Importance of Literacy

Literacy is the very foundation for the development of the people and universalization of literacy must receive the highest priority.

Literacy is the most important determinant for the progress of any country. A great many people in India cannot even read or write. Our country cannot progress if the majority of the people are ignorant and uneducated.

Early Literacy is the first step to education. This is the stage where the three Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) are taught and this is the minimum basic need for every civilized person. It involves all round early education of a child inclusive of what he is taught at home, pre-schools, and elementary schools.

Literacy programmes for adults and backward classes are of utmost importance. No pains should be spared to make the adult population and the unschooled boys and girls of the backward classes literate.

If they can read and write they will learn to think and speak. This is the way to giving voice to dumb millions.

Initiatives taken by Government to promote literacy: Indian Government have been trying to solve this problem of illiteracy in various ways.

• Actions has been initiated to raise education awareness at every home, neighborhood, village, town and district.
• The programme has to be raised to the level of a mass movement.
• We shall have to involve all agencies, teachers, students, housewives, Government employees, local clubs and the common people to implement the different phases of the programme.

Conclusion: Literacy expands the ability of an individual. Let us hope that India will cease to be a predominantly illiterate country, but a country in which illiteracy was a thing of the past.