Meghalaya working to achieve 100 per cent literacy rate, says education minister

Meghalaya Education Minister Rakkam A. Sangma recently said that he is not currently in possession of the document which has been requested by the Ministry of Education (MoE), requesting all states to define literacy and full literacy.

Stating that Meghalaya should have achieved 100 per cent literacy rate by now, Sangma asserted that in terms of literacy, the state is slightly above national average, but it is not up to the mark. 

Informing that Jaintia Hills district has the lowest literacy rate in the state, the education minister acknowledged that some districts are performing better than others. However, he stated that the government will work to achieve a higher literacy rate in Jaintia Hills. 

He further urged people of the state to work together in order to address the issue and stated that a review meeting will be held to assess the situation and address the challenges.

Asked why the state is lagging in comparison to states with a higher literacy rate like Mizoram, he acceped that Meghalaya is bit behind, further assuring that the state might adopt a mission-mode approach in order to perform better.

While about 24-25 per cent of Meghalaya's population is reportedly illiterate, Sangma expressed shock and cited poverty and long distances from schools amongst the reasons. 

He added that the dropout rates are primarily in the primary and secondary levels, further asserting that the government will bring about a change in next two - three years.