PESHAWAR, Sept 8: A child rights group has demanded that the government implement in letter and in spirit a law concerning compulsory education passed by three provinces.

According to a press release issued on Wednesday in connection with the World Literacy Day, the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) urged that the law on compulsory education be practically implemented in the provinces and Fata.

Sparc also urged the government to enact similar laws in Balochistan and Azad Jammu & Kashmir and make it binding on all children of school-going age to get admission to school.

There is already a large illiterate population - over 46 million - in the country who cannot read and write. Most of the children of school-going age are involved in child labour due to grinding poverty.

The World Literacy Day is observed on September 8 to highlight the importance of literacy. At present, there are 860 million people all over the world who cannot read or write, of them two-thirds are women.

Some 100 million children of school-going age do not attend school. It is the day when governments and civil society groups should reaffirm their commitment to educating every man, woman and child because education makes people aware of their rights and responsibilities, the Sparc press release said.