HPM Sheikh Hasina for all-out participation to achieve hundred percent literacy rate

"We can quickly reach to our cherished goal and declare the country illiteracy free if everybody takes the initiative to provide education to illiterate persons in their respective areas," she said.

The Prime Minister said this while inaugurating programmes of the 50th anniversary of the International Literacy Day at a function at Osmani Memorial Hall here on Thursday.

Sheikh Hasina urged all students, student organizations, public representatives, political parties and every educated people in the public and private sector to join the drive against illiteracy.

"Now country's literacy rate is 71 percent and we can declare a complete literacy if everybody working both in the public and private sectors join the drive from their respective position," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said, "The country is ours. So we have to build our country to live with dignity. Literacy is a very dominant factor to make the country free from poverty."

Minister for Primary and Mass Education Mustafizur Rahman presided over the function while acting secretary of the ministry Mohammad Asif-Uz-Zaman and director general of the Bureau of Non-formal Education Ruhul Amin Sarker also spoke on the occasion.

On the occasion a message from Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova was read out in which she said the world's population has increased substantially, but the number of young adults without literacy skills decreased by 25 percent between 1990 and 2015.

She said about 758 million adults in the world cannot read or write a simple sentence. "Two thirds of them are women. Literacy is vital for poverty eradication, for gender equality, for more inclusive and sustainable societies," she said.

Congratulating the organizers of the programmes of the day, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said the day is being observed this year with the theme "Reading the Past, Writing the Future"- which is very much befitting to time.

She said Bangladesh was born to be a happy and prosperous nation. But a nation cannot prosper without educating its people. So Bangabandhu, after liberation, declared education as one of the basic rights of the people, making the primary education compulsory and complimentary for children.

With many other steps, she said, Bangabandhu also nationalized the primary education and made the female education fully complimentary up to Class IX. "The present government has declared the education as a right of the children as it's following the footprint of Bangabandhu," she added.

Sheikh Hasina said a nation cannot progress without education and our children have interest in education. In this regard, she mentioned about the introduction of primary school termination examination saying "our children have proved that they can do better if they get opportunity."

Saying that Bangladesh, as a nation is heading towards light from darkness, the prime minister said enrollment of girls are now higher than the boys and girls are doing better than boys in the exams. "So we have to increase the enrollment of the boys for equality," she said.

Sheikh Hasina said her government in 2013 has nationalized 26,193 schools along with the services of 1,05.200 teachers, which happened first time in the country after Bangabandhu. Salaries and allowances of the teachers have also been increased with other civil servants, she said.

Pointing out the negligence of BNP-Jamaat government to education the prime minister said country's literacy rate was 45 percent when Awami league assumed power in 1996.

Her government's constant stride and some pragmatic plans helped raising the literacy rate to 65.5 percent at the end of its tenure in 2001 and declare many districts free from illiteracy. The success was recognized by the UNESCO Literacy Award in 1998.

But, unfortunately next BNP-Jamaat government nullified all our initiatives and as a result country's literacy rate came down to 44 percent during the five year rule of BNP-Jamaat, the prime minister said.

Highlighting the steps taken by her government for the development of education the prime minister said textbooks are being distributed among students free of cost. Over the last seven years the government has distributed 193 crore textbooks among students. And the books were reached to the students on the very first day of the academic year defying arson attacks and many obstacles of BNP and Jamaat clique.

The prime minister said her government has been implementing many programmes for expansion of primary and mass education. The government has framed a modern national education policy where religious education has been made compulsory and vocational education was given highest importance.

Sheikh Hasina said her government has launched a massive drive to bring students of all educational institutions of the country including those of higher studies under scholarship programme. About 1.28 lakh students are getting scholarships; she said adding that the scholarships are helping many students to continue their studies smoothly.

The prime minister expressed her firm optimism that Bangladesh would celebrate its golden jubilee of independence in 2021 as an educated and prosperous nation.

Photo: Saiful Islam Kallol