Srinagar : The Jammu and Kashmir National Conference Additional General Secretary and MP Rajya Sabha Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan Sunday congratulated the people of Jammu and Kashmir on achieving a 98.43% literacy rate under ULLAS–NBSK and becoming a fully literate region, describing the achievement as historic and a matter of immense pride.
He said that this achievement is not merely an increase in statistics, but the result of the tireless efforts, commitment and dedication of countless teachers, education officers, volunteers, social workers, students and learners who played their part in taking the light of education to every household and settlement, from the remote mountainous areas of Kashmir to the plains of Jammu.
He said that it is the collective responsibility of all of us to acknowledge and pay tribute to the services and sacrifices of everyone associated with this remarkable achievement, particularly the teaching community, as teachers play a fundamental role in building an aware and educated society.
Choudhary Muhammad Ramzan said that Jammu and Kashmir becoming a fully literate region today is a fulfilment of the great dream of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, which he had envisioned and pursued decades ago. He said that when Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah launched his struggle to spread education in Jammu and Kashmir and make it accessible to every section of society, the literacy rate in the region was extremely low, at around 6 percent, while education remained largely confined to privileged and affluent families, with a major section of the Muslim population also deprived of this facility.
He said that Sher-e-Kashmir sought to transform this situation by making education a fundamental means of social and political awakening. He emphasised that no nation can progress unless every child and every section of society is provided equal opportunities for education.
He said that the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference and the leadership of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah made the promotion of education one of their fundamental priorities. The establishment of schools, expansion of educational opportunities, free access to education for children from poor and disadvantaged sections, and initiatives aimed at creating educational awareness among the people laid the foundation of a society in which education became a right of the common people.
He said that Sher-e-Kashmir’s vision was not limited merely to literacy; rather, he aspired to build an empowered, enlightened and self-confident society in which knowledge, education and social justice would serve as the means of progress for every individual.
