PAKISTAN is among the countries which have the lowest literacy rate.

Since its inception

no serious efforts have been made to overcome illiteracy. As a consequence, we face several
problems and among them is child labour.
Child labour has increased at an alarming rate during the last few years. The Human Rights
Commission of Pakistan estimated in 2005 that there would be 10 to 12 million child workers in
Pakistan by 2010-11.
But, according to an All-Pakistan Labour Force survey, this number has almost doubled to about
21 million child workers. It shows the gravity of the situation.
The key reason behind the rising number of child workers is increasing poverty, while the low
literacy rate has also contributed to the problem to a large extent.
People belonging to low-income groups have hardly any opportunities to send their children to
schools, while the government does not have any programmes in this regard.
It is a sad reality that education is often considered a waste of time and resources. People from
disadvantaged sections of society prefer to send their children to work rather than school. These
conditions indicate government apathy towards education and literacy.
This problem can have a serious impact on our society in the future. Firstly, child labour will
transform into raw labour and there will be a dearth of skilled labour in the future.
Secondly, this situation will cause many social problems and may become a cause of increase in
crime. We are already facing the menace of street crime.
Child labour will certainly make a negative impact on societys socio-economic and cultural
development. Obviously, the government has to play a vital role to solve this problem.
Betterment in social, cultural and economic life will automatically curb child labour.