ISLAMABAD: Like other countries, Pakistan will mark International Literacy Day on Sunday (September 8) with a pledge to increase spending on education, initiate efforts to enroll the 25 million out of school children and increase literacy rate.
Public and private organizations will hold different activities including seminars, conferences, workshops and interactive sessions highlighting this year's theme `Literacies for the 21st Century'.
The government would hold three-day special nationwide enrolment campaign from September 9-11 to enroll over half a million children in schools.
Article 25-A of the constitution obligates the state to provide free and compulsory education to children between the ages of 5-16.
However the recent data from the Status of Education Report (ASER) of 2012 says that 23% of rural and 7% of urban children, aged 6-16, are not in schools, with girls lagging significantly behind boys in the rural areas.
Similarly, the Global Monitoring Report 2012 has marked Pakistan on the second highest spot amongst the countries with the most out-of-school children.
The UNDP Millennium Development Goals report states that Pakistan will not be able to achieve its education goals until 2015. Approximately 50% of enrolled children drop out before completing primary education.
Talking to APP, State Minister for Education, Training and Standards in Higher Education, Baligh ur Rehman said that the government has decided to increase spending on education upto 4 percent of GDP by the year 2018.
The government has launched National Plan of Education to accelerate its efforts for bringing positive reforms in education sector by controlling drop outs, increasing enrolment and enhancing quality of education.
The literacy day will be marked with great enthusiasm and renewed pledges to realize the dream becoming a literate nation, he said.
The UN General Assembly proclaimed a 10-year period beginning on January 1, 2003, as the United Nations Literacy Decade.
The assembly also welcomed the International Plan of Action for the Decade and decided for UNESCO to take a coordinating role in activities at an international level within the decade's framework.
On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. This day was first celebrated on September 8, 1966.
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