Building a prosperous society through literacy

Everyone can learn about new technologies and expand their knowledge only through literacy. Literacy enables people to access sources of information for their personal devel­opment, think clearly and make sound decisions for their future.

 

Literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship. Literacy is a foundation for people to acquire broader knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviours to foster a culture of lasting peace based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversity, and tolerance, and to build harmonious relations with oneself, other people and the planet.

 

Efforts to eradicate illiteracy were implemented as a national responsibility. As literacy is the foundation of basic education, peo­ple’s education courses and “Three Rs” literacy courses were implemented under four-year plans. In reviewing the education sector, the literacy rate among the population aged 15 and above was 92.1 per cent in 2024, while the nu­meracy rate was 92.3 per cent.

 

Only by expanding non-formal education pro­grammes in Myanmar, in­cluding literacy, continuing education, and non-formal primary and middle school education programmes on an annual basis, can the num­ber of illiterate people in the country be reduced. To pro­mote literacy among rural and ethnic communities, relevant ministries and regional gov­ernments must work together in their respective sectors as a national responsibility when implementing annual literacy programmes. Such coordinat­ed efforts are essential to re­ducing the number of illiterate people in the country.

 

Efforts are being made to reduce the number of illiterate people aged 15 and above in Myanmar each year by incorporating literacy programmes into special national education projects and implementing systematic plans. Only when every citizen is literate can national development be successfully promoted. For a Myanmar citizen, being literate is not only a personal responsibility but also a responsibility toward one’s family, village or town, country and future generations. Literacy is not merely a means of self-improvement; it is also a fundamental foundation for rebuilding the nation.

 

An illiterate person is like a blind person, while one who does not read is like a person who is deprived of knowledge. Such peo­ple cannot move forward in life on an equal footing with others. Therefore, everyone must support and work together to eradicate illiteracy from society. In 2026, the 60th anniversary year of Inter­national Literacy Day, everyone should make concerted efforts to eliminate illiteracy and promote global prosperity in line with the theme, “Literacy for People, the Planet and Prosperity.”