IS THE LITERACY RATE OF HUNZA A MERE ILLUSION?

“You should be very proud of your literacy rate”!

Growing up, I have heard this phrase a trillion times, and realizing the fact that despite the lack of resources, education was still a pure priority in our small village made me very proud of our literacy rate.

Back then, I was not mentally strong enough to observe our educational system and form an opinion of my own. But as I grew up, I started watching other educational systems and comparing them with our educational system. But the worst part was that it shattered my belief of being proud of our literacy rate.

While writing this blog, I know that more than half of the people reading this will speak ill of me because their minds will perceive it as something that is hurting their ego. But speaking of the truth based on facts is what I have been taught, and I am sorry if that somehow offends you. So now, if you are one such person, you must stop reading this and instead save your egos.

Okay, so here is a list of questions that lead me to question our literacy rate and educational system.

Firstly, what is taught in our schools is a nonrevised syllabus of Punjab textbooks which has been taught to our parents, and in some cases our grandparents as well. Do these books prepare us for the super competitive environment? Do they make us efficient and skilled enough to compete with students on a national or international level? Are the schools playing an active role in polishing students hidden potential or are they just creating literature rather than educating people? (Here, it is essential to know the difference between literates and educated, so I believe you all know what I meant in the former line). Is our society still entangled in the mindset of accepting just two professions as the complete and descent professions that are doctors and engineers? If it has started getting other professions and is giving equal status and importance to other professions, why do the students of different professions end up as teachers?

Most importantly, why are we so helpless that despite having the highest literacy rate, there is only one university in the whole “region”? I won’t state” province” here because we are not educated enough to ask for our rights. Every year, we celebrate Gilgit Baltistan day, but we don’t have the potentials to ask for our very fundamental rights. Every year, many army men are killed at the Siacchin border, all from Gilgit. These people are ready to sacrifice their lives for this country, but in return, we don’t even have the official status of being called Pakistanis. Why, despite being so educated, we can’t ask for what is morally ours? Moreover, when we complete our degrees, we settle in cities because we get a nine-to-six job with a decent salary. Then why would we prefer to go and contribute something to our homelands which need us and our services the most?

Many more questions like the ones mentioned above need to be figured out and answered before it’s too late. These are the flaws in our so-called perfect and ideal society that must be addressed.

I know that our society is much better than many others. Still, of course, when we call ourselves educated, that is where the only comparison allowed and acceptable in comparison with your previous self. So from 2000 to 2017, try to assess our society and figure out where we were back then and where we are standing now? You won’t find much difference in our growth rate, or I didn’t.

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