Impeding education

Pakistan’s literacy rate is horrifically low. Between 2014-15 and 2018-2019, it remained stagnant at 60 percent. The Net Enrolment Rate dropped by two percent between the same time. The closure of schools and universities due to Covid-19 has further aggravated the situation. The government has taken steps to redress the problem by arranging online classes and starting a TV channel with educational material. However, both these plans are flawed as more than 50 percent of the country’s population doesn’t have access to the internet, and the television channel runs only one hour of syllabus content per day for each class.

These days, a new variant of the coronavirus ‘Omnicore’ has emerged in Africa. It is dreaded that it may also spread throughout the world. Pakistan must be prepared to ensure that any step taken to reduce virus transmission does not hinder students’ education.

Musaddique Pirzada

Nawabshah