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300,000 children in Pakistan remain desperate to return to school, six months after their classrooms were destroyed and their friends and teachers were killed in the earthquake on 8 October, 2005. Save the Children is urging the Government of Pakistan and other international organisations to take immediate action to get children back into classrooms. "Missing out on an education has a profound effect on a child’s future. The longer a child is out of school, the higher the risk that they will never return and will be put to work. If the Government of Pakistan, the UN and international donors don’t prioritise getting these children back into school soon they will have failed them.” said Jasmine Whitbread, Chief Executive of Save the Children who recently returned from Pakistan. Save the Children is one of the largest agencies working on education in the aftermath of the earthquake and is providing temporary and transitional classrooms for up to 600 schools for 60,000 children in Pakistan over the next two years. The scale of the problem means more organisations and donors urgently need to assist. Across the entire earthquake zone, a total of 7,669 schools were destroyed. Save the Children issued a briefing on the education situation in Pakistan after the earthquake on Tuesday. The charity’s key recommendations are: "The earthquake was a major catastrophe, but it presents a unique opportunity to improve children’s access to quality education in the affected areas. The children I met in Pakistan had a real thirst for knowledge and a passion for learning - it is vital that this enthusiasm isn’t lost," continued Whitbread. More information