United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) and Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) announced on Friday to convene an All Parties Conference (APC) on 'Education For All' (EFA) on February 5.
Briefing the media, Jorge Sequeira, Director and representative of Unesco said the objectives of the APC are to sensitise the political leadership about the key issues and challenges being faced by the country in the area of basic education and to seek their commitments for acceleration of concrete actions and devising viable strategies for the achievement of EFA goals.
In this regard, 18 political parties of Pakistan which were present in the immediate past national and one of the provincial assemblies have been invited to the APC, he added. Education is the main vehicle for socio-economic development. Pakistan is blessed with the natural and human resources, but these resources can only be harnessed and exploited fully when its citizens are educated and skilled. Unfortunately, about half of adult population in Pakistan cannot read and write.
He said ratio of budget for education indicates the level of importance being given to the sector. The Unesco has set the norm of a minimum of four percent of the GDP for education. But history tells us that Pakistan has been spending 2.4 percent of its GDP on education as compared to other countries in the region as Iran is spending 4.7 percent, India 3.8 percent, Maldives 7.5 percent and Nepal is spending 3.4 percent, he added.
He said basic education remains the fundamental instrument of poverty alleviation and development in any society. Pakistan lags behind its regional competitors as well as global partners in basic education indicators. There are some serious issues regarding primary education and literacy in Pakistan such as inadequate access, poor quality, gender disparity, inadequate financing of the educational sector, he added.
He said Pakistan is sixth most populous country of the world. But due to rapid population growth and inability of the formal education system to bring all children into schools, illiterate population has increased from 22 million in 1961 to 50 million in 1998. It is feared that by 2008, illiterate population may rise to over 50 million.
He said, although Pakistan has recently increased its focus on educational development, yet its net primary enrolment rate is 53 percent, according to a recent survey (PSLM 2005-06) conducted by the statistics division, is lowest in Asia.
Educational picture in under developed areas and districts is bleak. For instance, only 23 percent rural girls are enrolled in Balochistan as compared to almost twice 47 percent in rural Punjab. Only 17 percent rural women in Sindh can read and write, compared to 67 percent female literacy in rural Punjab, he said. Similarly, in 55 districts of the country, half of the school age children are not enrolled in primary schools and 21 of these districts are in Balochistan alone, he added.
According to the National Education Census Report by the Ministry of Education (2006), about 31 percent children drop out before completion of primary education. Out of 100 children enrolled in Grade 1, only 22 reach Grade 10, and only 13 are able to pass secondary examination.
With respect to Human Development Index, Pakistan has been placed by the UNDP at 136 position which is lower than some of its regional neighbours like Sri Lanka (99), Maldives (100), India (128) and Myanmar (132) due to its low literacy rate and low primary level enrolment.
He said Pakistan had committed to achieve 'Education for All' goals in Dakar in April 2000 and Millennium Development Goals (MDG). During 2000-2007, Pakistan has taken a number of steps towards the achievement of these goals. These include preparation of a National Action Plan for EFA (2001-2015), launching of Education Sector Reforms (ESR), provision of additional funds to the provinces, abolition of school fees, provision of free textbooks, stipend for girls and slow but consistent enhancement of educational budget, he said.
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