The curse of illiteracy

The fact that the literacy rate in Pakistan is one of the lowest in the world was never a secret. However, this squalid truth was confirmed once again by the latest "Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), Pakistan" which has revealed that Pakistan stands second in global ranking of out-of-school children, with 57.3 percent children in the 3-5 age group not enrolled in any school in the rural areas and 65.5 percent mothers being in the illiterate category. This data was compiled from a survey covering 48,646 households in 2,502 villages across 84 rural districts of the country. Sharing details of the survey, Programme Director, Baela Raza Jamil, said that out of the children enrolled in the 3-5 age group 67.6 percent were in government schools, 29.3 percent in private schools, 2.7 percent in madressahs and 0.4 percent in "other institutions". Among children aged 5, an age at which a child is expected to be enrolled in some educational facility, 32.3 percent were not enrolled in any school. Gender disparity was also clearly reflected in the survey. School enrolment for children aged 6-16 years stood at 79.9 percent, comprising 36 percent girls and 64 percent boys. Of the 50,473 mothers in the sampled households, 49 percent agreed to be tested for literacy and of them 65.6 percent fell in the illiterate category. Province-wise, the survey presented a dismal picture of rural Sindh, where it found 62.4 percent young children unenrolled. Girls' enrolment stood at only 34.1 percent. The highest ratio of out-of-school children in the province was in Kashmore, followed by Thatta. Attendance in government schools was found at 70.6 percent on the registers and 61.6 percent according to headcount during visits. The information on children literacy as revealed by ASER is important for a number of reasons. It is, of course, sad that Pakistan is almost at the bottom of global ranking so far as the data on out-of-school children was concerned. A very high percentage of out-of-school children suggests that the prospects of the country are doomed for a long time to come due to lack of education of the future generation. A clear divide in enrolment between rural and urban areas, genders and regions also demonstrates lack of opportunities and gross injustice to certain sections of the country's population. A comparatively lower level of output in the agricultural sector, much below the potential, could also be explained by the dismally low rate of literacy in the rural areas. It needs to be noted that the data in the ASER survey is somewhat different from government documents and, as such, reveals another dimension of the problem, particularly at the basic level and pointing to the literacy rate of the country in the future. For instance, the Economic Survey for FY11 refers only to the latest Pakistan Labour Force Survey and contains the literacy rate (age 10 years and above) and the aggregate level of pre-primary enrolment while the ASER survey highlights the extent of problem in a different setting. More importantly, the latter survey shows that the country has miserably failed to make even a modest beginning to overcome the curse of illiteracy. Anyhow, at a broader level, all the surveys and studies consistently highlight the sad reality that the current literacy rate in Pakistan among children, is highly disappointing and the prospects for an improvement in this particular area are also bleak. This is pathetic, to say the least and reflects our skewed priorities at the national level. Needless to say that educated human capital has been found to have a strong positive impact on economic growth and productivity of a country all over the world. Also, it is instrumental in combating unemployment, reducing poverty, removing social differences and regional disparities, improving tolerance and setting the stage for women's participation. Unfortunately, in Pakistan, not only a very low percentage of resources is spent on education at the primary level but the sector is also beset by certain other problems. A very high proportion of the education budget, for instance, is spent on recurrent heads, mainly comprising of salaries in contrast to the meagre amount spent on quality improvements, such as teachers' training and curriculum development. It is also a fact that lack of quality education in government schools is forcing the parents to send their children to private schools who have learnt to exploit the situation to their advantage. More children are also said to be enrolled in seminaries and "other institutions" where free food and lodging is also provided. Children educated in such schools are generally unemployable and have low tolerance levels. After the passing of the 18th Amendment, provinces have ample financial resources which should be earmarked for the education sector. We would advise the provincial governments to use all their energies and devote more resources to ensure that the maximum number of children, especially in the rural areas, are enrolled in government schools, which should also be supervised and monitored properly, failing which the country is destined to face a bleak future. It is very painful to see the dismal conditions in Pakistan, when other countries facing similar environments have made rapid progress in this area over the years and improved their lot. Copyright Business Recorder, 2012