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More money alone won't help the literacy rate
LAHORE, 16 Feb (Daily Times): Education
experts and senior academicians have said that running massive awareness
campaigns, ensuring a continuity of policy and its proper implementation along
with an emphasis on English language are the only ways to increase the literacy
rate of the country and bring uniformity to the educational system of Pakistan.
Increasing the budget for the education sector would not necessarily bring about
revolutionary changes in the country's system of education, they said, adding
that the government needed to stick to one policy and stop experimenting with
different measures.
Talking to Daily Times, University of Education
(UoE) vice chancellor Prof Dr Munawar Sultana Mirza said that the federal
cabinet's decision to increase the education budget from 2.6 percent to 4
percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP) would certainly go a long
way towards helping improve the standards of education in Pakistan. She said
that the increase in the amount allocated for education, along the lines of the
recommendations of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (UNESCO) was a long-standing demand of educationists and
academicians alike, she said.
Commenting on the federal cabinet's goal to
take the rate of literacy in Pakistan up to 65 percent by next year, Dr Sultana
said that Pakistan needed to realise the gravity of the situation the country
was facing, adding, "It will be difficult, though not altogether impossible".
She said further that although the fight against illiteracy could not be
won in days, proper planning and ensuring uniformity and continuity of policies
would help the cause of nationwide literacy. She stressed the need for
developing a uniform system of education to ensure the provision of equal rights
the citizens of Pakistan.
University of Engineering and Technology (UET)
Lahore vice chancellor Lt Gen (r) Muhammad Akram Khan said that education and
intellectual power were the only form of power that mattered in the world now,
adding that investing in education would definitely bring the country's literacy
rate up. He said that the definition of a literate individual should also be
clarified and extended to include only those who could be called 'literate' in
all fairness, not just those who could only sign their names.
Commenting
on the need for a uniform system of education, the UET VC said that every good
system should be followed, adding, "We should assimilate the positive aspects of
the O/A-Levels system and aim to bring our standards of education at par with
those of the O/A-Levels system."
Punjab University registrar Prof Dr
Muhammad Naeem Khan said that the increase in the education budget was a
long-awaited and overdue measure. He said that the country was reeling under the
burden of a massive population, most of whom were illiterate, and therefore not
fully productive members of society. He said further that widespread education
would also go a long way in eradicating crime and extremism from
society.
The PU registrar said that in order to achieve 65 percent
literacy by next year, the government needed to run a mass literary campaign.
Education planners had confused the people of Pakistan with their frequent
experiments, which came at the cost of the students' careers. He said that rote
learning should be discouraged at all levels and stressed that English should be
the medium of instruction throughout, since it had achieved the status of a
"universal language". He said that the need of the hour was not further policy
development, rather ensuring the proper implementation of existing policies.
Special Secretary (Schools) Capt (r) Zahid Saeed said that increasing
the budget was a good decision since a great deal of funds would be needed to
improve the condition of educational institutions. He said that the adoption of
English as the medium of instruction should be encouraged and students should be
encouraged to think critically.
Imperial College of Business Studies
rector Dr Azmat A Syed agreed with the others, saying that the real issue was
the utilisation of the funds. He said that in order to bring uniformity to the
system, students from less-privileged backgrounds should be provided equal
opportunities.
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| Education News | | Updated: 24 May, 2012 |
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