Raipur: Union Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said children will play a crucial role in the mission to achieve 100 per cent literacy in the country by 2022.


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"Narendra Modi government has set the target to achieve 100 per cent literacy in the country with the cooperation from states by 2022. Children will play a key role in this mission," he said.


Javadekar was addressing the Mukhyamantri Akshar Samman Samaroh and State-level Akshar Sammelan here at the Indoor Stadium.


Chief Minister Raman Singh was also present on the occasion.


"In the post independence era, the rate of literacy was only 18 per cent. After 70 years of independence, literacy has reached 81%. Within 20-25 years after independence, 100 per cent literacy should have been achieved in the country but it could not be done. Now the Modi-led government has vowed to eradicate illiteracy in the county by 2022 with cooperation from all the states," Javadekar said.


Besides "Preraks" (motivators engaged in the Sakshar Bharat Mission to enhance literacy), children will also act as motivators in spreading literacy, the senior BJP leader said.


"Now almost every child in a family is going to school. Enrolment of children has reached around 98 per cent. Students will pass on their knowledge to their parents, grand-parents and others in the family who have been deprived of it," he said.


In this way, children will apprise them with the basic knowledge and further 'preraks' will guide them, the minister said, adding that an action plan (which will involve children along with preraks to enhance literacy) is being prepared to completely eradicate illiteracy.


He said all public representatives will be roped in in a special drive, to be launched next year, to enrol children who are out of schools in the country.


"At least 80 lakh children in the country are out of schools. It is a key task to identify and bring those children to schools, and for that purpose we will launch 'School Chalo Abhiyan' next year," the senior BJP leader said.


Under this campaign, all MLAs, public representatives, gram sewaks and sarpanches will be asked to find out every single child who is out of education and admit him/her in schools.


"Besides, government officials and employees will also be associated with the campaign so that no child would be deprived of education," he added.


On the occasion, Javadekar lauded the steps being initiated by the BJP government in Chhattisgarh for promotion of education in far-flung areas.


"Despite the menace of naxalism, Raman Singh government has done a good job in education sector in the tribal-dominated remote areas, as a result of which the students from these regions have qualified for prestigious institutes in the country and civil services. It reflects an improvement in the quality of education in the state," he added.


Chief Minister Raman Singh said in some districts of the state the rate of literacy is less than 74 per cent (the state's average) and that efforts will be made to improve it in the next three years.


These districts include Bijapur, Sukma, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bastar, Kondagaon, Balrampur, and Kabirdham, he said.


The CM stressed the need for adopting the digital education, including computers, along with basic functional education in the 21st Century when the country is heading to become a cashless economy.


Raipur and Balrampur districts, three developmental blocks and seven gram panchayats were awarded with Mukhyamantri Akshar award at the function.


Later, Javadekar and Singh visited a fair-cum-agriculture exhibition of farmers and "Swacchhta hi Sewa" programme held here at Indira Gandhi Agriculture University.