BAMYAN TO BE ILLITERACY FREE BY 2014

The provincial government of Bamyan with the support of international agencies has launched the literacy campaign to make Bamyan an illiteracy-free province in the next five years. The campaign started on 17 October 2009. The week until 24 October 2009, UN Day, was declared as Literacy Week in Bamyan in support to UN efforts towards peace and development in Bamyan. The figures from Bamyan’s department of education show around 110,000 students are enrolled in schools which make up some 20 per cent of the total population. Through this campaign, every literate resident of Bamyan will teach at least two illiterate persons and make them able to read and write. Civil society groups and NGOs have joined the campaign and UN agencies have already started this. During this first phase, Bamyan’s university students and high school students will teach their illiterate family members during their winter vacation. The United Nations is supporting education as the most sustainable means to peace and development.