Chandigarh, March 14 – The Sirsa District in Haryana has recorded a ten percent increase in the literacy rate due to the effective implementation of various programmes under the Backward Area Grants Commission. In fact, a revolutionary increase of 11 percent has been witnessed in female literacy rate during this period.
While giving this information, an official spokesman said that as per the census conducted in the year 2001 the literacy rate in Sirsa was 60.60 percent whereas in the year 2011 it rose to 70.40 percent. Attributing this achievement to the significant contributions in the implementation of this scheme by both the Central and State Governments, he said that a sum of Rs. 50 crore had been spent in Sirsa under the said scheme. In the field of education alone a sum of Rs. 9.50 crore had been spent in Sirsa under this scheme.
Detailing the scheme, he said that a sum of Rs. 7 crore had been spent on the construction of 348 rooms in 174 schools. Toilet conveniences had also been provided in various schools to facilitate students. Besides this, 15 school buses had also been purchased at a cost of Rs. 2 crore. These had been provided to various educational institutes. These buses had proved to be especially beneficial for girl students who could now travel safely and comfortably to their schools and colleges.
He said that Science classes had also been introduced at the Senior Secondary level in the school in village Kaluana. Apart from this, Science museums were being set up in seven schools in the District so as to attract students to take interest in science subjects. He added that as per a survey conducted by the Centre for Research in Rural and Industrial Development regarding the results of the scheme, a significant increase had been noticed in the awareness level of people residing in rural as well as urban areas towards education.