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Basic education remains the fundamental instrument of pover ty alleviation and development in any given society. Pakistan lags behind its regional compatriots as well as global partners in basic education indicators. There are some serious issues facing the Primary Education and literacy in Pakistan such as inadequate access, poor quality, gender disparity and parallel systems of education to name a few predicaments. Sustained political will and continuity of the right policies is required to resolve these issues. At this time when Pakistan is poised to elect political leadership for the next five years or so, it is considered appropriate to raise these and other issues facing Education For All efforts with the leadership of major political par ties of Pakistan. It is in this context that Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development – PILDAT, and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Islamabad Office, have joined hands to organise an All Parties Conference (APC) on Education For All in Pakistan. The objective of the APC is to brief the political leadership of the country on the state of Education For All, facilitate a dialogue and reach a broad consensus on national targets and the means to achieve them in these key sectors. PILDAT and UNESCO seek support and guidance of the news media in raising and highlighting issues faced by education sector in Pakistan, and in creating an environment which may inspire political parties to accord priority to education in this country. The media support is cr ucial to improve efficiency of education system in Pakistan, eliminate political interference in appointment and transfers of teachers, and ultimately raise quality of education in schools. The media can be a vanguard in the struggle to provide quality basic education for all children, boys and girls, men and women, young and adults, poor and rich equally. This Background Paper has been prepared to provide the key information on the issues facing the Basic Education and Literacy in Pakistan to Editors, Columnists, Analysts, Reporters, TV programmes Producers and Hosts.
