1 million people will get literacy training in next three years

KABUL (Pajhwok): One million people in the country would get literacy education opportunities in the next three years based on a new strategy, an official said on Wednesday.

Deputy Education Minister Mawlawi Sakhiullah Saeed has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) between the Ministry of Education and 25 different ministries and departments to improve the literacy level of illiterate people.

Zahidullah Salimi, head of the National Mobilization and Literacy Coordination Unit, said in the meeting that based on these memorandums, during the year 1404, more than 90,000 government employees, including military personnel from the Ministries of Interior and Defense who were illiterate, will be provided with literacy opportunities.

Maulvi Sakhiullah Saeed, deputy education minister, said human resources strength of the education ministry has doubled compared to the republican period and, unlike in the past, the educational opportunities are now available in all parts of the country.

He added that according to the plan of the Ministry's Literacy Directorate, one million people are expected to be provided with literacy opportunities in the next three years.

During the meeting government officials emphasized the importance of literacy and the role of literacy in the progress of society.

Bakhtar Rahman Sharafat, finance and administrative head of the Ministry of Public Health, pointed out the importance of knowledge and literacy, and emphasised the full implementation of this memorandum so that, according to him, those who are illiterate can become literate and those who are literate can improve their literacy level.

Sheikh Madar Ali Karimi, Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Development, continued the meeting, emphasizing that politics should be kept away from education and added that a society based on knowledge and science cannot be overthrown.

He added: "The Mujahideen were victorious in the small Jihad, but the greater jihad has begun, and for Afghanistan to keep pace with the civilized world, more efforts are needed in the educational sector."

According to statistics from the Ministry of Education, over the past three years, more than 400,000 people have benefited from literacy training in 6,022 centers across the country.

Nh