The government is taking concrete measures for promotion of education in Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) where literacy rate stands at 33.3 per cent.
FATA Development Indicator Household Survey report (FDIHS, 2013-2014) launched recently also reveals 11.8 per cent of FATA youth aged between 15-24 were unemployed.
The survey was carried out by the Bureau of Statistics, FATA secretariat with a tripartite arrangement between, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics and the Institute of Management Sciences, Peshawar, with the financial support of Governance Support Project FATA-Multi Donor Trust Fund.
According to the survey there are marked gender differences in literacy rate and the rate for male in FATA overall has been registered at 49.7 per cent compared to just 12.7 per cent for females.
About the health, water and sanitation data, the report says only 8.9 per cent of estimated population have access to piped drinking water, 38.3 per cent of FATA households have flush latrines.
Only 6.3% houses have underground drainage system and only 29.5 per cent of births were attended by skilled health personals.
Moreover the report says 0.7 per cent children (Age 2-9) have at least one disability in overall FATA, furthermore 71.8 per cent of FATA people use radio as source of information.
During this exercise 4,070 household were surveyed, all the agencies and frontier regions were included except north Waziristan and parts of Orakzai and Khyber agencies because of security situation.
This report having more than 50 development indicators also shows the comparison of FATA data with national and provincial status.
The objectives of the survey is to make available quality and reliable data and statistics on key development and socio economics parameters to FATA planners and policy makers and importantly the capacity development of the Bureau of Statistics and FATA secretariat for conducting future studies.
Before, 1998 census was the only source for the development planning baseline, the absence of any reliable data prompted FATA secretariat to launch an initiative for conducting the FDIHS 2013-14.
The data will be used as baseline for development and planning of FATA, says an official source.
