Country Director UNESCO in Pakistan Vibeke Jensen has said that Pakistan is ambitious in attaining 90 per cent literacy target under its vision 2025.

In an exclusive interview with News and Current Affairs Channel of Radio Pakistan on World's Literacy Day on Friday, she said that prudent policies of the government have resulted in reducing dropout rate of children from the schools.

The Country Director said the World's Literacy Day is aimed to draw attention towards importance of acquiring fundamental literacy skills for the development of the society.

She said the day is celebrated after the decision taken by the United Nations to draw world's attention towards improving literacy rate of the peoples.

To a question, she said that Pakistan has already achieved the target of attaining 60 per cent literacy rate ahead of 2025. She urged the provincial government to take concrete steps for achieving the target of attaining of optimum literacy rate. She said that improvement in the literacy rate is pivotal for attaining the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

On the occasion, Advisor National Commission for Human Development Arshad Saeed Khan said that Article-26 of UN-Universal Declaration of Human Rights also stated it clearly that attaining education is a fundamental right of all the individuals in the world. He said that the government has been striving hard to promote literacy rate in the country. Arshad Ali said two million literacy centres have made over four million people literate in the country. He said around six thousand feeder schools are functioning for disadvantageous children across the country. He said the NCHD is creating awareness among the people for the cause of literacy.

To a question, he said that after 18th amendment, education has become purely a provincial subject and the provincial governments are provided with the sufficient resources under National Finance Commission in this regard. He said that Article 25-A of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan also stated clearly that the provision of education is a duty of the state itself. He said that the federal government is continuously assisting the provinces in imparting quality education to the people across the country. 

On his part, Deputy Chief Advisor JICA Abid Ali Gill said that attaining an optimum level of literacy rate is a key to attain other SDGs in the country. He said that JICA is committed to integrate all the stakeholders and partners to assist the government in achieving all SDGs.