June 1, 2005	Wednesday	Rabi-us-Sani 23, 1426

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LAHORE, May 31: A majority of the 55 million children up to the age of 14, about one-third of the country’s population, has no worthwhile literature to study that can develop their mental faculties and educate them on their national vision and ideology. This was a consensus among educationists and writers at a meeting of the Nazaria-i-Pakistan Foundation at its auditorium here on Tuesday.

Foundation Secretary Dr Rafiq Ahmad, who is the Punjab University’s former vice-chancellor, expressed grave concern over the fact that over half of the children population was illiterate for lack of schooling. Consequently, the national literacy rate is below 50 per cent.

In foreign countries the governments give special attention to the education of children, but “we have forgotten our children and don’t bother to educate them.” He also said children in our country had capabilities to develop themselves provided they had opportunities.

Keeping the tradition alive, he said, the foundation would offer summer classes to students of local schools during the vacation. Students would be given useful information about their national vision and ideology, besides regular studies.

Columnist Dr M.A. Soofi said there was an urgent need to produce literature that could develop children’s mental faculties and inform them about virtues of their religion, genesis of Pakistan and national aspirations.

“A home is the first place of learning and parents first teachers (of their children), but most of the people are not aware of their duties towards their children because they themselves know little about Islam,” he said.

Educationist Dr Perveen Khan said children took great interest in stories and parables with mo rals told by their grandmothers, but the trend had vanished now. Most of the children did not afford books that were very expensive now, she said.

Information department’s deputy secretary Ataullah Siddiqui and US-based educationist Asif Mir also spoke.

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