8 September 2015,New Delhi. The President, Shri Pranab Mukherjee lighted the lamp on the occasion of the International Literacy Day celebrations, in New Delhi on September 08, 2015. The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smt. Smriti Irani was also present there.
The Union Minister for Human Resource Development, Smt. Smriti Irani, the Minister of State for Human Resource Development, Shri Upendra Kushwaha, the Secretary, School Education and Literacy, Dr. Subash Chandra Khuntia and other dignitaries are also seen.
Highlighting the Modi government’s initiative in the Field of adult literacy, Smt.Irani said “Saakshar Bharat” programme claim to promote adult education. She added: “The programme runs in 385 districts covering 1.54 lakh gram panchayats in 26 states and one union territory. Primers have been developed and printed in 13 languages and 26 dialects to impart literacy in local language.”
Smt.Irani told that literacy must be sensitive to local cultures.
The HRD minister said: “It must be linked with opportunities with skill development and help augment employment. I will like to focus on converging literacy with development programmes.”
She added: “We had introduced a system of assessment and certification of literacy skills of learners with the help of National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS). More than 2.86 crore adults have been certified as literate across the country till March 2014 and more than 70 percent of them are women.”
Irani said: “It is the foremost concern of our government to substantially improve literacy rates of women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and minorities,”
“It provides opportunities for learning basic literacy, equivalency with formal education system and continuing education.” the human resource development minister said at the International Literacy Day celebrations at Vigyan Bhawan here.
