Literacy Trends in Pakistan - UNESCO Islamabad

1. RATIONALE, NEED AND SIGNIFICANCELiteracy Trends in PakistanEducation is the vehicle for human resource development and literacy is the pre-requisite to consult and benefit from major sources ofinformation and knowledge in today’s world. Illiteracy and lack of knowledge of basic mathematics may not be responsible for lowquality of life for all, but they are definitely a crucial part of individual development and social participation. Without education andliteracy, it is not possible to realize the goals of a balanced and sustainable development. Adam Curle observed “countries are under-developedbecause most of their people are under-developed, having had no opportunity of expanding their potential capacities in the service of society”. Indeveloping countries, population growth, poverty, health and social problems consequently retard the pace of literacy. Literacy is considered apre-requisite for access to vast sources of knowledge in the present world. It provides building blocks for communication and understandingbetween individuals, groups and nations.Literacy is considered as a key for sustainable development and peace. It is also an instrument of stability within and among countries, and thusmay prove an indispensable means of effective participation in the societies and the economies of the 21 st century, which are affected by therapid globalization. While science and technology have opened new avenues of life, illiterates and poor people still cannot fully realize theprogress of modern life because of their illiteracy and poverty. This is due to the fact that in modern life, communication is mainly throughsymbols, numbers, alphabets and signs which can be used effectively only by the literate persons. In today’s world, an illiterate will certainlybe aware of his under-development and dependence, and his inability to independently interact with various sources of knowledge, or share thebenefits and progress of modern life. Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director General UNESCO, very rightly highlighted the impact of literacy infollowing words:-“Given the pleasures and benefits that it brings, it is not surprising that the typical imagery of literacy is of opening doors orwindows, of light and space, of boundlessness. Literacy is inseparable from opportunity, and opportunity is inseparable fromfreedom. The freedom promised by literacy is both freedom from – from ignorance, oppression, poverty – and freedom to – to donew things, to make choices, to learn.”(Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director General, UNESCO – Message on International Literacy Day, 8 th September, 2001)Article –3 of the Framework of Action adopted by the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal (26-28 April 2000) reaffirms the vision of theWorld Declaration on Education For All in Jomtien (1990) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that all children, young people andadults have the right to benefit from education as human beings, that will meet their basic learning needs in the best and fullest sense of the term,1