KARACHI, April 5: Chief Secretary Dr Mutawakkil Qazi has observed that countries with a high literacy rate and standardized education system top the list of developed nations.

He was speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the students' week at a school here on Monday. He said that students and teachers bore a big responsibility of spreading and promoting education. He urged NGOs to come forward and help the government in raising literacy rate.

The chief secretary pointed out that the region where Pakistan existed was once considered as the centre of knowledge and literature and ancient civilizations, like Moenjodaro and Texila were an evidence. Sindh has the honour of being the gateway of Islam.

He impressed upon teachers to lead a sincere and concerted struggle with devotion to promoting the cause of education. It is the duty of every Pakistani to extend full cooperation to the government in promoting education so that Pakistan could achieve the targets it had set in every field. The current century would prove to be the century of education, development and prosperity for Pakistan, he declared. -PPI