Uttarakhand Education Minister Mantri Prasad Naithani said that there is need to introduce value-based education along with literacy campaign. With this initiative educated youth would not divert from their objective. Naithani stated this while addressing in a conference of Education Ministers of SAARC countries titled ‘literacy peace and development’ in New Delhi on Saturday.
Giving emphasis on adult education, Naithani said that educating illiterate person is tough job but Shiksha prerak (teacher) are doing very well despite having tough geographical condition in the State. As per the census 2011, Uttarakhand literacy rate is 79.6 per cent including 88.33 per cent male and 70.70 per cent female.
According to union literacy programme literacy rate should be 80 per cent so State is making all efforts to achieve the desired goal. He assured the Union Human Resource Development Minister that despite being a newly borne State, we would achieve the target. He also appealed them to release Shiksha Prerak allowances on time and increase their amount as well.
Since independence our education system is running on monotonous pattern so there is a need to impart value based education so that youth would get right direction as they complete their education.
The idea was appreciated by the ministers and they advocated that the suggestion should be incorporated in the reforms in the education system on priority basis. He also suggested them instead of selecting district we should short list block for literacy schemes.
SAARC member countries agreed to exchange latest education system and initiative within member countries. Afghanistan’s education minister Ghulam Farooq Vardaq said that developing countries should increase their education budget. Bhutan representative Maj Gen V Namagyal, Pakistan high commissioner Salman Bashir, Srilankan representative Mohan lal Graero and UNESCO regional representative Shigeru Oouyegi have also expressed their views and said that they have lot of expectation from Indian republic and expressed hope that these suggestions would prove milestone in future.
The international conference was inaugurated by Indian vice president Dr Hamid Ansari. Indian dignitaries including HRD minister Dr MM Pallam Raju, Minister of state Dr Shashi Tharoor, secretary school education R Bhattacharya, Director General National literacy Mission Authority Jagmohan Singh and others were present there.