Prakash Javadekar claims India will attain 100 % literacy in next five years

Jaipur: Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Saturday claimed that India would achieve 100 percent literacy rate within the next five years. “There was a literacy rate of 18 percent in the post independence era. Today (Saturday) it has gone up to 80 percent and I guarantee that within next five years, it will be 100 percent. There will be no illiteracy in the country,” he said here while speaking at the ‘Festival of Education’ organised by the Rajasthan government along with education provider GEMS Education. [caption id=“attachment_3898319” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prakash Javadekar. Reuters[/caption] “Students from class 6 to 12 are being trained to be able to pass on their knowledge to their parents, grandparents and others in the family who have been deprived of it. The child becomes a guru to them,” Javadekar said, adding “that is how we can completely eradicate illiteracy from the country”. The minister emphasised that education was not just the ability to read and write but also gain a huge amount of knowledge. “Our priority is to improve the quality of education. The purpose of education is not just employment but it is important to become a good human being,” Javadekar added. The two-day festival at the Jaipur Exhibition and Convocation Centre will end on Saturday.