Education is one of the most important skills we empower ourselves with in our lifetime. It is a basic human right that should be given to all as it not only improves an individual’s life but together, one person at a time, helps the whole country to commence sustainable socio-economic progress. No matter what we do, consciously or unconsciously, we use reading and writing skills each day. These skills facilitate us to understand what is happening around us and in our world. Education is the most precious asset one can ever own, and it is indeed more precious than diamonds and gold. The latter once gone can be reattained however, skills and talent wasted due to lack of education can never be regained.
Learning poverty refers to a condition where a child, by the age of 10, is not able to read and understand a simple, age-appropriate text. As per a policy brief by World Bank (WB), 77% of the children in Pakistan at late primary age cannot read properly. This means that 77 children out of 100 in the country are not fluent in reading. It is important to point out here that the previously spoken figure is already adjusted for children not attending school in the country. Likewise, UNICEF points out that an estimated 22.8 million children belonging to age group 5 – 16 years are out-of-school in Pakistan. Adding insult to injury, country has the world’s second highest number of out-of-school children and no matter what stage of education we consider, boys are out-numbering girls in schools in Pakistan. We need to put an end to this discriminatory trend. We need to treat our children equally regardless of their gender. A girl has as much of a right to receive education as a boy. In-fact, there is no difference between the two and thus both should not be treated differently.
Education is the most precious asset one can ever own, and it is indeed more precious than diamonds and gold.
Again, as per World Bank (WB), literacy rate among people aged 15 and above was 58% in 2019 in Pakistan. In comparison, Bangladesh had a literacy rate of 76% in the same age bracket in 2021. Iran had a literacy rate of 89% in 2022, followed by Iraq with 86% literacy rate in 2017. Qatar had a literacy rate of 98% in 2014, followed by Saudi Arabia with 98% literacy rate in 2020 and United Arab Emirates (UAE) that also had 98% literacy rate in 2022. The already discussed literacy rates point only in one direction and that is we need to prioritize education in Pakistan. Even within the framework of education, we need to work extensively to eradicate learning poverty in our children and adults. Indeed, learning poverty is the worst form of poverty incurring both economic and intellectual disability in our children and adults. We never know how many Leonardo da Vinci, Pablo Picasso, Bano Qudsia, Bapsi Sidhwa, Sadequain and Shakir Ali we are losing due to learning poverty. We cannot give-up on education and on our children and make Pakistan face cultural bankruptcy.
We must do all we can to give our children an excellent life, free from intellectual and financial incapacity. At household level, we can ensure that we as parents read in our spare time. May be, we can challenge ourselves to spare 10 minutes a day to read at least 2 pages, each day. That can be an excellent beginning of a country-wide reading campaign. Once we start reading 2 pages a day, each day, we can motivate our children to read with us as well. Imagine, all Pakistan, one person at a time, would read at least 2 pages a day to eradicate learning poverty from our country. This would be a much-needed step in the right direction to create a sustainable Pakistan adequately prepared to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow. An excellent reading and writing skill can prove to be an engine to stimulate progress to ensure that Pakistani society would be socially equitable, financially viable and ecologically sustainable for all. It is possible for Pakistan to have a 100% literacy rate.
To conclude, we cannot carry on with business-as-usual approach and we must do all we can to eradicate learning poverty from Pakistan. Our children and adults deserve better. It is certainly in our own hands as adults to make deliberate positive choices that would help us in becoming better in both reading and writing. We can have 100% literacy rate in Pakistan. I understand that this would not happen overnight. With monomaniac focus and dedicated efforts, one person at a time, Pakistan can certainly beat learning poverty. We have what it takes to punch financial and intellectual disability in the face and knock it down on the floor. We cannot afford to lose our talent. If Pakistan must commence sustainable socio-economic development, it must beat learning poverty. Most importantly, we need to stop discriminating our young girls and an excellent start to that would be enrolling them in schools. Our children deserve better and as adults, it’s our mutual responsibility to make it happen.
The writer is a Stockholm-based policy analyst and the Founder / Operations Manager of Project Green Earth.