PANAJI
As Goa government intends to make the State’s population 100 per cent literate by December 19, the Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has directed Directorate of Panchayat and Municipal Administration, to identify the list of illiterates across all rural and urban areas and impart them training.
Sawant had on Monday chaired a meeting to review the New India Literacy Mission, under which the government has set an ambitious target to achieve 100 per cent literacy by December 19, this year.
“During the meeting, the Chief Minister instructed the Director of Panchayats and the Director of Municipal Administration to direct Secretaries and Chief Officers to provide a list of illiterates in their respective Panchayat or Municipal areas,” the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement issued on Tuesday.
CMO said that the Panchayats and Municipalities are also directed to issue a certificate confirming that the ward, locality, village, or city, within their jurisdiction is literate.
As per National Family Health Survey for 2019-21, released earlier this year, Goa’s literacy rate is up to 93 per cent from 88.7 per cent as recorded by the Census 2011.
Sources informed that the Union Ministry of Education in a communication to all States including Goa, last month has defined ‘literacy’ and what it means to achieve full literacy.
In the letter, School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar has stated that literacy may be understood as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, i.e. to identify, understand, interpret and create along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy etc, and full literacy (to be considered equivalent to 100% literacy) will be achieving 95% literacy in a State/UT that may be considered as equivalent to fully literate.
Education department officials in Goa are currently working to identify the illiterate population and to impart them training. As of last month, State had identified 3,000 illiterate senior citizens, excluding those in Quepem, Canacona and Sanguem talukas.
