HE Punjab government has failed to improve the literacy rate despite all efforts and rhetoric. It`s been hovering around 60 per cent for the past six years.

The literacy rate in Punjab was 58 per cent in 2008, when the PML-N government had taken over. Since then it rose to 62 per cent in 2011 and again dropped to 60pc last year. The figure persists this year.

The Punjab Literacy and Non-Formal Basic Education Department (L&NFBED), established in 2002 to address the problem of dropouts at the primary level and meet the emerging demand for non-formal basic education with functional literacy and livelihood skills, has also not been able to propel any breakthrough towards raising the literacy rate in the province.

Stating that the literacy rate in Punjab is 60 per cent, L&NFBE Department Secretary Dr Pervez Ahmed Khan saidthe department this year was planning to launch `Literacy Movement Project` in one selected tehsil of each district to impart literacy and life skills among out-ofschool children and illiterate adults to create a `literacy impact`. Dr Khan deflated the enthusiasm by saying, `This project has yet to be approved.

With static literacy rate over the years, the Punjab government is celebrating the International Literacy Day on Monday instead of Sept 8 based on a theme `Literacies for 21st Century...

Literacy through ICT, Functional Literacy, Family Literacy, Media/Digital Literacy, Workplace Literacy and ECO Literacy.

Punjab is an abode of around 38 million illiterates including 3.5 million children of 5-9 years vital age group, who have no access to any formal or informal school. The illiterate children including two million girls and 1.8 million boys are grappling in the dark of ignorance.

Despite various initiatives by thePML-N Punjab government during its last five-year tenure, the limited institutional capacity of offering access to education to most children and lack of funding is believed to be hampering progressin achieving higher literacy rate.

People at the helm of affairs acknowledge that high population growth rate is hitting all initiatives aimed at improving the literacy rate in the province.As far as funding is concerned, the Punjab government in its 2013 budget allocated Rs1.605billion for the Punjab L&NFBE department. In a stark comparison, the Punjab government has allocated almost doubled Rs3 billion for the establishment of six new Daanish schools in the province.

The Punjab government, in its annual budget, has committed to achieve 100per cent literacy rate by 2019. It plans to impart literacy and functional skills to 1.98 million adult illiterates in three years through the `Punjab Literacy Movement Project for Adults`.

TL .*__L ___ _1_ L_ _ _L_1_1.* _1_It intends to establish 1,000 non-formal basic education schools in 11 districts for 30,000 learners through project titled `Punjab Workplace Literacy Programme`.

Under this programme, the government will also establish 500 community learning centres in 11 districts for 10,000 learners.The department will be setting up CLCs and impart functional technical skills to illiterate adults through sixmonth duration certified programmes.

Dr Khan said the department would be establishing two centres to impart literacy skills to eunuchs besides literacy fa-cilities for inmates.

Dr Khan said the department would be launching Rs589 million `Punjab Workplace Literacy Project` in 10 districts with focus on south Punjab. He said a PC-I had been approved to establish non-formal vocational middle education schools with the cooperation of the Allama Iqbal Open University in four districts this year.

He said the department in collaboration with JICA had also developed nonformal education curricula, syllabus and reading materials and being introduced through a pilot project.

In order to celebrate the International Literacy Day, the Punjab L&NFBE department and Idara-eTaleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) in collaboration with Unesco are holding two events on Monday (today). The literacy department is holding a seminar at the Children`s Library Complex that will feature a presentation on `21st Centuries Literacy` and success sto-ries. The ITA is holding a strategic dialogue on `Role of teachers` unions in promoting Right to Education -Article 25-A` at a local hotel that will feature a representation on Teachers and Article 25-A, pledges made by teacher unions and Anita Ghulam Ali Awards for teachers.

Unesco Director-General Irina Bokova, in her message, has stated that literacy is much more than an educational priority it is the ultimate investment in the future and the first step towards all the new forms of literacy required in the 21st century.

Wishing to see a century where every child is able to read and use literacy to gain autonomy, Ms Bokova has called upon all governments to work together to achieve this dream. `This requires new funding, policies drawn up with the populations concerned, new and more innovative forms of action, taking full advantage of new technologies. mansoormalikl73@hotmail.com