Paris, September 6, 2012: Federal Minister for Education and Trainings, Waqas Akram Sheikh has said that the Govt. is committed to achieve 86% literacy rate by the year 2015. He was speaking at an International Round Table Conference on Literacy at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris today. The Minister, while presiding over the morning session, said that the provision of free education up to secondary level and eradication of illiteracy were main policies of the state. Both of these targets have been reflected in all our development plans and national policies, he added.
While admitting the importance of Literacy, especially for women, he said that literacy is also vital for economic development as it increases female labor force participation in economy. Today, the participation of Pakistan’s female labour force in the economy is around 15 percent, which is still low if compared to many other countries with similar per capita GDP. Increasing women in the workforce is both a challenge and an opportunity for Pakistan, he said. He told the Conference that, the constitution of Pakistan recognizes the importance of literacy and need to eradicate illiteracy within minimum possible time. One of the important strategies/provisions in the constitution to eradicate illiteracy is to make education free and compulsory up to secondary level. Last year, through an amendment in the constitution, Education has been made Fundamental Right of each and every individual, he told.
Recounting the steps that the Govt. was taking to achieve 86% literacy by 2015, he explained that National Literacy Curriculum had been developed and notified to improve the quality and standard of literacy in the country; Pakistan had carried out in-depth situation analyses to identify strategic areas for making a difference in literacy efforts, and has developed national action plan; Pakistan was working hard to bring its capacity up to strength, to improve policies and programs and help partners work better together; An intergenerational approach to literacy learning known as family literacy has shown positive results as technique for adults and children to learn together has been practiced in Pakistan with visible success; Education for All plans were developed for Baluchistan & AJ&K provinces down to the District levels; National Literacy Resource Center has been established in Islamabad which works as a platform for literacy research, advocacy & capacity building of literacy professionals on national level; Functional and income generating programs are being launched to address the economic needs of the learners; A crash program through National Commission for Human Development NCHD) has been launched. NCHD has so for opened 154,000 Literacy centers and 3.6 million people have been made literate; NCHD and National Education Foundation have opened about 25000 non formal schools and enrolled 800,000 out of school children; Five year (2010-15) Provincial and National Action Plans for Literacy has been prepared; National Commission for Human Development has also prepared Education for All Plans for two provinces of Baluchistan and AJK.
He suggested public education about the intrinsic and instrumental value of women’s education; Institutionalization of the Literacy and Non Formal Basic Education Programs including organizational structure at various levels for resource mobilization, research, planning and implementation of literacy and non formal education programs and establishment of organizational structure at national and provincial levels for planning, research and training, curriculum development, accreditation, monitoring/ evaluation of literacy and non-formal education programs; special focus on less privileged segments and appropriate use of media for the implementation of strategic plans.
