Education minister says Pakistan's literacy rate has dropped to 58%
The federal education minister was addressing the Senate today
December 20, 2018
ISLAMABAD: Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said on Thursday that the literacy rate in the country has fallen to 58 percent from 60 percent.
The federal minister was addressing the Senate today, where he said that the number of out-of-school children can cross the figure of 20.28 million.
He said that as per the Population Census 1998, a literate is a person who can read a newspaper and write a simple letter in any language.
Mahmood said that a campaign for adult education will be initiated and it has been recommended that the intermediate students should teach adult illiterates.
Under the programme, it is suggested that one person should be turned literate within 41 days, he said.
The federal education minister said that these measures will likely ensure that the literacy rate can be improved by 10 to 15 percent.
