In Pakistan, where the government has failed to raise the level of literacy and education of its people, new hope is coming from the private sector.

"Baithak" schools have cropped up around the country for the past few years. These schools teach basic literacy skills to children. There is no fee for admission. All it requires is for a community to provide a place to hold the class (i.e. in a home, a room in a community center, etc.) and the organizers of the Baithak system will send a part-time teacher for the children. There are currently about 137 such schools in Pakistan.

The Baithak system is ideal for poorer communities in rural areas, as well as for children whose parents expect them to work to support their families. These schools teach children the basic literacy they need. In some cases, the curriculum of Baithak schools is even better than that found in government or private schools.

Pakistan has a dismal literacy rate of 38 percent. If you divide it up by gender, males have a 50 percent literacy rate while for females it's 24.4 percent. The 38 percent literacy rate also takes into account all those individuals who can even write their name. In addition, the total expenditure out of the National Budget spend on education is a meager 2.5%.

The government has tried to eradicate illiteracy, but government projects for mass literacy have become administrative and bureaucratic nightmares. This is one of the reasons why Pakistan hasn't been able to attain its literacy level.

But between the cities and the villages, it is the rural population that suffers the most. Pakistan's rural population has been largely ignored by efforts at improving mass literacy. The educational facilities provided by the Pakistani government have been of a substandard quality with no thought to the people's needs or advancement.

You can help change this by supporting the Baithak school movement's drive to raise Pakistan's dismal literacy rate for very little. In fact, you can support a number of Baithak schools in Pakistan, not just one.

You can pay a Baithak schoolteacher's monthly salary, which comes out to about $20 US. For $100 you can sponsor five schools, for $200 10 schools, etc. You will be helping eradicate the sicknesses of literacy from Pakistani society in a concrete way.

Or you can help provide the location for the school. If you know of a village where few children go to school because they must help support their families by working, then pay for the establishment of a room or building where these classes take place.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with supporting an existing organization that is establishing Baithak schools. In fact, this would be a better idea since you could bypass all of the organizational and managerial costs you would incur if you were doing this on your own.

One organization at the forefront of the Baithak school movement is the Karachi-based Society for Educational Welfare. They have a network of schools in three provinces: Sindh, Punjab and NWFP. On their website, they have an online donation process.

Another way you can help is by becoming a teacher in one of Baithak schools. In fact, SEW encourages individuals to not only help out financially, but also to teach in their schools or better yet, join their team in Pakistan. Perhaps on your next extended visit to Pakistan, you can not only meet with SEW's organizers and give them your donation, but also share your ideas with them about how they can maximize the use of the Baithak schools.

Date/Time Last Modified: 6/3/2004 8:18:27 AM

Readers' Comment

Tahir Ali: 1/8/2006 7:23:56 AM
we must assist adults education(Taleem-e Balghan)because when will aware of adults so they will be told their new generation about education.We should be start specially hotels transporters and low income people.

danish: 1/31/2006 9:18:54 PM
Excellent effort.

Sabreena Qureshi: 4/10/2006 9:47:45 AM
Much pleased 2 know abt ur effort.JAZAK ALLAH :)ALHAMDULLILAH we've the spirit to build our beloved homeland. May I be a part of ur organization,plz?

nadeem: 4/15/2006 6:14:43 AM
I would like to concetrate on web linkage,web linkage should be included with the concernd matter so someone who is having intrest can easily found the concern address and save the time.

Syed Muhammad Ali: 10/29/2006 2:45:56 AM
I think it is a wonderful idea and its important to have creative ideas for solving long standing problems.

© 2004, Human Development Foundation. All rights reserved.
1350 Remington Road, Suite W, Schaumburg, Il. 60173
Toll Free: (800) 705-1310 | Email: info@yespakistan.com | Privacy Policy