Stay focused on improving literacy, Omar tells govt
Jammu: Former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday said the government should focus on improving literacy rate in the state. Besides, Omar senior CPI (M) leader Mohammad Yusuf Tarigami also advised the government to be more vigilant while dealing with the education sector.
Speaking during the grants on the education sector on education sector Omar praised the present education minister for doing a commendable job in his previous allotted Ministry.
“I won’t speak about distribution of colleges and schools or up gradation of schools to higher level and no one should count on that,” he said.
Terming education sector as base for betterment of the society, Omar said the society should think of long term measures to improve the education sector.
“Don’t count your success on opening of colleges or schools, but count it on increase in literacy rate. Overall literacy rate of the state should increase,” he said, adding that the literacy rate of district Budgam was second from bottom in the state.
“I represent Budgam were literacy rate is very less but we can’t blame only one government for this. Previous government also couldn’t do much for it,” he said.
Omar Abdullah compared pass percentage of government schools of Budgam district and Doda with the private schools and said, “Pass percentage of Budgam government schools 50 percent and private schools is 82 percent.”
He said there was a need to improve standards of government schools and improvement in delivery mechanism.
later, CPI (M) leader and MLA Kulgam said that education is an instrument of unification in society.
“This sector has been used as a tool to divide the state on regional basis,” he said.
“Education should be instrument of unification but it is instead used as tool to divide a society. Education should give sense of responsibility to children to serve the society,” he said, adding that the society however has been commercialized on basis of class system.
Tarigami said there was regional divide due to the education system and this sector can only cure the divide and unite the people across the state and the country. “Educational system can heal up all the societal issues as well,” he said.
KV Correspondent
