“We have planned to establish at least 50 literacy centres in each union council to enhance literacy in the city, and at each literacy centre, at least 30 people would be educated in the first phase,” City Nazim Naimatullah Khan said while talking to newsmen at his office on the eve of the World Literacy Day.
City Nazim deplored that majority of the people in four towns of Karachi, which were Malir, Gadap, Bin Qasim and Kemari, was illiterate because the areas were ignored in the past.
The Nazim said that in the areas targeted for literacy campaign, the town administrations had pledged to cooperate with the city government.
Answering a question about financial resources for successful execution of the campaign, City Nazim said sponsors would be identified and convinced to fund this project, while some of the expenses would be borne by the Sindh and city governments jointly.
He maintained that in the first phase of literacy campaign, illiterate employees of the city government would be educated. “According to educationists, if an illiterate person is taught two hours a day, he can be educated within a month and the whole process costs Rs315.50 including cost of teaching material and fee of teacher,” he added.
To make the campaign successful, the City Nazim said that seminars, conferences and workshops would be held, which would create awareness among the people.
He told that local teachers would be hired to work at literacy centres and in this way, he hoped some 10,000 people would get employment.
On the occasion, City Nazim urged philanthropists, educationists and educated youths of the city to come forward and assist the government in making the campaign a success.
WALK: Sindh Education Minister Irfanullah Marwat on Monday urged the people to get their children educated for the sake of a better future.
He said that present government was making vigorous efforts to raise literacy in the province and books were being provided free of cost, besides scholarships, to the deserving students, to encourage them in pursuit of their academic goals.
He was speaking to the participants of a walk at Quaid-e-Azam’s mausoleum, organized by the Sindh Education Department to mark the World Literacy Day, which was attended by a large number of people from different walks of life, including teachers and students.
The minister said that the walk was aimed at making the people aware of the importance of education and added that education department, in collaboration with various NGOs, would conduct different programmes this week, to create this awareness.
Sindh Education Secretary Ghulam Ali Pasha and Non-Formal Education Director Mohammad Rafiq Siddiqui also attended the walk.
City Nazim Naimatullah Khan, officers of education department and representatives of NGOs also spoke on the occasion.—PPI