‘Livelihood causes people’s empowerment’

Islamabad: If members of the deprived sections of society, especially women, get a source of income, they are empowered to become independent, resourceful and useful citizens of the country.

This was observed by National Commission for Human Development chairperson Razina Alam Khan on Friday while addressing a function organised in the NCHD's newly-established functional literacy centres in Bonah Mohallah of Noorpur Shahan village in the suburbs of Islamabad.

She was accompanied by NCHD Director General Samina Waqar, Pakistan Human Development Fund CEO Zafar Haider Jappa, other experts and educationists. The NCHD chairperson said it was encouraging to note the decrease in out-of-school children from 24 million to 22.8 million and adjusted net enrolment rate from 72 per cent to 77 per cent, total gross enrolment of all sectors and levels of education increased from 44.4 million to 47.5 million.

She said Pakistan, a nation of 207 million people, had one fourth children of 5-9 age groups out of school and 40% of adult illiterate population, which hampered development and progress of the country.

"Keeping in view the low literacy rate in the country, the NCHD adopted a two pronged approach to provide access to education i.e. Adult Literacy Programme for the mothers and Universal Primary Education through its Feeder Schools in the remote areas for the unprivileged children," she said.

Razina Alam said the NCHD had designed its education programs focusing especially for the deprived women. She said the NCHD had made 3.8 million literate among them 95% literacy centres were for women in the remote areas.

"The society should be made aware that both boys and girls are equal, and they have equal access and opportunities to education as well as other resources," she said. The NCHD chairperson said there were 5,949 formal feeder schools of NCHD functional all over the country with 355,000 enrolment along with 6000 adult functional literacy centres.

“I urge my field staff to devote their energies towards education, skill development and empowerment of women, which refers to strengthening the social, economic and educational status of women,” she said.