Surkhet–The Karnali State government has decided to run a campaign to make the State fully literate in the next three years.

For this, the Social Development Ministry has developed working procedures and is preparing to implement it from July 17. To make it successful, informal education and literacy campaign will be organised in coordination with the local bodies, Social Development Minister Dal Rawal said.

The Ministry has allocated Rs. 20 million for the campaign in the new budget, with a special focus on elderly women and men in the State. Furthermore, the ‘daughter-daughter-in-law technical education scholarship’ programme will be enforced in order to increase the access of women to technical education, Rawal said. Another Rs. 15 million has been allocated for the additional scholarship programme to ensure the access of students from the Dalit, impoverish, conflict-affected and remote communities.

Meanwhile, a household survey will begin in all the 10 districts of the State in order to collect data related to illiteracy, according to the Social Development Ministry Under Secretary Bhakta Bahadur Dhakal.

Other programmes planned under the campaign include mobile schools, rehabilitation of street children, support to the local level to promote literate local level units and residential schools in the mountain districts.

Latest data show that the literacy rate of Karnali State is 58.25 per cent against the national average of 65.95 per cent. RSS