LITERACY today is not merely the ability to read and write. It is the ability to function in a digital economy. This year’s International Literacy Day theme — ‘Promoting literacy in the digital era’ — highlights how those without digital fluency risk exclusion not just from knowledge, but from work, services and citizenship itself. Globally, while literacy rates have improved, there remains the challenge of ensuring not just basic education but digital fluency. Just a generation ago, signing one’s name on a form was enough. Now, applying for a job, paying a bill or accessing government schemes may all require navigating digital platforms. For millions in developing countries, the divide is as stark as ever. For Pakistan, the challenge is twofold. For one, almost 40pc of its people remain illiterate, with women lagging far behind men. This alone blunts the country’s prospects. But the digital gap adds another layer of disadvantage. Smartphones are common enough, yet internet penetration remains patchy, rural access weak and digital skills minimal. Most citizens are consumers of online entertainment rather than participants in digital economies. The pandemic highlighted this disparity. While well-off families shifted their children to online classes, millions were locked out of education altogether.

Few lessons have been learnt since. The government likes to announce smart classrooms and digital portals; rarely does it acknowledge that teachers themselves often lack the skills, or that connectivity remains unaffordable for the poor. Bridging the gap requires more than token projects. It demands investment in schools, training for teachers, affordable broadband and genuine gender parity. The returns would be large: a digitally literate population could plug into global markets, lift productivity and strengthen democratic participation. In the absence of such resolve, Pakistan risks being left with the worst of both worlds: low literacy and low digital skills — a population doubly locked out of opportunity.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2025