Literacy and Education: Fifth Release From the 1961 Census of Pakistan (Review Article)

This review of the Literacy and Education Bklletin1 of the 1961 Census is fourth in the series of review articles published in this journal2. The Bulletin under review forms a part of the interim report on the characteristics of the population of Pakistan. It gives information on the number of illiterate and literate persons by age and sex for rural and urban areas on division and district basis; illiterate and literate.population in selected cities and towns; and the educational levels attained by the literate population by age and sex for divisions and districts. Relevant statistical notes and statements precede the tables in the Bulletin. The objective of this review is to describe the meaningfulness and significance of literacy statistics. To this end, a distinction is made between formal and functional levels of literacy. Comparisons of the 1951 and 1961 census figures are undertaken to indicate the progress of literacy and education during the past decade with reference to the effect of intercensal rate of population growth on such progress. Certain questions regarding the reliability of data are raised, which emphasize the need for caution in the interpretation of literacy statistics.