MKRMS seminar: ‘Women education can help develop nation’

NANKANA SAHIB: A woman plays pivotal role in shaping a society whether she works as a mother, sister, daughter or a wife.

Her untiring efforts in making her children good citizens of a society should be commended. This was said by speakers at a seminar organised by Mir Khalil-ur-Rahman Memorial Society (Jang Group of Newspapers), Saanjh Pareet Organisation (SPO), Plan International Pakistan and Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) here. Nankana Deputy Commissioner Raja Mansoor Ahmed and MPA Mehr Kashif were the chief guests on the occasion. The seminar was aimed at empowering the women of undeveloped areas of Nankana through education. A woman needs good education and better health so that she can give a helping hand to her parents and other family members in trying times. Majority of women find it difficult to get good education, they said. The DC said education holds prime importance to excel in the society even our religion stresses on getting education for both men and women. MPA Mehr Kashif said people were getting awareness about education. Basic education is compulsory even in those countries which are not the welfare states. We need to improve our social cycle as women face many difficulties when they come out of their houses for work, he added.

Wasif Nagi of Jang Forum said literacy rate of Pakistan was very low. He said at least 19 education policies had been devised but not a single policy was implemented in letter and spirit. We need to acknowledge the good work of others. Pakistan should not have compulsion of age restriction to get education. In United Kingdom, a woman got her PhD degree at the age of 80.

No nation can stand out without education, he said. Shehzad Hussain, director programme SPO, said the admission ratio of girls in Middle and Primary schools in tehsil Nankana was very low. To counter this situation, 25 non-formal elementary schools opened in those four union councils of Nankana where there were no schools for girls in July 2016. Behavioural change can be witnessed in parents as girls are getting education now and people are getting aware of the fact that poverty cannot be alleviated without getting education. Sarfaraz Hussain, project manager SPO, said there were 61 per cent schools of boys in Nankana while the girls’ schools were only stand at 39 per cent ratio. Ijaz Ahmed of Plan International said there was a dire need to eradicate loopholes in the education department. This is alarming that out of 51.3 million children, 23 million children from 5-16 years of age cannot be able to go to schools.

Rehana Zaman, project coordinator AIOU, said now girls can do private matric through their homes and can also do non-formal courses.