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Curent situation of Literacy in Pakistan

Curent situation of Literacy in Pakistan. Tabassum Saghir M.Phil Student. Iqra University, 24 November 2013. Literacy: definition.

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Curent situation of Literacy in Pakistan

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  1. Curent situation of Literacy in Pakistan Tabassum Saghir M.Phil Student Iqra University, 24 November2013

  2. Literacy: definition ‘A person is literate who can with understanding both read and write a short simple statement on his everyday life...A person is functionally literate who can engage in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his group and community...’ (UNESCO, 1978)

  3. Literacy: definition (continue) ‘Using printed and written information to function in society to achieve one’s goals and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.’ (OECD/Statistics Canada, 1995)

  4. Evolving Understandings Definitions of literacy have broadened in the past 30 years • The most common understanding of literacy: a tangible set of skills, particularly the cognitive skills of reading and writing • Notion of functional literacy focuses on how these skills are applied in relevant ways. UNESCO’s 1978 definition still in use today • Literacy as transformative: an active process of learning involving social awareness and critical reflection • Literacy is widely viewed as a continuum of skills

  5. Why literacy? Literacy is a right Literacy is a foundation for all further learning Literacy carries profound individual and social benefits Literacy matters for poverty reduction Literacy drives progress towards all the Education for All goals Literacy isa right still denied to some 771 million adults Literacy is neglected on policy agendas

  6. Benefits: why literacy matters • Self-esteemand empowerment: widening choices, access to other rights • Political benefits: increased civic participation in community activities, trade unions and local politics • Cultural benefits: questioning attitudes and norms; improves ability to engage with one’s culture • Social benefits: better knowledge of healthcare, family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention; higher chance of parents educating children • Economic benefits: Returns on investment in adult literacy programmes are comparable to those in primary level education

  7. Pakistan’s commitments on literacy • Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948 • International Declaration on education for all (EFA) in Jomtien (1990) • Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing -The convention on the elimination of all forms of discrimination against women, (CEDAW) (1995) • Dakar Framework for Action – EFA 2000 • Millennium Development Goals – 2000 • Pakistan’s constitution of 1973 • Education policies, Five years plans and various programs and projects

  8. EFA and MDGs EFA Goals – by 2015 MDGs – by 2015 • ECCE: Expanding early childhood care and education • UPE: Universal primary education • Continuing Education: Learning and life skills programmes for young and adults • Literacy: 50% increase in adult literacy rates • Gender: Eliminating gender disparities in primary and secondary by 2005, and gender equality in education by 2015 • Quality: Improving quality of education Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education Target 3: Completion of full primary schooling by all children Indicator No 8: Literacy rate of 15-24 year old Goal 3. Promote gender equality and empower women Target 4: eliminate gender disparity Indicator 10: Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old LITERACY IS AT THE CORE

  9. International Commitments • EFA : Pakistan is signatory to EFA and MDGs - Literacy is one of the six Goals of EFA • Target: 86% literacy to be achieved by 2015 (National Plan of Action for EFA - Ministry of Education, 2003) • UN Literacy Decade (2003-2012): Pakistan reflected achievement of UNLD goals in its PRSP-1 • LIFE : Pakistan has agreed to launch Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) in 2005. • PRSP : EFA and Literacy are part of Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP II)

  10. National Commitments of Pakistan Constitution of Pakistan (1973) State shall be responsible for: “ eradication of illiteracy and provision of free and compulsory education up to secondary level, within minimum possible time” (Article 37-B, 1973 Constitution of Pakistan)- Principles of Policy 18th Amendment to the Constitution – Article 25 A – Education A Fundamental Right

  11. Literacy situation in Pakistan: Source: population census report, 1998

  12. Human Development in South and West Asia (Source: Human Development Report 2007-08, and UNESCO EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009)

  13. Dakar Goal Achievement – EDI Education For All Development Index (EDI) for 129 countries- GMR 2009

  14. ADULT LITERACY “Achieve a 50% improvement in levels of Adult Literacy by 2015, especially for women and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults.” Achievements:The 10+ age group adult literacy rate of Pakistan as per national census 1998 was 45% which increased to 58% (male 70%: female 46%) according to the findings of the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement (PSLM) survey 2010-11. 9

  15. Challenge: • Pakistan has one of the lowest literacy rate with high gender disparity in the region. • The wide inter and intra provincial disparities present a discriminating scenario. Initiatives: • 6,953 Literacy Centers have been established in public sector against the target of 27,000. • Teaching learning and supplementary materials and teaching kits have been provided to all these Centers. • 0.278 million Adults have been made literate. • USAID assistance has also led to opening of approximately 4000 Adult Literacy Centers in Sindh and Balochistan. 7543 Adults have so far passed the literacy programme. • National literacy curriculum have been developed under USAID program. • National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) established 6,602 Adult Literacy Centers. 160,533 neo-literates graduated.

  16. Education Budget in Pakistan: (1995-96 to 2008-09)(Source: Economic Survey (2002-2003) – Finance Division – Government of Pakistan, Page 167, Table 11.5 and Economic Survey of Pakistan 2005-06, and EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008, 2009, and other related documents of Govt. of Pakistan)

  17. Number of Illiterates are increasing in Pakistan (Source: Census Reports and projections for 2006-07)

  18. Literacy Rate (10 Years and Above)-Pakistan and Provinces

  19. Report Card: Literacy in Pakistan PSLM (2006-07) – Statistics Division, GoP Overall, 45% population (10+) is illiterate, and 58% Women can not read and write 70% Rural women are illiterate 76% Rural women in KPK are illiterate 84% Rural women in Sindh can not read and write 85% Rural women in Balochistan are illiterate Disparities: 80% literacy among males in urban Sindh vs 15% literacy among females in rural Balochistan PSLM (2005-06) 32 districts with literacy rate below 40% 56 districts with more than 70% illiterate women

  20. An analysis of Literacy Programmes in Pakistan • Commitment gap: Lack of Political Will – funds were sanctioned but politicians could not provide leadership – politicization of literacy projects • Policy Gap: A clear and strong policy on Literacy and NFBE has been missing: Lack of administrative will – open and disguised opposition to Literacy & NFBE by the traditional planners. • Organizational Gap: Absence of permanent organizational structure – led to coordination gap • Financial Resources Gap: limited financial assistance, and uncertainty about funding • Technical Capacity Gap: ‘islands of excellence’ but weak professional base /continuity of experience/independent research and evaluation studies

  21. A Strategy for Pakistan • A vision: a national framework developed: consistent policy on adult literacy (Legislation, Parliament Resolution, strengthening provisions for Adult Literacy and NFBE in new National Education Policy) • A commitment: political leadership - Ministers, Parliamentarians, and political parties support and lead literacy programmes at various levels • Partnerships: joint Federal and Provincial agreements/ coordination/monitoring structures and processes • Guaranteed Financial Resources: Consistent flow of financial resources – x % of education budget (?) – matching grants to provinces • Clear Roles and Responsibilities: Clearly spelling out role and responsibilities of Federal Govt., Provincial Govts., and District Govts. • A strong Professional base: An Institute or Resource Centre for technical tasks like training, material development, research etc.

  22. Pre-conditions for Success of Adult Literacy Programmes • Vision: • Literacy programmes based on an agenda of social change including functional literacy/income generation skills – learners can not be attracted just for alphabets-” Literacy for a cause” • Including post-literacy and continuing education: beyond basic literacy- mainstreaming neo-literates and NFBE pass outs with formal education - continuing education • Leadership: literacy movement demands leadership, not merely the funds • Organizational structure: expertise for training, material development, research & evaluation • Consistent policy and approach

  23. Focussed Approach • Priority: • Out of School Youth (10-25) • Female Literacy programmes • Modalities: • NFBE: Non-formal Basic Education Centers for 6-15 years out of school children and youth • Post Literacy: Making literacy meaningful, post literacy phase to be added, mobile libraries, reading rooms etc. • ECE: Linking female literacy or Mother’s Literacy with Early Childhood Education

  24. A basis for success! • Rich experience! Not from zero! • A National Literacy Curriculum (2007), approved and launched by the Ministry of Education • Literacy materials: Literacy primers and post literacy readers produced by NCHD, Institute of Mass Education (AIOU), MoE, UNESCO, and NGOs • Trained human resources available with NCHD, National Education Foundation, provincial Directorates of Literacy and NFE, and NGOs • A Joint UN Programme in Education (2009-10): Literacy and NFBEas part of the 2-year programme of cooperation agreed between UN and Govt. of Pakistan • Policy commitment through legislation a must for sustainability and institutionalization of literacy programmes

  25. National coordination Partnerships Literacy educators Good curricula Language policy Public spending 1.Universal quality basic education for girls and boys Literacy: a three-pronged approach 2.Scale up youth and adult literacy programmes 3.Develop rich literate environments School textbooks Local language newspapers Book publishing Public broadcasting Libraries Access to information Reducing feesTeachers Gender Inclusion and language Health and nutrition Public spending Strong political commitment is the starting point

  26. Measuring literacy: towards greater accuracy Improved measures • Based on direct testing • Literacy skills in severaldomains are tested on scales • Provide more accurateknowledge about literacy • Conventional measures • Based on national censusesRely on: • self declaration • report by household head • years of schooling • Define a person as literate/illiterate Direct asssessments show that conventional evaluation methods often overstate literacy levels

  27. Thinking through good programmes • Whatmotivateslearners to acquireliteracyskills? • Are curricula relevant to peoples’ lives and aspirations? • Is teachingparticipatory? • Are teachinghourssufficient? • Are learning groups appropriate and sensitive to culturaland social norms? • Do learners have enough and well-designedteachingmaterials? • Are programmes available in mothertonguelanguages?

  28. The low status of literacy educators Better professional development is imperative • Training: either too short or too lengthy. Non-formal courses last one to two weeks; formal training can run 1-3 years • Importance of accreditation and on-the-job support • Pay: most programmes surveyed pay between one-fourth andone-half of a basic primary-school teacher’s salary • ICTs and distance learning have immediate potential for offering professional development

  29. The language-literacy nexus Linguistic diversity is the reality in a majority of countries facing literacy challenges • Use of mother tongue in adult programmes is pedagogicallysound • Encourages community mobilization and social development; allows room for political voice • Learning only in the mother tongue can be a barrier to broader social and economic participation • Importance of: • learners’ demand • consultation with local communities • locally written produced teaching materials • transition to an additional language

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