More investment required to improve girls’ enrolment

ISLAMABAD:

The government needs to invest more in education with particular focus on female literacy to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

According to UNESCO’s global statistics, youth female literacy rate for women aged 15 to 24 in Pakistan is 61% against 79% for men, signifying a gender gap.

The statistics were quoted by United Nations Resident Coordinator Timo Pakkala during a seminar, ‘”Girls’ Right to Education” held on Tuesday at a local hotel.

Youth female literacy rate is projected to be 72% against 82% for males by 2015, whereas adult female literacy rate inclusive of all women older than 15 is projected to be 47%. This indicates that young Pakistani females are more educated than their mothers. Currently, female adult literacy rate for women over the age of 15 is 40%, while it is 69% for men.

For the next five years, 2013 to 2017, UN agencies, in collaboration with the government, have collectively identified six strategic priority areas including gender equality and social justice to engage in development programmes.

In her address, Unesco Pakistan Director Dr Kozue Kay Nagata said nearly two-thirds or 63% of the 5.1 million out-of-school children are girls who should be in primary school, this clearly reflects that gender gap still exists.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 24^th, 2012.