Pakistan vows 85 pc literacy rate by 2015

PAKISTAN: Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani said here Tuesday that the government is committed to achieving the goal of 85 percent literacy rate by 2015, the local NNI news agency reported.

Addressing a seminar marking the International Literacy Day, he said education is the top priority of the government, which has declared 2010 as year of literacy.

He said education plays an important role in overall socio- economic development of the country. The government has allocated over 31 billion rupees in the budget this year for the education sector. The government will raise the education budget to four percent of GDP.

The prime minister said special emphasis is being laid on women education so that they could play constructive role in overall economic development of the country.

He said a special meeting of the four Provincial Chief Ministers will be held in Islamabad on Wednesday to finalize the draft of new education policy.

The Prime Minister said that the government would not allow a handful of miscreants to put at stake the future of the coming generation.

He said the maximum resources would be diverted to rebuild schools and colleges damaged by terrorists in Malakand division. ISLAMABAD, Xinhua