EDITORIAL
International Day of Education
Educating children assures their personal life and collectively donates to developing a more dependable nation in the world. It can deliver a more satisfactory environment where people can differentiate right and wrong and develop moral, cultural, political and technological skills essential for individual and collective life.
Background Of International Day of Education
Education is a human right, a public good and a public responsibility.
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 24 January as the International Day of Education in celebration of the role of education in peace and development.
Education is a Human Right
The right to education is enshrined in article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The declaration calls for free and compulsory elementary education. The Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted in 1989, stipulates that countries shall make higher education accessible to all.
Education is Critical to Sustainable Development
When it adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in September 2015, the international community recognized that education is essential for the success of all 17 of its goals. Sustainable Development Goal 4, in particular, aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” by 2030.
Challenges to Achieving Universal Education
Education offers children a ladder out of poverty and a path to a promising future. But about 244 million children and adolescents worldwide are out of school; 617 million children and adolescents cannot read and do basic math; less than 40% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa complete lower secondary school, and some four million children and youth refugees are out of school. Their right to education is being violated, and it is unacceptable.
Without inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong opportunities for all, countries will not succeed in achieving gender equality and breaking the cycle of poverty that is leaving millions of children, youth and adults behind.
Education is critical for the socio-economic development of Pakistan. Not only fundamental education but also skilful education is the only way forward for development in Pakistan. For an ordinary and poor child, education is the only way forward. Then, it is the responsibility of the state and society to provide free education to all as protected in the constitution’s fundamental rights.
Presently, the education rate hovers around sixty per cent in Pakistan. It is a social responsibility. Therefore, if a person teaches an uneducated person, the whole nation shall be educated. The same social experience has been successful in Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Pakistan must realize that it can only develop politically, socially, culturally and economically with education ensuring skilful quality standards.
