National Literacy Day highlights the importance of education for personal and societal development

Becoming literate is a blessing, and demystifying facts is the utmost need for mankind. Civilizations and old-aged traditions survived due to the existence of knowledge. It’s a powerful weapon that could be the agent for the possibility of everything. Being literate is not enough; becoming educated matters a lot. Every year on September 8, we commemorate National Literacy Day across the country, particularly in government and private schools, to disseminate its gist and relevance in the modern era. The day aims to raise awareness and concern for literacy problems that exist within our local communities as well as globally.

In 1966, UNESCO celebrated its first International Literacy Day on September 8 to highlight literacy as a fundamental human right and a key to personal and societal development. The day serves as a reminder of the ongoing need for educational reforms and resources to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to acquire basic reading and writing skills. Literacy comes from the teaching and education we receive at school, at home, and in our surroundings. The theme for the current year is “Promoting Multilingual Education and Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace.” Celebrating this day is an occasion to mark achievements and reflect on ways to counter the remaining challenges in promoting literacy as an integral part of lifelong learning within and beyond the 2030 education agenda.

Literacy is key for socio-economic progress. According to reports, India’s literacy rate stood at 73 percent in 2011 and increased to 77.7 percent in 2017-18. COVID-19 has somehow disrupted literacy levels across the globe. However, studies indicate that the female literacy rate has increased substantially faster than the male literacy rate. Various programs for enhancing literacy rates among adults have been launched across the country, such as SBM (Shikshar Bharat Mission), TLC (Total Literacy Campaign), ULLAS, and many more, which unanimously define literacy as the acquisition of reading, writing, and arithmetic skills and the ability to apply them to day-to-day life.

In the digital era, literacy serves as a foundation for lifelong learning, helping people participate more fully in their communities, improve their health outcomes, and escape poverty. Learning to read and write throughout life strengthens education and brings numerous social and economic advantages. Despite strenuous efforts, 754 million adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills.

There is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace. As a surveyor for ULLAS, I myself witnessed many cases where people felt joy at enrolling their credentials, enabling them to become literate. Later, they overwhelmingly participated in ULLAS lectures given by local volunteer trainers, even in the digital world. Being literate is commonly defined as having the ability to read and write and being able to keep up with current events, communicate effectively, and understand the issues shaping our world.

Literacy is essential; it helps you develop and communicate. Having literacy skills to read, write, speak, and listen is vital for success. If you find these things hard, then you struggle to learn. It affects your confidence and self-esteem. Literacy skills are themselves expanding and evolving as people engage more and more with information and learning through digital technology. Learning to read and write can make a big difference in people’s lives at multiple levels. Over the years, people living in far-flung areas weren’t highly educated, but they were able to read daily newspapers, which reflects their literacy level. Literate people are generally more able to access information about current events, make up their own minds, and engage in different political processes. Parents who can read or write are more likely to send their kids to school rather than to work. Therefore, becoming literate is the need of the hour in the contemporary world.

The writer is a teacher and columnist

By Qysar ul Islam Shah

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Qysar ul Islam Shah