Kathmandu, January 14:

The National Literacy Campaign (NLC)-2008, the highly ambitious plan that aims to eliminate illiteracy within two years by educating 7.8 million illiterate people, began today with a slogan ‘’know letters, be literate’’.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ inaugurated the campaign from Manohar Basti Community Learning Centre at Manohar Basti of Kathmandu-35. On the occasion, the PM claimed that the process of building a new Nepal had begun with the launch of the

campaign.

The PM said, “Illiteracy is the root cause of our lagging behind in development. Therefore, the government has prioritised the literacy campaign to open the doors of progress for a prosperous new Nepal. The government has allocated huge budget for the education sector, as the main base for the development of human being is education,” he added.

Prachanda further said that the campaign was not a programme of any particular party and urged educated society to cooperate with the government for its grand success.

Ram Swarup Sinha, acting secretary of the Ministry of Education, said the campaign was the foundation for the social, political and economic development of the country. Sinha said, “The Millennium Development Goal has targeted to end illiteracy by 2015, while Nepal is the first country aiming to end it within two years by educating three million people every year.” He urged each educated person to teach illiterate people to achieve the goal on time.