According to official reports, the literacy rate in Pakistan is about 60 percent.
By literacy, it is usually understood that those who can read Urdu newspapers and can write their names are called literate people. As a matter of fact, literacy really means that according to which the attitude of the people could change, the style of their understanding and assessment could be improved, etc.
All those countries which focused on increasing the literacy rate showed big development in all the sectors of their lives. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the examples of this region, especially and Russia, Germany, the USA, etc. are examples of the developed countries.
In Pakistan, literacy in the technical sector is highly required. A survey of the cottage industry, small industry and even big industrial units and even big industrial units will reveal that the labor force working in the workshops is not equipped with even a minimum level of technical education.
Madaras:
There is still a segment of people with conservative thoughts that learning English is not justified from a religious point of view. In the motherland, there are three types of education systems. Millions of students are studying in Madaras attached to the mosques that are still learning purely religious education and have no concerned with the worldly state of affairs like Politics, Economy, Social science or Pure sciences.
Urdu Medium:
The other kind of education system is known as Urdu medium schools the majority of which are working public sectors. Students, studying in the system cannot compete with the world level education and unfortunately, the majority of these students either leave the education before completion or all prepared to be part of ordinary government service.
English Medium:
The third kind of education is purely English medium education, 90 percent of which is run by the private sectors. Here, the fees along with other charges are out of the approach of the common people and most of the education is usually American based. The majority of the students of these institutions come from the rich class of Pakistan.
The dilemma of education or literacy is obvious from the above mentioned three types of education system prevailing in Pakistan.
There are millions of students who are deprived of taking admission to Urdu medium schools yet their fees are quite low and these children opt to be admitted in Madaras which has the facility of free lodging of food and education. To increase the literacy rate in Pakistan in the real sense, the government is required to take revolutionary steps. As the world has become the global village, Pakistani students are also supposed to learn which is being taught internationally.
First, the government should abolish the three systems of education and there is no doubt the Madaras can contribute a lot in these efforts as they have their building and teaching staff. The government should subsidize the Madaras, should make the arrangements for training the teachers nationwide.
The teachers should be asked to learn which is being taught in international institutions. This is also the fact that there is no shortage of government schools and colleges in Pakistan. Moreover, double shifts should be started there and the government should have strict checks over there.
It is hoped that the owners of private education institutions will stand by the efforts of the governments.
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