PAKISTAN cannot stand with dignity among the comity of nations without universal literacy. It has the lowest literacy rate among Asian and South Asian countries.

In 2009 our government approved a new education policy, which stipulated that expenditure on education would be increased to 7pc of the GDP, an idea first suggested by the Punjab government.

India’s education allocation is about $110bn for the current year. As compared to that, we are nowhere near it, even considering India’s population of almost six times that of Pakistan.

The phenomenal progress in China, our economic partner, was mainly owing to its education policy since the country’s independence. From 20pc. literacy in 1950 it is now 95pc. The government provides compulsory nine years education, including textbooks and uniform to the students.

To put Pakistan on the map of progressive countries within a decade, the federal government should increase the education expenditure to 7pc of the GDP.

Mahmood Dadabhoy
Karachi

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2015

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