Islamabad, May 24 (IANS): A new survey by the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) has revealed that the country's literacy rate among children aged 10 and above has stagnated at 60 per cent.

The survey has shown that net enrolments at the primary, middle, and matric levels across provinces have either remained stagnant or shown decreasing trends, The Express Tribune reported on Sunday.

Enrolments at all levels are highest in Punjab, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Sindh while they are the lowest in Balochistan, it said.

"There are 32 per cent children aged five-16 years who are currently out of school; highest percentage of out of school children is in Balochistan (47 per cent) and lowest in Punjab (26 per cent)," the PBS survey said.

"Rajanpur in Punjab, Thatta in Sindh, Kohistan and Bajur in the K-P and Harnai, Qillah Abdullah and Ziarat (in Balochistan) are at the bottom in education indicators within their respective provinces," it added.

According to Unesco data, the literacy rate among people aged 15 and above in Pakistan as of September 2020 stood at 59 per cent.