ISLAMABAD: The Constitution says: “The State of Pakistan shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period.” According to the UN, we have a literacy rate of less than 50 per cent. And according to Unesco, the rate of completion of primary education is a mere 33.8 per cent for girls and 47.18 per cent for boys.
The reasons are numerous and highlighting them repeatedly is not the solution. Awareness is needed on all levels from individuals to policymakers to accord education a high priority in order to bring a change and improve the condition of the country. The first step is having a practical policy fully implemented. A significant increase in the education budget is a prerequisite. Furthermore, we need better trained teachers and a medium of instruction that is the same in both government and private schools.
Technical education is also important. Sir Syed Ahmad Khan emphasised the important of education in the fight against the colonial British masters of then-undivided India. Those who understood the importance of his message on education grew up to be the flag-bearers of Pakistan. Today, the only hope to build Pakistan, fight all its problems and evils depends on our ability to achieve universal literacy.
Anwar Parveen
Published in The Express Tribune, December 1st, 2012.
