A DICTUM goes that a reading nation is a leading, but this very vital trend has declined in Paksitan sharply as evident from the low attendance in public and private libraries in Pakistan.

In addition, most of our youth and adults have limited reading to just enough for getting diplomas, certificates and degrees and not to gain knowledge and wisdom.

It has been observed that as soon as qualification is improved and degrees are attained, reading comes to an end and few keep up with this vital skill to update and refresh their knowledge and skills while the majority of the masses hardly spare time to flip through the pages of books and other textual materials. Hence, it is getting hard to go job hunting with low efficiency and skills.

Next, a large number of our legislators and policymakers remain deficient intellectually, leading to low productivity or at times in institutional failure.

In developed countries, politicians and civil servants are highly educated in their relevant fields. They are fond of reading and also carry out research work, write articles, publish books and maintain personal libraries to excel in their fields and help in good governance.

Our youth in schools, colleges and universities have moved away from books owing to a number of factors like the social media, cell-phones, internet and TV.

Resultantly, most students lack mental sharpness and are less proficient in communication skills. They do not realise that book reading creates awareness, broadens the mental horizon, increases knowledge, improves communication skills — both oral and written — and develops problem-solving, creative and critical-thinking.

The job of the education system is to produce researchers, authors, scientists, scholars, politicians, poets, doctors, engineers and social engineers for society. To do so, basic reading skills need to be developed at an early stage of life.

A specific time must be allocated in the school timetable on a daily basis for a library period. Libraries should be equipped with vital reading materials through networking with different online digital libraries nationally and internationally.

Karim Mohammad Khan

The Pakora Village, Ghizer

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play