Illiteracy main hurdle towards country's progress: Dr Firdous

Federal Minister for Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan has underscored the need of collective efforts for the expansion and promotion of education aimed at enhancing the literacy rate across the country. There was an immediate need for banishing the menace of literacy from the gross roots level for bringing radical changes in every sphere of life in the country, she said.
Addressing an annual prize distribution ceremony of the Punjab School at Bhoth on Saturday, she said there was an immediate need of changing the existing education system and removing the disparities to ensure even opportunities for every one in the country. The minister said the menace of illiteracy was the main hurdle in the process of development as well as we are far behind as compared to other countries.
After 18th Amendment the provision of education facilities to the masses was the responsibility of provincial governments but unfortunately that Punjab government has failed to improve the education system and it was on fast decline, she said. Dr Firdous further said that despite heavy claims the Punjab government failed in providing proper facilities like drinking water, boundary walls, furniture and washroom in girls and boys government schools.
The minister said the slogan of "Education for All" is on top of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) agenda and government was mobilising all available resources for the purpose. Dr Firdous urged upon the Punjab government to concentrate on improving the condition of government educational institutions and ensure quality education and missing facilities in schools for attracting the students.
Undoubtedly, the private sector was rendering highly laudable services in expanding the sphere of education evenly in rural and urban areas of the country, she said. She said it was very unfortunate that the educational institutions functioning in private sector were providing the education facilities to the privileged class and poor segment of the society was being deprived from availing the better facilities of education due financial constrains.
The barriers like security, negative attitude of parents and lack of transportation facilities were the major hurdles in way of females belonging to far-off rural parts of the country in obtaining higher education, she added. She said that there was a need of collective efforts for setting up maximum educational institutions in rural areas across the country for spreading education among the poor and ignored segment of the society.
She said that there was an urgent need for changing the mindset of parents and weeding out the gender discrimination for ensuring equal opportunities of education adding that most of the parents prefer to provide maximum facilities to their sons as compared to daughter which is injustice.
The establishment of Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Girls Degree College in Kuba Chak is in doldrums because of negative attitude and hurdles of Punjab government is issuance of no objection certificate (NOC), Dr Firdous said. The minister said IT campus would be set up in NA-111 for promoting information technology among the male and female students belonging to downtrodden areas. The PPP led government was making strenuous efforts to accomplish Shaheed Benazir Bhutto's vision aimed at bringing women into mainstream because the dream of national development could not be materialised without the involvement of women in overall development process of the country, she said.
On this occasion, the minister urged up the teacher community of The Punjab School that they should perform their duties with missionary zeal for the promotion of education in this backward area. Later, she distributed the certificates and shields amongst students of the school.