Education is a tool to uplift social status, development & family income. It eliminates social discrimination, poverty and empowers women. Recent century is of education, science & technology. Developed countries highly invest in education sector to increase literacy. Unfortunately, Pakistan is facing illiteracy problems since its inception. In this article, we will discuss the reasons behind illiteracy in Pakistan. Moreover, we will find out solutions to eliminate illiteracy in Pakistan.
Literacy Rate in Pakistan in 2019
Female: 51.8%
Male: 72.5%
According to Pakistan economic survey, the literacy rate of Pakistan in 2018-19 was 60%. The literacy rate in urban area was 74 % and of rural areas was 51%. The literacy rate of provinces was: Punjab having literacy rate of 64%, Sindh (without merged areas) 57%, KPK (including merged areas) with 55% and Baluchistan with 40%.
Reasons behind illiteracy in Pakistan
Pakistan is facing severe illiteracy problems. There are many causes of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Some major reasons of illiteracy are discussed below:
Poverty
Poverty is the biggest reason of illiteracy in Pakistan. Millions of children don’t even go to school due to financial problems, as they can’t afford expenses of education. Since the start of 21st century, Pakistan is trying hard to decrease the poverty rate. Poverty rate was reduced from 55% to 39% from 2004 to 2015. Recently, poverty rate in Pakistan has been increased to 29.5%.
Illiterate Parents
As literacy rate of Pakistan is increasing since the start of 21st century. However, a majority of the parents in Pakistan is illiterate. Hence, a great number of children cannot get support from parent s. It may be considered a major cause of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Lack of facilities
Poor infrastructure and lack of facilities directly lead to illiteracy. The facts show that 63% of the population of Pakistan lives in rural areas. There are no proper facilities available in villages, as there are issues of roads, transports and health facilities in rural areas. the unavailability of these facilities are the reasons behind illiteracy in Pakistan.
Ineffective Government Policies
Different education policies have been devised by different governments in Pakistan since 1970. Unfortunately, none of these policies produced the desired results. So lack of effective policies is also the cause of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Low Budget Share for Education
A budget shows the priorities of the government regarding various sectors. Education is highly ignored sector by ruling parties in Pakistan. Recently, the government allocated Rs. 83.3 Billion for education in fiscal year 2020-21. This allocation is still insufficient in current deteriorated situation of our education system. Hence, less budget allocation for education sector is one of the major hindrances to remove illiteracy.
Overpopulation
Pakistan is facing burden of hug population, it has the birth rate of 2.7 %. It is the 5th most populated country in the world. As growing population needs more schools, colleges and universities. More teachers and facilities are required to meet the educational needs of huge population. Government can’t manage facilities and required infrastructure for rapidly growing population. So overpopulation is the dominant cause of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Lack of Awareness
There are many backward areas in Pakistan where there is no awareness among the people about the importance of education. A large number of people don’t know the real worth and power of education in development of nations.
Unemployment and Low Income
Due to poor financial situation thousands of people lost businesses and jobs. Very low wages, unemployment directly lead to illiteracy because people can’t afford the quality education. Recently Covid-19 made the situation worse. As people who have no work, can’t send their children to school. Similarly, low income families send their children on work to support the family.
Child Labor
Child Labor is highly practiced in Pakistan. Poor families use their children as a source of income. They don’t send children in schools. Child labor practices deprived the children from basis right of education. Hence, child labor is among the major causes of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Neglecting Women Education
The constitution of Pakistan & universal declaration of human rights both highly emphasize and advocates for the female education. Currently, female literacy rate of Pakistan is 52% only, which is not appreciable in the modern world. Some girls cannot girl early education due to unavailability of schools in the nearby areas; schools are very far from their home. Similarly some families don’t allow girls to go to school in remote and hard areas. A large number of girls are deprived of education due to transport issues.
All the factors are the reasons of illiteracy in Pakistan.
Merged Areas
Merged areas of KPK and Sindh don’t easily allow their children to gain modern education, they don’t take it compulsory, and majority of the girls of ex-FATA doesn’t provide education to their children. As a result, the large population of the areas is still illiterate. So the conservative thinking of tribal people leads to illiteracy in Pakistan.
