SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL AT THE INAUGURATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON 'WOMEN'S LITERACY FOR INCLUSIVE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT' ON THE OCCASION OF INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY

New Delhi, 8th September 2011

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am happy to be participating in this International Conference on the theme, 'Women's literacy for inclusive and sustainable development', jointly hosted by the Government of India and UNESCO. I welcome all participants including Ministers and other dignitaries from the E-9 countries and the SAARC countries. This Conference provides an opportunity for all delegates to share experiences, and best practices in the field of education and literacy programmes.

Today is a special day. It is the International Literacy Day, an occasion to reaffirm our commitment to spreading education and literacy in our countries. I convey my warmest greetings to all present here. I also congratulate the winners of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize, the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy and the Saakshar Bharat Literacy Awards. I hope they will inspire others to greater effort and success.

Education is critical for achieving growth and more so, in knowledge based societies, where lack of education is in itself an impediment to progress. It is literacy that is the very first step towards learning and education. Without literacy, people are excluded from access to circuits of knowledge, and even from the most basic information they may need for daily life. Opportunities for education are open only to literate persons. Today, literacy has come to include literacy in other fields like "computer literacy", necessary for connectivity in the ICT world, in which the generation, transmission and transformation of knowledge almost always depends on writing - whether on paper, computer screen or mobile phone. Regrettably, even today in the world, about 774 million adults lack basic literacy skills, two-thirds of whom are women. Literacy for all is yet to be an achieved target, and education for all still further away.

Education is perceived by us in India, as a parameter of the human development index essential for developing the nation, and for making every individual Indian, an invaluable asset contributing to the country's economic development. India has accorded high priority to meeting the education requirements of the country, and to extend the frontiers of literacy in the nation. India's policies and programmes are directed towards achieving the goal of education for all. All children from the age of 6 to 14 years are to be provided free and compulsory education. We are also expanding our secondary school enrolment and our higher education infrastructure. I am informed that India's gains in the field of education and literacy find a mention in the 2011 'Education for all' Global Monitoring Report of UNESCO.

The latest census, which has just been concluded in the country, shows that literacy now stands at 74 percent; and that during the last decade, accretion of female literates was more than male accretion, reducing the gender gap to 16 percent. Though we have not yet attained 100 percent literacy, we are on the right track. Two years ago on International Literacy Day, the Government of India had launched a 'Saakshar Bharat Mission' - with the objective of raising literacy rates, and with a particular focus on adult women literacy. Another reality is that illiteracy is more widespread in rural areas and hence, there is greater need to reach out to the villages of the country, with the involvement of local bodies. Women's literacy and rural education are priority areas in the context of our education and literacy process.

Increasing female literacy has the potential of becoming a force multiplier in pushing forward the socio-economic development of the nation. If we make women literate, they will be self-reliant and the beneficial impact on society will be manifold. It is said that if you educate a boy, you educate an individual, but if you educate a girl, you educate the whole family. It has been observed that where women are literate, the rate of infant mortality comes down and the quality of life improves. Literate women are more aware about diseases and their treatment; with better capability to deal with sickness and disease, and the confidence to approach medical assistance when required. It helps in many ways in her domestic activities. Also, when women are taught how to read and write, they in turn begin to send their girl child to school, breaking the pattern of social gender discrimination, which is a strong barrier to girls' education. What they need is an opportunity to educate themselves. Ability without opportunity is of little account. If educated, and if opportunity is made available to them, they are second to none. It is important that in schools, girls must get equal opportunity to study and acquire necessary skills and knowledge.

In India, we have had success stories of women moving out of poverty as a result of literacy movements. I am informed that as an outcome of a literacy programme, women have gained a measure of control over their everyday lives and organised themselves into Self Help Groups. Imparting education to women and girls is important for bringing about social change and for the full development of societies. Our efforts in this field must continue relentlessly. Educated women can play a significant role in helping in promoting women's literacy programmes. They can also contribute by helping other women, who are not so fortunate to have been educated, in making them socially aware.

Efforts should be made to create awareness about literacy. All forms of media, both print and electronic should be harnessed for this purpose. Moreover, learners should be encouraged to continue with their literary aspirations, and undertake life long learning processes, by pursuing training and higher education options. It would also mean looking at developing an equivalency framework, in order to improve the pathways for the newly literate, to achieve equivalent qualifications to formal education and facilitating bridges to the formal system.

An approach to literacy that is both holistic and relevant for development, by linking it with the learning of other skills necessary for human and socio-economic development, can bring greater benefits. Linking literacy with broader skills, such as technical and vocational skills is important. Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The literacy campaign must not begin and end with knowledge of the alphabet, it must go hand in hand with the spread of useful knowledge". This is valuable advice for all literacy promotion approaches. I think education of both the head and the heart is necessary for building a civilized society.

All of you at this Conference are either responsible for setting policy and there are others who are stakeholders. But all of you, I believe, are committed to the cause of education, and through your efforts contribute to the cause of literacy and education.

On this International Literacy Day, let us once again, reaffirm our resolve for the universalisation of the literacy goal with a redoubled effort and commitment. Let me conclude by wishing the Conference all success. I am confident that your deliberations will significantly contribute to bringing a collective effort in promoting a literate society.

Thank you.

JAI HIND!