Literary Festival for Children in Pakistan

Pakistan’s first ever Literary Festival for Children was held on Friday November 25 in Lahore. Dignitaries, teachers and students attended the festival.

The festival aimed to promote the habit of study and reading, particularly among the large population of youth, but also to address issues such as the protection of the book. Pakistan is currently experiencing a drastic demographic change as the population of young people is increasing rapidly. According to the United Nations, 60% of Pakistan’s population comprises people below the age of 25 years. It is predicted that this group of people will reach up to 70% within a decade. This means that a gigantic portion of the population will be aspiring to be engaged in education. It is imperative that the government can meet their education demands, particularly in numeracy and literacy.

Currently Pakistan is undergoing difficulty in meeting the nation’s basic education needs. The government’s Education Task Force reveals that more than 25 million children in Pakistan are deprived of basic education. It will therefore be almost impossible to meet the Millennium Development Goal of providing primary education to all children by 2015 under the “Education for All” initiative. Neighbouring countries India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are more advanced in achieving their targets of education for all.

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