Community Participation Is Necessary To Increase Literacy Rate

The progress and prosperity of the nation depends on education as only the literate society can achieve all required tasks of necessity of life

HYDERABAD, Sep 7 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 07th Sep, 2017 ) : The progress and prosperity of the nation depends on education as only the literate society can achieve all required tasks of necessity of life.

Without community participation, the government is unable to increase the literacy rate, which is necessary to move Pakistan at front line of the developed countries of the world. International Literacy Day, celebrated annually on September 8, is an opportunity for Governments, civil society and stakeholders to highlight improvements in world literacy rates, and reflect on the worlds remaining literacy challenges.

Talking to APP here on Thursday on the eve of International Literacy Day, being observed in Pakistan tomorrow like other countries of the world ,Dean of Pediatrics Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Jamshoro Professor� Dr.Salma Shaikh ,Chairman Minorities Commission of Pakistan Advocate M.

Parkash Mahtani, Chairperson All Pakistan Women Association Almas Zafar,� Eminent Physician and Senior Medical Officer Dr.Ashfaq Qureshi, The Principal Piggott Memorial Girls Higher Secondary School Jennifer Rufus Sharron, Eminent educationalist and social work� Dadi Leela who received honor of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Psychologist at Women Development Department (WDD) Syeda Qurat-ul-Ain Shah, Programme Manager at Development Awareness and Management of Natural Resource (DAMAN) Krishna Lal, Eminent Educationalist Madam Zakia Shah, Advocate Rehana Shah and others Prominent educationists underlined the need of improving general languages skills and literacy level in the population.

They commended the role of all those private sector organizations and non-governmental organizations, which are extending their full cooperation to the government in enhancing the literacy rate adding that only the literate nation can make the country strong in all sectors of the life.

They also eulogized the role of those teachers and religious scholars who have been engaged in imparting knowledge on volunteer basis with objective to educate the people adding that such voluntarily services is need of the hour as in Pakistan, the literacy rate is not up to the mark.

They said that an objective of observing the World Literacy Day is to make efforts for 800 million illiterate adults of the two third majorities pertains to women. The day also warrants pledging to arrange educational facilities for over 100 million children, whose age reached for school going, added.

They underlined the need of work on war footing basis to achieve the target of 85 percent literacy rate by 2017 in Pakistan as committed by the government at various international forums. In order to achieve the target, the allocation of major chunk of annual budget for education sector is essential, they added.

They said that the people need access information regarding health, education and the market economy so that they can engage critically with the issues and institutions that affect their everyday lives.

They said that it is undoubted fact that education is vital to health and the people with low levels of educational achievement are more likely to have poor health as adults, therefore by improving education for all, the Pakistani nation can tackle one of the main causes of inequality in health, added.

They said that there is fundamental and long-established relationship between access to education, population literacy levels and health status, they said and added that everyone recognizes that improving overall levels of literacy in the population, the government could do much to improve people's capacity to make healthy choices.

They emphasized the need of focusing attention towards imparting knowledge to women of the country adding that a literate woman can play vital role in making a literate family as compared to man.

Expressing their regrets of ignoring education to women, they said that at present millions of women throughout the world never has the chance to learn, read and write. The literacy among women will also ensure empowerment among them and they can also play their due role for the progress and prosperity of the country along with men, they said and added that education to girls is their basic human right, which guaranteed in the Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, added.

They said that an educated woman can be more helpful not only educating the family, but also controlling the population growth and improving the social and cultural status. �They called upon the Federal and provincial governments, national and international organizations, civil society and the private sector to focus attention for improvement of literacy rate thinking it a vital instrument for achieving sustainable development.

APP/fas/maq/kmd � 12:59/14:28/14:28