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Adult
literacy gets
little attention
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Adult literacy and basic education
in Pakistan have always received a little attention by the
education and budget planners. A look at the figures of
Five-Year Plans and education policies speak of sheer negligence
towards raise in literacy rate in Pakistan.
Reports prepared by the UNICEF and Federal Education Ministry
also indicate that adult literacy could never be a high
priority area for our rulers as financial allocation always
remained below 2.5 per cent of GDP.
After its inception in 1947, first three Five-Year Plans
(1955-60, 1960-65 and 1965-70) had no allocation for adult
literacy programmes. However, the government’s strategy
during the first Five-Year Plan was to increase literacy
rate through village aid programme and utilising schools
as community centres. According to this scheme, no target
was set to achieve.
During 1960-65, the concept of using schools as community
centres was carried forward, while in the period of 1965-70
the strategy was to introduce intensive projects on experimental
basis, again without any financial allocation or any target
to attain.
It was the Non-Planning Period (1970-78), which saw allocation
of funds (Rs 2.3 million). The main features of the strategic
planning during this period envisaged making five million
Pakistanis literate through a multi-pronged policy. The
planners recommended an Advisory Council for Adult Literacy
and Education apart from the establishment of a National
Education Corps. They had also thought to seek the armed
forces help along with the industrial establishments to
run literacy classes for workers.
The financial allocation jumped to Rs 50 million during
the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1978-83) and by the end of the
period 8.5 million people were to be made literate. The
strategists narrowed down their target by declaring that
the population between 12 and 45 years would be covered.
Since by that time TV had started taking its roots in the
country, it was decided to reinforce Pakistan Television
Literacy Programme.
For the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1983-88), the financial allocation
reached Rs 750 million, four per cent of the education budget,
(actual expenditure was Rs 834 million) and the target audience
was enhanced to 15 million people. This time the focus was
supposed to be given to the age group of 10-24 years and
the government planned to involve local governments and
NGOs.
The major policy change this time was the proposal that
fresh matriculates would be asked to take literacy work
for one year, whereas as an incentives for the literate
population, there was a recommendation to debar illiterates
from employment.
During the Seventh Five-Year Plan (1988-93), the literacy
programmes were badly hit financially as the allocation
was reduced to Rs 300 million (one per cent of the education
budget). Similarly, the target was also lowered down to
12.5 million people.
The main policy thrust was the univerlisation of the primary
education. Non-formal education programmes were also suggested
apart from seeking NGOs help in enhancing literacy rate
in the country.
For the first time, the maximum funds, Rs 1750 million (eight
per cent of the education budget), were allocated during
the Eighth Five-Year Plan (1993-98) to the literacy initiatives.
The government had planned to target 16.86 illiterate Pakistanis
through universalisation of the primary education and community-based
literacy programmes of NGOs. Another goal was the integration
of literacy in rural and urban community development programmes.
The Ninth and the last Five-Year Plan (1998-2003) had ambitious
targets. The policy makers had planned to achieve 55 per
cent literacy rate by 2003 in the country while Rs 12,455
million (one per cent of the education allocation) were
earmarked to support the programmes which included the establishment
of Functional Literacy Centres for Education of Adults and
75,000 Non-Formal Basic Education schools.
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