NEW DELHI, Sept 8 - President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday conferred with the Saakshar Bharat Award on Sonitpur district, which was adjudged as the best district in India in terms of promoting literacy among the non-literates.
The award was presented at a function held at the Vigyan Bhawan here this morning. It was received by Joint Secretary, Education, Partha Majumdar, and CEO, Sonitpur Zila Parishad, Munindra Sarma.
Speaking on the occasion, the President said that achieving universal literacy is not possible without mass participation. �If we follow the principle of �Each one, Teach one� success can be achieved in this direction.�
He said India continues to have a large population of illiterates. �It is time for us to identify the critical areas that need to be addressed,� he said.
�Joint action by government and non-government organisations is necessary so that we can generate momentum to achieve 100 per cent literacy,� he said adding literacy movement is a continuous cycle as regular follow-up is necessary to not only make people literate but also keep them literate.
The President said that besides pursuing the implementation of 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the UNESCO is also launching a 'Global Alliance for Literacy� to promote literacy as the foundation for life-long learning. India needs to strengthen and synthesise its efforts in line with these global initiatives.
