ISLAMABAD Aug 24: President Pervez Musharraf has said the federal government will offer all necessary funding to the provinces to achieve 85pc literacy rate by 2012. Presiding over a meeting of the National Commission for Human Development, also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, he directed the NCHD to expand its education and health facilities from 50 to 100 districts.

He said the federal and provincial governments were committed to the project.

He said the provincial and district governments would fully collaborate with the NCHD and its programme will be implemented in all the districts except those that had a higher literacy rate on a fast-track basis.

The president emphasised the involvement of nazims at the grass-root level to achieve the goals of expansion of education and health care facilities on a fast pace for the benefit of people, specially those living in remote and less developed areas.

“The people of Pakistan deserve a better education and health care in the remotest areas of the country in an equitable manner and without any discrimination,” the president said.

The prime minister said the NCHD should work in a coordinated manner with the provinces and the district governments to ensure that there was no duplication of efforts and resources.

The NCHD, in its presentation, said it had set up 22,000 literacy centres to help raise the literacy rate from the current 55 per cent to 85 per cent by 2012.