Pakistan     Population (approx.) 134 million   Literacy Statistics Overall: 37.8% Male: 50.0% Female: 24.4%   GNP Per Capita (US Dollars) $1,600     Source: The World Bank Development Indicators, 1996; CIA World Fact Book 1997

Country Report presented by Chand Asghar

Urdu is the national language of Pakistan, and a 1980-81 census found that only 7.3% of females in rural areas were literate. What the survey did not take into account was that 45% of these women were Quranic literate but could not read in Urdu. While these women were "culturally literate," they were not considered practically, alphabetically, generally literate.

The Quranic Literacy Project (QLP), considered one of the most important, professionalized and innovative literacy efforts in the country, was established in 1991 to test whether Quranic female literates could be made general literates in a shorter time using their decoding skills from Quranic Arabic.

The project was implemented in 450 centers donated by the communities themselves, using extensively researched primers and trained teaching, supervisory, and monitoring staff appointed from the village. A motivational campaign stressed the importance of literacy for both men and women, focusing on religion in these very traditional communities.

The format of the primers initially used very simple words from the Quran, side by side with Urdu words to show the similarities in the scripts. As the learners progressed more complex words were introduced using the same comparison method. The primers also used pictures and included numeracy lessons, as Urdu numbers are different from Arabic numerals. Exercises included how to fill out receipts and other important, practical lessons (days of the week, month, etc.) and how to write applications for loans.

By the end of the project in 1996, 6,613 women had become literate and 4,000 women had improved their pre-literacy skills. Most participants were eager for post-literacy and continuing education activities, but a second proposal for the continuation of the project has not yet been approved by the government.

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INTERNATIONAL LITERACY INSTITUTE
Graduate School of Education/University of Pennsylvania
3910 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, PA 19104-3111 USA
Telephone 215-898-2100 | Fax 215-898-9804 | E-mail: sltp@literacy.upenn.edu

Revised: July 6, 1998