'Govt will work to eradicate female illiteracy in next 5 yrs'
Press Trust of India / New Delhi Jun 04, 2009, 14:17 IST
The UPA government will work on eradicating female illiteracy in the next five years and would set up a national council to bring in reforms in regulatory agencies in higher education.
"The National Literacy Mission will be recast as National Mission for Female Literacy to make every female literate in the next five years," President Pratibha Patil said addressing the joint sitting of Parliament.
Increased female literacy is expected to become a "force multiplier" for all social development programmes, she said. As per the 2001 census, the female literacy stands at 54 per cent against 75 per cent of male literacy.
Patil said the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, pending in Parliament, is also under the active consideration of the Manmohan Singh government.
"The focus would be on making quality education a right through the enactment of the Bill," she said.
Within the 100 days in office, "the government will institute a 'National Council for Higher Education' as recommended by the Yash Pal Committee and the National Knowledge Commission to bring in reforms of regulatory institutions," the President said.
Besides, the government would also develop a "brain gain" policy to attract faculty from across the world for the 14 "innovative universities" proposed in the Eleventh Plan, she added.
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