EDUCATION KEY TO SOLVING DEVELOPMENT CRISIS OF PAKISTAN

Press Release
DEV/2217
PI/1168

EDUCATION KEY TO SOLVING DEVELOPMENT CRISIS OF PAKISTAN

ISLAMABAD, 3 September (UN Information Centre) -- In a farewell press briefing at the United Nations Information Centre today, the outgoing United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Pakistan, J.K. Robert England, stressed the paramount importance of education in the nation's development. "No country is going to succeed without educating its children", he said. "And Pakistan will definitely fail if it does not educate its girls. This is the single most important issue”.

Mr. England appealed to the Prime Minister and his Cabinet to make it a practice to visit a girls' elementary school every week, or at least once a month. "Although the people themselves want to be educated, I am not convinced that the leadership of the country is committed. This is the only explanation I find to the empty schools and the absent teachers. The Government must do more for basic education", he said, pointing out that resources were available.

He regretted that even though Pakistan's elites are prepared to educate their own children, "they don't pay taxes, they don't contribute to the education of the nation's children and show an obvious reluctance to develop the country". Quoting banks and financial analysts, he remarked that national currency holdings abroad, estimated at least at $50 billion, were equivalent to the overall indebtedness of Pakistan.

The outgoing United Nations coordinator underlined that the situation had not really changed since he had arrived four and a half years ago, and lamented the fact that the Government's development budget has been cut by two thirds since 1994. "Pakistan faces a deep development crisis and the prospects for most Pakistanis is quite grim. Unless some fundamental decisions are taken, there is little hope in our lifetime that Pakistan will see improvements in its standards of living", he said. Mr. England added: "The country must reach out and play its part in a globalized economy, or it is going to become more and more introverted, not understanding how the world is changing.

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Globalization has its pitfalls, but Pakistan must face outwards and must equip itself to play the game".

He stressed that, in his opinion, the strengths of the country resided in its increasingly strong and vibrant civil society. "The media and non governmental organizations do great work and I have also drawn much inspiration from community-level efforts", he said.

Mr. England, a national of the United Kingdom, is leaving Pakistan on 4 September. His successor, Onder Yucer (Turkey), is scheduled to arrive on 5 September. He was last posted to the Republic of Yemen as United Nations Resident Coordinator and Resident Representative of UNDP. He brings with him 20 years of experience in the United Nations system, including posts in Zambia, Sierra Leone and Kenya. Mr. Yucer also worked for five years with the World Bank in Washington, and for the Turkish Government in the late 1960s and in the 1970s.

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