International Literacy Day: Authorities’ vow to change focus from towns to inaccessible areas
Authorities in School Education Department on Friday admitted that more focus was given on schools located in towns and cities which resulted in dwindling of literacy rate in rural areas.
Speaking at 51st International Literacy Day (ILD) organized at Kothi Bagh girls higher secondary school, Director School Education Kashmir (DSEK) G N Itoo said that most of efforts are focussed in towns and cities while as there was no concentration on inaccessible areas.
“We have a good chunk of ST and SC population where government needs to put in more efforts to get desired results. Government should initiate steps to take concentrated programmes like SBM to these areas,” Itoo said.
He emphasizes on generating awareness among masses about literacy in areas having a sizeable population of SC and ST.
“Besides aiming to achieve target of having 100 percent literacy rate, we have to ponder on quality of education and literacy as well,” he said.
Itoo said that society has to play a role in inculcating moral education as government single handedly cannot reach out to address every issue.
“Under SBM, a scheme can have an intervention at various levels to improve quality of education, intervention at uncovered inaccessible areas and improve adult literacy,” he said.
Interestingly, a daylong function was organized by State Literacy Mission Authority (SLMA) in collaboration with District Institute of Education and Trainings (DIET) Srinagar.
Earlier in his address secretary school education department, Farooq Ahmad Shah called for technological intervention in education system to come at par with other states for improving literacy rate in J&K state, which is only 67 percent.
“J&K state is lagging behind in improving literacy rate, we should make optimum use of digital world for strengthening of education and literacy in our state,” he said.
“From past years our state has shown a significant improvement but there is a scope for further improvement and we can be at par with other states,” he said.
He however, expressed concern over educational scenario in far off areas and said the state still has one in a five men and two third of rural populace without literacy.
Shah called for organizing seminars, cultural programmes seminars under Sakshar Bharat Mission (SBM) for mass awareness about literacy and its direct impact on society.
“In our state we have to work hard to spread the message of literacy as we are lacking behind in this mission. I have a belief that we will make J&K number one in literacy,” he said.
Interestingly, Sakshar Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched in 2009 with an aim of achieving 80 percent literacy level at national level, by focusing on adult women literacy as well.
KV Correspondent
