The concerned authorities have declared Sibanagar VDC -- with 10,788 households -- as the third illiteracy free zone in the district and in the country as a whole.
Pulbari and Gitanagar VDCs were recently declared as the first and second free illiteracy zones in the district.[break]
Chitwan District Education Officer Rama Kant Sharma, Under Secretary Shambhu Prasad Poudel, and Coordinator of the literacy campaign Bhawani Prasad Poudel were present at a function held at Sibanagar on Saturday to make the annoucement.
Almost 803 elderly women of the VDC were taught to read and write during a three-month informal educational course, informed Poudel."It was this success that enabled us to nominate Sibanagar as the illiteracy free zone," said campaign coordinator Poudel.
Though there were lesser women participants in the course, their zeal to learn was comparatively higher than the men, he added.
"The elderly women kept pace with the course and they wanted to learn more every day," said Muna Kadel, a teacher.
Talking to Republica, one of the students, Nandakali Kadel, 68, said that being educated was like a dream come true for her. "I can´t see clearly but now i can count numbers without hesitation and even dial phone numbers effortlessly," she added.
Nepal Government has aimed to educate every citizen across the country by 2015 and this literacy campaign in Chitwan is part of this national endeavor.
"All the women, who came for the course, managed the classes despite their household chores and family responsibilities. Their hardwork clearly reflected their yearning for education," said another teacher, Teknath Poudel.
With 42 government seats, a total of 20 classes were run by local organizations of the district.
Encouraged by the success, Chairperson of the Informal Education Service Centre, Baburam Poudel, said that they are trying to replicate the progress in ten more VDCs of the district this year."
"Our determination to spread education across the nation will not end but this is just the beginning," he added.
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