Members of the Pakistan Senate and National Assembly will review the state of education in Pakistan at a Consultation convened by Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat) in association with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco).
The stock-taking is a follow-up of the joint declaration issued by 17 political parties of Pakistan at an All Parties Conference on Education jointly convened by Pildat and Unesco about a year ago on February 5, 2008.
Minister of State for Education Ghulam Farid Kathia will be the guest of honour. The consultation becomes all the more important because provincial education ministers from the provinces; Pir Mazhar ul Haq, Senior Minister also holding the portfolio of Education in Sindh, Mian Mujtaba Suja Ul Rehman, Provincial Minister for Education from Punjab; Sardar Hussain Babak, Minister of Schools and Literacy from NWFP will also be present on the occasion.
The programme of the consultation includes a round-up of the APC conclusions; a briefing by the country representative of Unesco; remarks by the committee chairs in the Senate and National assembly and an open session to share views on how to address the issues of one of the lowest literacy rates, school enrolment rate and a dismal 2 percent of the GDP as public spending on education and literacy despite the recommended minimum of 4% by the international bodies.