83pc Pakistanis have no access to library, says PIDE report

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ISLAMABAD    -   Pakistanis have a very low level of so­cial and civic engagement, as 83% of Pakistanis do not have access to any li­brary, while 60% have no playground access, claimed a research by Pakistan Institute of Development Economics (PIDE).

The PIDE’s research titled ‘Shaping Minds and Bodies: Do We Have the Fa­cilities?’ which is the fifth Basic note of the Series, shows that a vast majority of Pakistanis (83%) do not have access to any library, with only a tiny proportion (4.5%) being very happy with the one they can access. Access remains low for both sexes, but females have more in­adequate access than their male coun­terparts for all age groups.

Pro Vice Chancellor PIDE, Dr Durre Nayab,, in her latest research, showed a very low level of social and civic engage­ment among the people of Pakistan.

The libraries provide not just infor­mation but also contribute to building communities. Public libraries can be a great equaliser by providing informa­tion and education to those who other­wise cannot afford it. 

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The research further elaborated in the report that it is worth mentioning here that this is reported access. A facility might exist but still remains inaccessible for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons can be the awareness about its presence, distance to the facility, open­ing timings, and it being gender-inclu­sive/exclusive. Factors like these can ex­plain the lower reported accessibility by females than males in the study.

While the research shows that educa­tion improves a person’s reported ac­cessibility to a library, it may be men­tioned here that education can bring awareness and information, which a person without it can lack. The pres­ence of a facility can remain unknown to a person who is not interested in it or lacks knowledge about its existence. Additionally, accessibility to a library increases with increasing education­al levels, while increasing income lev­els do not improve accessibility to a li­brary by any significant margin.

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How many Pakistanis have access to playgrounds? It may be clarified here that this question asks if the respon­dent can access a playground, not if they actually do it. The research shows that 60% of Pakistanis have no play­ground access. While one-third ur­ban population lacks access to a play­ground, the proportion is three-fourths for their rural counterparts. Along with low accessibility, satisfaction too is much lower in the rural areas, ex­pressed in the unhappy/very unhappy responses.

Punjab fares the best among the four provinces, followed by Balochistan and Sindh. KP shows the highest pro­portion of those not having access to a playground (67.8%). GB continues to show better trends than other ter­ritories, having the lowest proportion of those not having access to a play­ground (46.3%). AJK lags behind other territories, with 62.3% needing more access to a playground.

In her report, PIDE Pro VC described that the education level positively cor­relates with the accessibility of a play­ground. The proportion of not having access to a playground declines as we go up the educational ladder from 75.1% for those who have never been to school; it reduces to 41% who have achieved more than a high school education. Those happy/very happy also increase with increasing educational level.

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Lastly, we see how income levels, ex­pressed in quintiles, relate to the acces­sibility of a playground, the research said. Income has a positive effect on the accessibility of a playground only after a certain level, as we see some reduc­tion in those lacking access after reach­ing the third income quintile, it added.


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