Improve literacy level to match advanced nations: Pranab Mukherjee

NEW DELHI: India's endeavour should be to bring its literacy rate up to match not only the world average but touch the levels attained by the leading nations, President Pranab Mukherjee said today.

"The time has come to put in renewed vigour and concerted efforts to improve our literacy rate. It has been envisaged that by the end of the 12th Plan, we would achieve 80 per cent literacy and also narrow the gender gap from 16 to 10 percentage points.

"Our ultimate objective should be to bring the literacy rate not only on a par with the world average but up to the levels attained by the leading nations," he said at a function on the occasion of International Literacy Day.

The President, however, lauded the initiatives taken so far to achieve a four-fold increase in literacy levels from 18 per cent in 1951 to 74 per cent in 2011.

But he noted that the existing gender disparity in literacy levels had to be bridged by devoting attention to the girl child and to women.

At the same time, attempts at achieving universal literacy should be complemented by efforts at alleviating poverty, mitigating inequity owing to gender and social category, and improving access to schooling, he said.

"We have to gear up at all levels -- national, state, district, block, and gram panchayat.

"The implementation structure has to be strengthened by involving government agencies as well as reputed organisations in the non-governmental and private sectors," he said.

Literacy, he said, was a basic human necessity and a cornerstone for all categories of education.