Islamabad: Pakistan on International Literacy Day declared an “education emergency” with an aim to educate 26 million out-of-school children in the country. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif announced the move and urged the private sector and civil society organisations to support the government, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader Shahbaz (72) reiterated his commitment to push the education agenda and strive for an information-strong and sustainable nation.
“We have declared an educational emergency across the country, launched enrolment drives for students and introduced mid-day meals for children in schools,” he said. The Prime Minister said literacy is a fundamental human and constitutional right that guarantees the future of our country.
He said literacy is not just the ability to read and write but it is the “gateway to empowerment, economic opportunities and active participation in society”. Earlier in May, Shehbaz Sharif had declared an education emergency and vowed to enrol about 26 million children not attending school. United Nations body UNESCO has highlighted that three out of four children in developing countries cannot read or understand basic text by the age of 10 and 754 million adults are still illiterate globally, two-thirds of them women.
