KOLKATA: Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Saugata Roy urged state Mass Education Extension and Library Services minister Siddiqullah Chowdhury to come up with a position paper along with a roadmap for bringing down illiteracy in Bengal. He also said that he would take it up with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and request her to lay special emphasis on this area in the next four years .
"The position paper should highlight the current situation of literacy in Bengal and should have a roadmap for further improvement in literacy in the state," Roy said, while addressing a programme to mark the occasion of World Literacy Day organised by state Mass Education Extension and Library Services (MEE & LS ) department.
The veteran TMC parliamentarian said that National Education Policy (NEP) has set a target of 2025, when it comes to eradication of illiteracy in the country. "I think that the Centre would allocate funds for the states under NEP. I would urge you (Siddiqullah Chowdhury) to take the permission from the Chief Minister and go to Delhi and push for funds so that we can strengthen our efforts to make all people literate," he added. Roy reiterated that Bengal's literacy rate would be as par or even better than Kerala with renewed emphasis and called for roping in NGOs.
Manas Bhunia, state Water Resources Development and Investigation minister, said that Bengal's illiteracy rate is 22 per cent, which is much better than the national average of 27 per cent. However, Bengal being the land of Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Raja Rammohun Roy, Rabindranath Tagore to name a few, the literacy level should go up further in the state, he added. He called for engaging a dedicated officer at every block and panchayat-level in the state so that the tag of 22 per cent illiteracy can be shed off. "I can suggest you (Siddiqullah Chowdhury) that you can request the MLAs to take up the responsibility of making 100 persons in their respective constituencies literate and lay special emphasis on women literacy," he said.