Since numbers reveal the truth, the statistics say that India and China are the two Asian countries with much faster development rate than Pakistan. These are also the two Asian countries with higher literacy rates; in India, the rate has reached the 66%, while in China the rate is impressive: 90%. At the same time, the rate in Pakistan is not more than 50%, which is actually even worse than it seems, given the fact that both India and China feature a much larger population than Pakistan.
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When it comes to development, illiteracy causes a serious problem which is the lack of ideological background and basis. People that do not have any education and cultural backup cannot distinguish between false and true, right and wrong; this doesn’t affect only their personal status, but also makes them incapable of establishing and running proper businesses.

What can be done? How to improve literacy rate in Pakistan? The goal is not unrealistic or a utopia as many people would think. On the contrary; the first step is raising awareness about the issue. Awareness campaigns should be launched, informing the general public not only on the dangers or illiteracy, but most importantly on the advantages of literacy. Spreading education cannot happen without spreading inspiration and encouragement towards education. Especially when it comes to remote and rural areas, people need to find out why they should choose to send their children to school, rather than to the fields or other jobs.

Except for raising public awareness, a few more measures need to be taken. For instance, there is not enough infrastructure regarding school buildings and facilities all over the country. Islamabad and a couple more cities are obviously privileged, but not all people reside there, and in any case, the literacy percentages are lower in rural areas, where the facilities are also fewer. Lack of teachers, lack of educational material and lack of buildings are some of the problems that need to be addressed soon.

Expanding the elementary education should also be of immediate concern. Providing free textbooks, increasing the budget for social education and expanding adult education as well are some additional measures that could boost the literacy levels in Pakistan. These measures are efficient, effective and can have some immediate results, which could be vital for the overall cultural and economic developments of the country. Literacy is anyway the basic requirement.

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The IT industry has penetrated every facet of modern life and is a fact of contemporary society – from banks to security; EPOS systems [electronic point of sale] in stores; to online banking and the facility to make payments online. Without software engineers, none of this would be possible to the extent that IT is utilized today. Where software engineers are suitable trained and skilled they can only envisage an encouraging future career and should have no worries about getting a well-paid job and keeping it: the future of these software engineers is assured. The individuals who do need to be concerned are those who call themselves software engineers but lack the pre-requisite qualifications to back up their claims. Without appropriate qualifications, these people simply are not marketable amongst the global community.

Proven qualifications that are obtained from a recognizable examination board will get you the chance of a suitable job anywhere in the world – and there are plenty of jobs out there for suitably skilled individuals: but, without the backup of those acknowledged qualifications the world most definitely will not be your oyster! While the future of software engineers is practically assured for the foreseeable future, you do need to ensure that your knowledge is in the area that is required: you need to find out what kinds of programmers are the ones in demand and keep on top of the skills that are being asked for in the global marketplace.

The future is changing and, to ensure the future of software engineers such as yourself, you need to keep abreast of what those changes are then update your skills accordingly. Wireless technology, accessories in cars and buildings, traffic lights and other programmable road signs, not to mention all the medical advances that are dependent on computer technology: they all require software engineers to program and code. Technology advances and, to ensure the future of software engineers, you need to keep on top of those advances: new computer languages and tools will be needed. The ultimate outcome is that the future of software engineers is ensured well into the future but, to have a job, you will have to be good – in fact, you will have to be very good indeed – because the competition to get a job, and keep it, is going to be phenomenal.

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investors will simply go elsewhere. As a result, Pakistan remains marginalized in a developing world and, one of the first fields that are going to suffer as a result of this is the IT field in Pakistan.

Another factor affecting economy growth in Pakistan is the state of the electricity outrages. One of the largest sectors within Pakistan’s current economy is the industrial sector and, whenever the electricity supply has downtime, industry is detrimentally affected – and this ultimately has dire consequences on the overall economy of Pakistan. Since the industrial sector employs the largest number of Pakistan’s workforce, their livelihood is threatened. Moreover, established industry cannot possibly be sustained in the face of such frequent shutdowns on the power grid. This will eventually result in established industrial companies in Pakistan deteriorating and having to shed jobs, culminating in a further increase to the prevailing unemployment ratio. The overall impact on the Pakistan job market is dire and, if these power cuts continue, it can only get worse. This is hardly conducive to the development of the IT field in Pakistan.

Nevertheless, on a more positive note, the current global recession has paved the way for new employment opportunities as major World leaders in business seek to find alternative ways to stave off further down-turns in the market. This has provided major opportunities for outsourcing and off-shoring – both of which have had excellent connotations for the IT field in Pakistan: an unsought opportunity that has fallen into the lap of Pakistan’s IT freelancers! This amazing opportunity is now a burgeoning marketplace for freelancers to maximize their skills and sell their expertise to the global marketplace. Working from home in the IT field in Pakistan is becoming a way for those with the knowledge and wherewithal to surmount the difficulties with unemployment in an uncertain job market and bring much-needed resources into a country that desperately needs such an influx of income.

Just a quick click online to one single website called Line O Work revealed 15 jobs currently available: genuine jobs in the IT field in Pakistan. So, the jobs are there – albeit, not very many of them. There are many factors, however, that will simply have to change if Pakistan is to take its rightful place amongst the global economy and, the most secure and enduring way for the IT field in Pakistan to flourish is for industry in Pakistan, in general, to be able to develop and not be hampered by the continuing political stakes in the country that are adversely and detrimentally affecting its people.

Between the years 1985 and 2004 the literacy rate in developing countries hovers between 68 – 77% according to the Global Monitoring Report issued by UNESCO. Averaging this out overall, the world’s illiteracy rates are about 82%. Except in Pakistan where literacy still remains at around 50% – not far above the 49% in Nepal and 43% in Bangladesh. If you compare these figures with India whose literacy rate is 61% and Sri Lanka which is a very impressive 90%. Even the various provinces show incredible variances: Balochistan, for instance has just 33% literacy rate with only 27% of the women in Balochistan being literate. So why, in a Muslim country, is there such a dire rate of literacy – not just amongst women, but generally?

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Social values, you would assume, would put education high on the list of priorities in an Islamic country Muslims are exhorted to ‘Seek the knowledge from the cradle to the grave’ – yet the infrastructure simply isn’t there to be able to do so. Young men nowadays are do adept at being misdirected into entering into a campaign of terror, blowing themselves up in the belief they will go direct to Heaven yet, if they were actually familiar with the Quran they would understand that education was of more value to them:

“Seeking knowledge is obligatory upon every Muslim”

[Saying of Holy Prophet, P.B.U.H.]

So, what really is the problem with education in Pakistan? Is it lack of generalized priorities amongst the populace? Or lack of funding? Or even the presence of too much terrorism? None of these questions can give a true answer as to what is wrong with a suitable program of education in Pakistan. I think, in part, the education of adults needs to be a priority if children are to receive widespread and adequate education. The adults closest to them need to be made aware that by educating their children they are acting within God’s Will and they will be blessed for it:

“Whoever seeks a way to acquire knowledge Allah will make easy his way to Paradise”

[Saying of Holy Prophet, P.B.U.H.]

Clearly, better trained teachers and more designated teacher training institutes are needed to ensure sufficient teachers would be available to teach the children but, without the children to teach that is rather a wasted exercise. Many things are being blamed for illiteracy – things that are really the symptom rather than the illness: lack of teaching aids [a good teacher can easily manage without]; lack of school buildings [teach in the open air when the weather permits]. What is needed is more value being placed on education – both formal and informal education. Education is vital for improving the overall levels of literacy of the country in general but, more than that: literacy can lead to improved industry and skills which, in turn will enable Pakistan as a country to hold its head up high and enter into the global economy on the same basis and with equal status to the more advanced nations of the world. Education is the key that opens the global economy to Pakistan’s future: it certainly isn’t in becoming a martyr to a perceived cause!

“The ink of a scholar is more sacred than the blood of a martyr.” [Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah]