Today is International Literacy Day. Every year 8 September is considered to be the world literacy day.
As per the UNESCO, (United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation): “International Literacy Day 2020 will focus on Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond with a focus on the role of educators and changing pedagogies. The theme will highlight literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective and therefore mainly focus on youth and adults.”
But let us understand the real meaning of literacy. Literacy is not limited to books or degrees.
If you holds a Masters in Business Administration and are working as a senior executive in a company and you still hold outdated thoughts of 16th or 18th century, sorry boss, you are not literate.
If you are someone who doesn’t respect his wife as a woman or even a human and considers her to fall under the unsaid society’s agreement of managing the household chores and office work and you like a king do only your office job and enjoy at your home, seeing her slog day and night, then definitely you are not literate.
If you are someone who believes a child needs to only get educated in a top school and you have no respect for your maids or their children, then sorry boss, you are not literate.
Literacy doesn’t mean just marks or ranks. Literacy means how humanly you are despite having all the world knowledge.
If you are ignorant and arrogant towards people below you and blindly follow people above you then you are far from being an actual literate person.
Literacy comes with responsibilities for self and others and having human values of being a good human being for your family, society and yourself.
By Sahana Iyer
