In a bid to meet its ambitious target of ‘Literate Nepal Mission’ by 2015, the government has decided to award local bodies with 100 per cent literacy rate.

National Non-Formal Education Council recently decided to award five lakh rupees, two lakh rupees and Rs 50,000 to districts, municipalities and VDCs, respectively which have achieved universal literacy, said Babu Ram Poudel, director of Non-Formal Education Centre (NFEC).

According to the council meeting, the local bodies can be declared fully literate if 95 per cent of their population are literate. “It is an international practice to assume 95 per cent as cent per cent literacy in the social sector. It will be impractical to wait for full literacy,” he said.

The council has also formulated a policy to provide an opportunity to educate all Nepalis by 2015.

According to NFEC, 78 VDCs, one municipality (Tansen of Palpa) and 34 wards have earned fully-literate tag so far. Several districts, VDCs, and municipalities are waiting to earn the tag.

Lalitpur is preparing to become the first completely literate sub-Metropolitan City, according to Paudel.

NFEC had launched ‘Literate Nepal Mission’ in September 2012 with the aim to eradicate illiteracy from the country by 2015. The country’s illiteracy rate stood at 7.8 million in 2008 when the two-year National Literacy Campaign was launched. The campaign has helped educate 3.8 million Nepalis aged between 15 and 60 years, NFEC claims.

The literacy programmes in 2010, 2011 and 2012 educated 349,963, 769, 367 and 904, 860 people, respectively. However, about 31,40,508 people were still illiterate as of July 2013.

NFEC has set a target to educate 16,931,65 people this year and 14,47,343 people next year.

The council conducted intensive literacy programmes in nine districts in the fiscal 2011-12 and 13 districts in 2012-13, respectively.

Such programmes are underway in 36 districts in the current fiscal and 17 districts are waiting for their turn in the next fiscal.

According to NFEC director, they have also been using educational materials for various ethnic communities in their mother tongue and Braille books for visually impaired people. The council has also been conducting separate programmes for adult population and children deprived of formal education. The literate population would be able to read, write, use mobile phone, calculator and do other daily tasks.

source: the himalayan times,12 april 2014