Kasargod 2nd district in country to achieve total primary education

Stephan Kayyar

Daijiworld Media Network - Kasargod

Kasargod, Oct 7: Amidst all the reports of rapes, murders, smuggling and other crimes emerging from Kasargod, the district has something to cheer about.

Union minister of state for HRD Shashi Tharoor on Sunday October 6 declared Kasargod as only the second district in the entire country to achieve total primary education. Kannur, which is also in Kerala, was the first district to get this honour.

Addressing a function organized at government high school grounds, Tharoor said that Kasargod had achieved this distinction with the success of the Vigyan Jyothi Scheme, a joint venture of the Kasaragod zilla panchayat and the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA).

"Total literacy is essential for the overall development of the country. When India attained Independence, the literacy rate was 17 percent, and today it has climbed to 74 percent," he said.

"Similarly, literacy among women was 8.9 percent at the time of Independence, and today it stands at 65.5 percent. With the Right to Education Act, 69 percent of female students have been able to pursue 10th standard," he added.

"A country can progress only when its women are educated. We must hence engage ourselves in this task," Tharoor said.

ZP president P P Shyamaladevi welcomed the gathering. T K Soman proposed the vote of thanks. A workshop on educaton and Vigyan Jyothi photography education were also organized.

The Vigyan Jyothi Scheme was launched in 2008. A massive public campaign funded by the zilla panchayat was initiated, with over 2000 instructors and volunteers imparting education even to those who could not attend regular classes and also to victims of endosulfan. Rallies and other activities were held to create awareness, and exams were held in seven phases for people between 18-50 year olds who had not completed primary education. Of the 12,610 who took the exams, 96 percent passed (total achievement as per international guidelines).