2.13.

3 Impact of Primary Education on Future Learning

Primary education lays the groundwork for future learning and future success. The skills and values that primary education instills are no less than foundational, and serve as bases for all future learning, whether formal or informal. Students build on their primary education in their succeeding years in the educational system.

2.14 Literacy and Participation Rate at Primary Level

Pakistan is making efforts to achieve highest literacy rate. Pakistan has always been willing to eradicate illiteracy and promote primary education. All educational policies and plans are based on the provision of primary education. Policies are also based on improving quality of primary education and expanding access for out of school children.

Still Pakistan has not arrived at its required targets of literacy. A nation cannot achieve development without taking any meaningful

steps for sound educational development. Education provides a tool for development to nations. Pakistan is one of the developing counties that are striving for improvement in this stage of education. Each and every government has launched a stream of five year plans that were arranged so as to fulfill its educational goals. But this resulted nothing or very little improvement in this regard. All such action resulted only in low literacy rate.

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Literacy in Pakistan rose from 45 to 54 percent between 2002 and 2006, and net primary enrollment rates increased from 42 to 52 percent. But Pakistans participation rates remain the lowest in South Asia.

As our government allots very little G.D.P for the education and education is getting worst because of it. There are other developing countries like Turkey which allots most of its G.D.P to Education department, Pakistan ignored this department. With such non serious attitude towards education, and there remain a dearth of well educated and skillful individuals. Among the SAARC Nations, Pakistan is at the sixth and at the 159th position among the 174 countries of the world.

2.13.1 Root Causes of Low Literacy Rate in Pakistan

There are a number of problems of low literacy rate, ranging from social, cultural, religious, political, psychological and economic grounds. Some of these problems are highlighted in the following:

i. Poverty

Poverty is one of the root causes of low literacy rate in Pakistan. We belong to developing countries. Poverty is the biggest hurdle in the development of our country. Pakistan is an agricultural country and the profession of many people is agriculture. Farmers are unable to feed their families and as a result, development stops. The country where 40% of people are living below poverty line how can they get education? According to UNICEF, 17.6% children work and support their families. 143

Some children are working in workshops, and the others are helping their parents in farming. The parents, who get earning from their children, will definitely not send them to schools even they get free education at schools. In such conditions, role and support of Government becomes inevitable

ii. Population Expansion

Expansion in population is another cause of low literacy rate in Pakistan. Increase in population creates difficulties in effective caring of families as well as in education. One who feed his family in difficult situation, how can he educate his children well?

Population explosion also creates problems for Government like:

Lack of schools, Lack of staff in schools, Lack of facilities Lack of resources for earning provided by the Government.

This is why the people cannot teach and train their children and a vast number of illiterate children remain in the country and literacy rate decreases.

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2.14

Enrolment at Primary Level

Despite the government's aim of making primary education universal among children aged five to nine, the participation rate has only a little more than one-third in that age group. In 1991 there were 87,545 primary schools, with an enrollment of 7.768 million students and a teacher-student ratio of 1:41.

www.education.stateuniversity.com.Pakistan -Primary Education

The generally low rate of student enrollment in primary schools is attributed to a variety of factors:

i.

a high rate of increase in population

ii

lack of access to primary schools in rural areas,

iii.

un-safe school buildings;

i.

A high dropout rate due to poverty.

The goal of education in Pakistan is at a rate of enrollment in primary education, while the dropout rate in Pakistan is the highest in South Asia is estimated at 10 per cent of the population until the end of 12 years of schooling (Ahmad, 2008, p 21)

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The high dropout rate that is seen regularly in primary schools is largely attributable to the dismal appearance of buildings, facilities and lack of a comprehensive physical repulsive. Children can do something if they are comfortable with the space and the environment (Ahmad, 2008, p. 21)

Source: www.oktatas.biz/intermediate-education/education-in-pakistan.html.

In 2005, of the 67% children enrolled in primary schools nearly 30% dropped out before completing 5 years of formal education. Net primary enrollment of Pakistan remains the lowest in South Asia and the same is true for the annual primary completion rates.

The previous government undertook several initiatives to increase the access to primary education across the country including abolition of fees and provision of freeof- cost textbooks. Pakistan prepared and launched a National Plan of Action for EFA (2001-2015) to achieve goals of EFA. In accordance with targets given in the NPA of Ministry of Education, Pakistan had planned to increase its primary level Net Enrollment Rate (NER) up to 79% by the year 2005.

However, Pakistan has not been able to achieve the targeted net primary enrollment rate set for 79%3 in 2005, and was only able to achieve an NER value of 68% by this in the same year. Under the EFA and MDGs frameworks, the government of Pakistan has committed to achieve 100% net primary enrollment by the year 2015.

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Unless Pakistan makes primary education free and compulsory, it can not eradicate illiteracy from the region. http://iqrapakonline.wordpress.com/category/primary-education/

2.15 Role of Literacy in Development of Pakistan

Literacy provides the basis for communication and understanding between individuals, groups and nations. Literacy is considered as key factor for development. It is also an instrument of within and among countries, and thus may prove and indispensable mean of affective participation in the societies and economics of the 21st century.

Literacy rate of Pakistan is low as compared to 174 countries of the world as indicated by Draft Education Advisory Board Presentation (2000, p.2):

Unfortunately Pakistan still ranks at the lowest in the comity of nations. Its position is at 134 out of 174 countries of the world. Among the 56 counties of the organization of Islamic countries (OIC), Pakistan ranks at number 43. Among the most populous E-5 countries of Asia which includes Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia and Pakistan, we are the last of these five countries in the term of literacy. Out of the seven SAARC counties, we are only ahead of Nepal.

Pakistan is developing country. In the E-5 countries of the Asia, we are at the last position in respect of literacy. In case of literacy, Bangladesh is ahead of Pakistan. With this lower literacy rate, the developmental process cannot be rapid. Pakistan is also trying to remove illiteracy from the country within minimum possible time. According to National policy (1998-2010, p.20) the objectives about literacy are:

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 The current literacy rate will be raised to 55% during the 1st five years of

the policy and 70% by the year 2010.

Literacy corps comprising of college/university students shall be estimated

during vacations.

These targets are the milestone in the achieving of the high literacy rate. Pakistan has also considerable achievement in the past. According to the Economic Survey 2011, a number of 157,360 primary schools with 466,451 teachers are functional. Gross and net enrolment at primary level and literacy rate has improved significantly over the last five years. An increase in primary enrolment (18.756 million) in 2009-10 over 2008-09 (18.468 million) has been observed during 2009-10, it is estimated to increase by 1.4 percent in 2010-11.

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