Literacy rate (10 years and older) has increased substantially from 16.7 percent in 1961 to 53 percent in 2004-05, but it is still below the PRSP target of 58 percent for 2004-05. The MDG target is to increase the literacy rate to 88 percent by 2015.
According to an official survey, the last three years have witnessed 8 percent increase in overall literacy from 45 percent in 2001-02 to 53 percent in 2004-05.
In the rural areas literacy increased from 36 percent in 2001-02 to 41 percent in 2004-05 whereas the increase in the urban areas was from 64 percent to 71 percent in corresponding period.
The study further said that male literacy increased from 58 percent in 2001-02 to 65 percent in 2004-05 while the increase in female literacy was from 32 percent to 40 percent during the period. Female literacy rates vary from only 13 percent in Balochistan to 35 percent in Punjab and during the 2001-02 and 2004-05 period, Balochistan and Sindh could increase it by only 2 percent and 4 percent respectively.
Female literacy should be the focus of social sector policy because it has a great potential to be a key factor in achieving the MDG targets.
Gender disparity in literacy was lowest in 1961 at 18 percent; it increased to 28 percent in 1998-99. Since then there is a declining trend. However, the more recent decline is only marginal; from 26 percent in 2001-02 to 25 percent in 2004-05.
At present, gender disparity is lower in urban areas (16 percent) than in rural areas (29 percent). In fact, there was no real progress in reducing the literacy gap either between rural and urban areas or between the genders in both areas.
The explanation of this gap is being pronounced, as girls are not being sent to schools because of distance of schools from home, their assistance in domestic work or other cultural obstacles.
There is a need to bring a change in this attitude, as the current literacy level of 53 percent is far from the MDG target of 88 percent by 2015.
Increase in primary school enrolment, as shown earlier, would certainly contribute in enhancing the literacy levels in Pakistan. However, the backlog of adult illiterates, particularly female; requires more resources and programmes for adult literacy.
The role of private sector in primary education has increased over time. Out of the total primary level gross enrolment rate (GER) of 86 percent in 2004-05 the government school GER has been computed as 62 percent. In other words private school GER was 24 percent in 2004-05. The government school GER increased by 15 percent between 2001-02 and 2004-05 while the private school GER increased by 33 percent during this period.
It suggests that new enrolment has taken place in both types of schools, public as well as private. On the other hand relatively greater increase in private school GER suggests some shifting of children from public to private schools.
Consequently between 2001-02 and 2004-05, the overall share of government school enrolment in the total primary-level enrolment decreased to 72 percent from 74 percent.
In urban areas approximately half of the total primary enrolment is currently in private schools and it has marginally declined from 49 percent in 2001-02 to 48 percent in 2004-05.
However, in rural areas private school enrolment as percentage of total primary enrolment increased from 15 percent in 2001-02 to 18 percent in 2004-05 suggesting that, in rural areas where majority of the poor lives, public schools remain the main source for primary education.
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