Education is a jewel without which a person cannot progress in any field of life. According to the Constitution of Pakistan, the state is obliged to provide free and quality education to children between the ages of five and 16. Loud claims of uniform curriculum and educational policies have also been formulated; some have not come to the fore and some have been practically tested, but the results have not been satisfactory nor has there been any increase in our literacy rate so far.
Education is a human rights issue and has been inculcated in the 4th Sustainable Development Goal of the 2030 agenda which prioritizes equitable quality education. However, it is very sad that 76 years have passed since our achieving independence, but there is no significant increase in our literacy rate. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2022-23, the overall literacy rate in the country is 62 percent, which is unsatisfactory in any case and it cannot be attributed to any one party, nor has there been any specific action.
In fact, there have been many factors and the biggest hand in this has been the involvement of each government. On the one hand, relatively little money has been allocated to education; on the other hand, the aid received has not been used effectively. The IMF, UNESCO, and other institutions all donate large sums of money to support education. Even if money is coming in, not all of it is being effectively and honestly spent on education.
In every period of government in this country, the people have never been the priority of the rulers, nor have the basic facilities of the people, education and health, been included in their priorities while the people are not able to carry their own burden due to such low financial resources nor educating their talented children. In this critical situation, Alkhidmat Foundation Pakistan is one institution that is supporting the people in their growing difficulties. Where the organization is helping to provide every basic facility to the people, there is also a ray of hope for the youth through the AlKhidmat Alfalah Scholarship. Under this scholarship, thousands of intelligent male and female students who are suffering from financial crises have been helped in the pursuit of education for more than two decades.
Such an educational mission was started in 1998 by the vice president of Alkhidmat Foundation, Muhammad Abdus Shakoor, with a few of his friends and colleagues dedicated to the spirit of service under a positive and constructive thinking of the country. The deserving and financially challenged students are selected on merit and then they are provided with scholarships for higher education. Above all Al-Falah Scholarship has made the series of scholarships so prestigious that at any stage the self-esteem of students is not undermined. Currently, under the Alfalah Scholarship Scheme, 936 deserving students of the four provinces including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, are being provided educational scholarships for the pursuit of higher studies irrespective of color, race, religion and political affiliation.
If the rulers get free time from their political confrontations, they should think about the bright future of the nation or at least the government should cooperate with such institutions, so that the darkness of illiteracy can be dispelled by the bright light shed by them. It will be tough for the authorities but it is not impossible in the national interest.
Alkhidmat is making a lot of efforts to increase literacy rate in Pakistan. On the one hand, scholarships are being given to students and on the other, 63 schools are also working under the same organization throughout the country in which more than 15,000 children are getting education. Apart from this, in view of the increasing number of street children across the country, Alkhidmat is also running 65 child protection centres in the four provinces, in which 2750 children are provided with formal and non-formal education, basic health facilities, food deliverance and hygiene. Their efforts regarding flood relief activities and provision of clean water are also not hidden from anyone and they receive donations from all over the world.
There is no doubt that the future of the country cannot be made bright without equipping the young generation with excellent education and facilities. If we want to face the world and move on the path of rapid development then every child of the country must be equipped with the best education and to achieve this goal, special attention should be paid to increase the literacy rate and improve the quality of education. Alkhidmat foundation is playing its full role in this regard but what is the government doing?
If the rulers get free time from their political confrontations, they should think about the bright future of the nation or at least the government should cooperate with such institutions, so that the darkness of illiteracy can be dispelled by the bright light shed by them. It will be tough for the authorities but it is not impossible in the national interest.
