With an aim to literate 70 million people over the next few years, Union human resource development minister Kapil Sibal on Wednesday asked the Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) to formulate an action plan for participating in literacy programme “Saakshar Bharat”.
The minister asked the PSEs to set up a five-member committee to discuss and formulate plans to help the government in raising the overall literacy rate to 80 per cent by 2012. “The PSEs like Shipping Corporation and GAIL will submit the report to the HRD ministry within three months,” he said.
The HRD minister said that personally he wants the country to achieve 100 per cent literacy by 2020. “In the next two years we will be setting up 81,000 adult education centres (as part of the programme). We have already given grants of Rs 325 crores to 19 states. You (PSUs) can help us both in terms of talent and investment,” Mr Sibal told heads of PSUs and banks at an interactive session.
He said the government is currently implementing the scheme in 167 of the total 367 districts identified across 19 states covering about 3.83 crores illiterates. “You have the money, talent and physical assets. You can use each one of these for taking education forward,” he said.