'Each one, Teach one' can help achieve universal literacy: President

New Delhi, Sep 8  Stressing that universal literacy could not be achieved without mass participation, President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday advocated the principle of "Each one, Teach one".

"India continues to have a large population of illiterates. It is time for us to identify the critical areas that need to be addressed," an official statement quoted him as saying while addressing the 50th International Literacy Day celebrations here.

"Joint action by Government and Non-Government Organisations is necessary so that we can generate momentum to achieve 100 per cent literacy," he said, adding that literacy movement is a continuous cycle and regular follow up was necessary to not only make people literate but also keep them literate. 

The president said that besides pursuing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Unesco is also launching a "Global Alliance for Literacy" to promote literacy as the foundation for life-long learning. 

India needs to strengthen and synthesise its efforts in line with these global initiatives, the president said.

Among those present on the occasion were Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar, Director and Unesco representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives and Sri Lanka Shigeru Aoyagi, and Secretary, Department of School Education and Literacy Subhash Chandra Khuntia.