Along with declaring Kathmandu district literate on Monday, Bagmati province has also become fully literate. Earlier, all the districts of Gandaki have been declared fully literate. So far, 55 districts have become fully literate. Even though the government has declared the districts as fully literate, there has been criticism that the citizens are not able to read and write as per the campaign.
Chief of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Kathmandu, Nandalal Poudel said that 96.8 percent of citizens of the district are literate. It has been universally accepted that if 95 percent of the population in the age group of 15 to 60 years can read and write, then the region can be declared fully literate. Minister for Social Development of Bagmati Pradesh Vijay Subedi has declared Kathmandu a fully literate district. Despite being declared a fully literate district, Kathmandu still has a population of more than 18,000 who are illiterate.
Minister Subedi pointed out that the local level should take initiative to make the literacy rate 100 percent and the literacy campaign should be continued. A meeting of the District Coordinating Committee for Literacy Campaign on August 16 had decided to declare Kathmandu fully literate. He said that Bagmati will be declared a fully literate state on September 26 as all the districts have been declared. Education Secretary Ram Prasad Thapaliya, Mayor, Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Valley Municipality, and other education workers were present at the announcement meeting of Kathmandu.
It is estimated that 82 percent of the population in the age group of 15 to 59 years is literate. According to the Center for Education, Development, and Human Resources, only 68 percent of the total population is literate. The government had launched a campaign 12 years ago to declare the country fully literate. However, it has not been completed.
None of the districts of Province 2 has become literate. Taplejung and Solukhumbu of Province 1, Kapilvastu and Banke of Lumbini Province, Mugu, Jumla, Humla, Kalikot, and Dolpa of Karnali, Kailali, Doti, Kanchanpur, Bajura, and Bajhang of Sudurpashchim Province are yet to be declared literate. Community Learning Centers, Informal Adult Schools, and Open Universities have launched literacy campaigns.
