EDUCATION plays a pivotal role in the development of a country. A high literacy rate ensures sustainable economic development, higher labour productivity , and economic prosperity. A poor literacy rate is a major impediment to the economic development of Pakistan.

At present the literacy rate in Pakistan is only 58pc. This is is far behind other regional countries like Sri Lanka, India andBangladesh. There are numerous causes of educational backwardness and low literacy rate but the major one is a shortage of financial allocation.

According to the 2014-15 Economic Survey of Pakistan, during the last decade, Pakistan spent nearly 2pc of its GDP on education, which was far below the international standards of minimum four per cent. While other regional countries like Bangladesh spend 2.1pc of its GDP on education, Bhutan spends 4.9pc, India 3.2pc, Iran 4.7pc and the Maldives 8pc.

Inthe currentyearthe budgetforBenazir Income Support Programme (BISP) is higher than the education budget, which shows injustice to the education sector by the budget-making machinery.

Moreover, Pakistan is number two among countries which have most out-of-school children. The number of out-of-school children, according to the Education for All (EFA) review report 2015, is 6.7m.

Considering all factors mentioned above, I would request the authorities to take a bold step to reform education in the country. The current education system is outdated and obsolete. The government should spend at least 4 pc of the GDP on education.

Israr Ahmad Chatha Gujranwala