official in the department of education. There are 21,702 primary schools, 7,200 middle schools, 8,000 high schools, and 800 higher secondary institutions.

In Lahore and other towns, he continued, there are numerous housing societies without a government school.

He claimed that the administration was pushing to outsource government schools while dismissing the teachers' protests against the plan.

According to the official, the poor were the ones who suffered the most because 10 million youngsters were not attending school and wanted to pursue their education, but government policies did not encourage them to do so.

"We took to the streets to oppose the outsourcing because it is clear that more public sector schools are needed, but the government did not take our concerns into consideration," said Punjab Teachers Union Secretary General Rana Liaqat Ali.

He went on to say, "We want the government to take the issue into consideration for the benefit of future generations, as foreign NGOs have now brought attention to it and called for more government schools.

In addition to schools, he said Punjab also required more government colleges and universities.

The head of the teachers' union hoped that the government would prioritize school improvements in Punjab's upcoming budget.