0
LAKKI MARWAT, Sept 8: Speakers at a daylong seminar underlined the need for creating awareness about importance of literacy.
They said literacy was key to progress and it was the responsibility of every citizen to help create awareness about advantages of being literate.
The seminar was organised by the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) at the Government Primary School, Lakki Meenakhel, in collaboration with the Schools and Literacy Department to mark the International Literacy Day.
The speakers said the government was paying more attention to the education sector now as it was diverting maximum resources towards the education sector so as to achieve the ‘Education for All’ goal.
They said the government had waived school fees and was providing free textbooks to students, adding that the NCHD and education department were making joint efforts to meet the target of getting 24,375 enrolled in schools during the current enrolment campaign.
Assistant Coordination Officer Syed Khalid Israr Shah, NCHD District General Manager Aamer Khan and other officials spoke on the occasion.
Meanwhile, teachers, students and representatives of the NCHD, Schools and Literacy Department, the district administration and people from different walks of life participated in a walk held to mark the literacy day. The walk started from the Government Primary School No 2, Lakki Meenakhel, and ended at the Kargil Chowk.
The participants carried banners and placards inscribed with slogans relating to the importance of education.
TIMERGARA: As many as 55,697 children aged between four and seven years in Dir Lower district are not enrolled in schools due to poverty.
This was said by general-manager of the Dir Lower chapter of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), Asim Khattak, while addressing a function held to observe the International Literacy Day here on Saturday.
The programme was organised by the Schools and Literacy Department with the collaboration of the NCHD.
Mr Khattak said that there was a need to enrol children aged seven years because the government schools often refused admission to children above four or five.
District Nazim Ahmad Hassan Khan said that education was a key to development of any nation.
He urged the teachers’ community to play their role in educating the nation without considering the economic benefits.
Dir Lower EDO (schools and literacy department) Hafiz Ibrahim said the number of schoolgoing children in the district was 236,000 out of which 28,540 were reading in private schools and over 25,000 in madressahs.
He said that a literacy coordination committee had been formed to increase the literacy ratio in the district.
KARAK: A walk was held to mark the Literacy Day.
Speaking to the participants of the walk at the Terri High School, Banda Daud Shah Tehsil Nazim Rehmat Salam Khattak said the basic objective of observing the day was to bring out-of-school children to schools and to arrest the drop-out ratio.
He urged the parents to pay special attention to educating women as a literate woman educated the entire family.
Mr Khattak appreciated the role of the NCHD in enhancing the enrolment ratio.
EDO (education) Matiullah Khan Khattak said that the nation could not compete with the developed states until it equipped itself with education.
District General Manager of NCHD Usman Yaqoob said this time they had focused on those union councils where the enrolment ratio was less then 90 per cent and for that reason they have selected the undereducated Banda Daud Shah tehsil for the awareness walk to bring their enrolment ratio above the 90 per cent.
He said the NCHD was running 323 literacy centres in the district and the target was 320 centres in which 7,185 learners would get education.
