THE state of girls education in rural Balochistan presents a depressing picture. While the illiteracy rate in the country is relatively high, the literacy rate among rural women in Balochistan is pathetically low. It is estimated that less than 2 per cent of female in rural areas of the province are literate.

Pakistan has allocated only 2.3pc of the budget for education, which is 0.3pc less than that of 1999. The Education Development Index has placed Pakistan at 113th position out of 120 countries. The current literacy rate of Pakistan is 62.3pc, which means that an estimated 60 million people are illiterate.

According to details, Kech district has the highest literacy rate (62.66pc) in Balochistan, followed by Panjgur (59.22pc), Quetta (58.76pc), Pishin (52.97pc), Gwadar (51.97pc) and Nushki (51.67pc), as per the 2017 census.

The remaining districts in the province performed very low compared to the other districts across the country. Furthermore, Turbat lags way behind in girls’ education than Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Punjab and Sindh. Girls in Balochistan are deprived of their fundamental rights like education, and one of the reasons behind this is the exorbitant fee that schools charge. The government must launch awareness initiatives in rural areas and provide incentives to families that may encourage them to send their daughters to schools.

Marwa Faqir Muhammad
Turbat

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2022