Daily Times

Sir: Education can act as a panacea for our major distressing problems such as poverty, hunger, unemployment and disease.

It is equally painful to learn that 25 million children, aged five to 16 years, are out of school. Out of these, 13.70 million are girls.

The majority of out-of-school children live in rural areas. The literacy rate is staggering somewhat at 60 percent whereas India and Bangladesh boast enrolment figures of 92 percent at the primary level.

Today, illiteracy is a scourge and no country can progress unless educational facilities are extended to every child. Education is a valuable human capital that can be harnessed by bringing children to schools.

Our Constitution says citizens up to 16 years have the right to free and compulsory education. Had this been practiced, there would have been 100 percent literacy today.

Unfortunately, hype is created for the establishment of schools, with each province allocating a considerable portion of its budget for education; thereafter proper utilisation of the education budget is not done.

Further, as education has advanced greatly in every discipline, our schoolchildren will have to learn the syllabus once taught in secondary classes in order to come at par with global standards of education. It is gratifying that the HEC has done a wonderful job in higher education.

M Saleem Ansari

Karachi