IT has been 63 years since Pakistan came into being, yet it has failed to achieve a healthy literacy rate, as education remains the most neglected area.

None of the governments have seemed to realise that education provides a tool for development of the nation and progress of the country.

All the five-year plans of educating the people by all the governments in Pakistan have been nothing but vain attempts. Educating the nation merely remains a distant dream in this Third World country.

As a consequence of not being educated, 40 per cent of the people still live below the poverty line.

Besides, an ever-increasing population rate ensures that the number of those living below the line keeps on growing.

In order to ensure a better future for its people, the government should maintain law and order at all times, eradicate the feudal system from its roots, and provide free education at least until matriculation as mentioned in the 1973 Constitution.

MAHEEN MASOOD Karachi