EDITORIAL: The Punjab Chief Minister spoke with rare candour on the state of literacy in the country which, he said, had remained virtually the same as at the time of Independence. Addressing [a convention] … he called attention to the fact that even though the over-all educational facilities had … increased during the last 27 years, the gain in terms of a higher level of literacy was rather negligible. …

There may be several explanations for this dismal state of affairs, but … the basic drawback has been the low priority accorded to this sector by successive governments. … Since a large-scale expansion of educational facilities involves time as well as enormous resou­rces which continue to be scarce, interim mea­­su­res have perforce to be taken to close the existing gaps. … The plain fact is that no meaningful progress can be made towards over-coming the massive problems of illiteracy and educational stagnation without creating … teaching and training facilities in the rural areas. It is equally patent that no … he­­a­dway can be made … without the requisite trained manpower and skills which are inseparably linked with the … quality of education.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2025