Begin typing your search above and press return to search.

Rotary initiative to end illiteracy by 2017

By Correspondent

SILCHAR, Jan 16 � Inspired by the success of its �End Polio� programme, which eradicated the lethal disease from the Indian shores on January 13, the Rotary International has taken up yet another noble initiative to wipe out illiteracy from South Asia and usher in Freedom from Illiteracy by the year 2017.

Arijit Kumar Endow, Governor of Rotary District 3240 said that the �Remove Illiteracy� mission would be spearheaded by the programme TEACH, which includes teacher support, e-learning, adult literacy, child development and Happy Schools, with special emphasis on language-specific software and mentors from respective States.

Under the TEACH programme, Endow said, there would be periodic evaluation and appraisal of teachers, provision of e-learning kits in needy schools with the motive to supplement the staff, boosting adult literacy with facilities to form �self education groups� and using social media as a tool to enhance the objective and functional literacy through vocational training.

The aim is to strive for child development, especially children of prisoners, sex workers and other children, who are generally unnoticed. �We are aiming for eradication of child labour, creating proper educational opportunities for children,� he said and added that the concept of Happy Schools will have clean and well maintained schools with proper infrastructure, toilets, drinking water, etc., which would attract the guardians to send their children to schools. �The TEACH initiative is the brainchild of Rotarian Kalyan Bannerjee, who is the chairman of the South Asia Committee of the programme and we hope that by concentrated effort we would be able to achieve our goal within time,� Endow said.

Endow added that banking on the successful completion of the 24th district conference, which was held here recently, a team from Silchar Rotary Club has been asked to visit the forthcoming Inter Country Committee meet �Moitreeye� to be held at Shantiniketan in West Bengal from February 15. He said that Rotarians from the SAARC nations would participate in the meet, which would discuss issues to make the TEACH mission a success.

Taimur Raja Choudhury, chairman of the recently concluded district conference, said that the Rotary Club of Silchar has a host of schemes for community development, including pay-and-use toilets. He said that a toilet near Gandhi Park would be opened for public use within two months.

Next Story