Investing in female education offers high returns: NCHD

Islamabad

National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) Chairperson Razina Alam Khan on Thursday said there was no justification at all for denying girls and women education be it cultural, economic or social.

"Illiteracy keeps women marginalised and constitutes a foremost obstacle to reducing extreme poverty, whereas investing in girl and women education offer high returns; it improves livelihoods, lead to better child and maternal health and a first step towards prosperity," she told the NCHD Organisational Review Meeting, where the provincial and area heads were in attendance here.

Humera Hashmi, director operation for Sindh, Anwar Iqbal, acting director Operation for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Muhammad Riaz, acting director for Punjab, Sikandar Jillani, acting director operation for Balochistan, Syed Akber, senior general manager for Gilgit-Baltistan and Bilal Bin Habib, acting senior general manager for AJK were present in the meeting along with the head office management team.

The NCHD chairperson said education, especially of girls, was the key to success and development for nations. "Without education, no nation can become the member of developed nations club. Smaller nations like city states of Singapore have GDP of 453 billion and per capita of $80,000 and Malaysian GDP $800 billion and per capita $11,000, because among other factors they have achieved 100% literacy rate, long ago," she said.

Razina Alam said the dream to become a developed nation couldn't be fulfilled unless 100% literacy rate and skill development targets were achieved.

"For these gigantic tasks everyone has to put his share for the sake of nation’s education and everyone should join ‘Each one Teach one’ initiative of NCHD," she said.

She said Pakistan with a population of approximately 200 million, with 57 million illiterate people and 24 million out of school children including 12.4 million girls, couldn't join the technology driven-countries unless its citizens were educated.

All the director operations shared progress of their respective provinces and areas. Issues related to the implementation of projects and up-coming programs were discussed in detail by the participants.

Director Education NCHD Mr. Iqbal ur Rehman briefed the participants about the status of education programs, its ongoing projects, evaluation of NCHD programs by Core Committee, NCHD future plans i.e. establishment of 2000 adult literacy centrse through PHDF in all the provinces for the age of 15 to 45 year, literacy programme for 99 jails, establishment of National Training Institute, training of feeder teachers, establishment of 50 non-formal basic education schools and Madrassa Project.

The NCHD chairperson said the commission along with other stakeholders with the Vision 2025 of Professor Ahsan Iqbal Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform, under the leadership of Federal Education Minister Eng. Balighur Rehman would implement projects to increase primary school enrollment up to 100 % along with 90 % achievement of literacy rate.