On 17 Nov 1965 UNESCO proclaimed 8 September as International Literacy Day also known as World Literacy Day.
This year, International Literacy Day will put the spotlight on empowering the role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development. Literacy and Empowerment is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennial of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) 2003-2012. The Decade aims to increase literacy levels and to empower people everywhere.
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World Literacy Day
Delhi/8th September 2009.
To mark the World Literacy Day, a discussion on ‘Illiteracy: A curse’ was organized under the aegis of British Lingua, at its premises. Speaking on the occasion the British Lingua Managing Director Dr Birbal Jha said that it was unfortunate to see Bihar where the two recorded oldest universities of the world – Nalanda and Takshila Universities existed, has the lowest literacy rate in India. It is for people in common to come forward with a state of mind – teach one, everyone. This will reduce the disparity within the country.
Taking note of survey which reveals the fact that the maximum number of rickshaw- pullers and manual workers irrespective of their geographical relocations in India are drawn from Bihar, added Dr Jha. This tarnishes the image of the state, giving an impression that value of education is not properly understood there. The need of hour is to ensure that the Right To Education law be enforced in letters and spirit in Bihar. He called upon the audience to sincerely come forth to allow education to permeate the state and make it hundred percent literate.
Among others who included the occasion were G R Alka,S N Chatterjee, Deepika Ruskin, Urwashi Bhatia and Monica Gaba and Ritu Bakshi.
I agree with Dr Birbal Jha and appreciate his contribution to educational develoment ofBihar. We should join his mission to reeducate Bihar.
Thanks to Nitish Kumar, but for What?
Shahzad(AL ANSAR MILLAT WELFARE SOCIETY) : We have two very widely discussed news about Bihar in the first month of New Year 2010:
News1: Bihar’s GDP grew by an astounding 11.03% in the five-year period between 2004-05 and 2008-09, much more than the national average of 8.49%, and ranked second only to Gujarat.
News2: Nitish Kumar was decorated with “Business Reformer of the Year Award” from Economic Times.
These news items will surely make all Biharis proud. But as usual, Bihar’s GDP growth and Nitish Kumar’s award, both have received criticisms from various quarters especially Bihar’s opposition parties RJD, LJP and Congress. The very data supplied by Bihar Govt to Central Statistical Organisation (CSO) have been questioned. It is also said that Bihar’s GDP grew because of money pumped to Bihar by the UPA Govt at the Centre and Nitish Govt should not be given any credit for it. It has also been argued that there has not been any new business investment in Bihar and therefore there is no case for any award for business reforms or accepting projected high growth rate.In a recent interview with a TV-channel, Arjun Sengupta, former member of PM’s Economic Advisory Panel and currently Member of Parliament says that the reason why one can feel that there must be something wrong in these data is a sudden jump. For example, in the case of agriculture, growth of 7.5% over the five years is substantially higher than most other places. In industry, it jumped from negative to about 22% and in case of construction it is 45%. It’s a very large number. He, however, says he would love to believe the data because these indicate that we are moving into a new era of development.However, N K Singh, former member of Planning Commission and currently Rajya Sabha Member from Janta Dal (U) says that improved governance factors, improved security scenario and improved overall climate fostering gainful economic activity have triggered the growth, but it has surpassed his expectation of 8-9%.Economist Nawal Kishore Chaudhury wonders how the state has recorded double digit growth when last year’s growth rate was just 5%. Bihar had recorded negative growth in the farm sector and per capita social spending was just $32, one of the lowest in the country.Social scientist Shaibal Gupta says that since Bihar’s development base is abysmally low, even a small investment here results in impressive growth in percentage terms.Whatever be the comments and from whatsoever sources they come, the two news items cited above have in fact rocketed the popularity index of Nitish Kumar and shaken every major political party. Everyone is trying to register their presence among the masses. RJD bundh call for Jan 28 is supported by LJP. Plans are afoot to fill jails in protest against people’s burning issues. Political leaders are moving to the colonies of the downtrodden and are trying to identify themselves as their messiah. Congress has started campaigns to re-establish their lost base in Bihar.The basic point is that the ultimate beneficiary is the common man when all political parties have same agenda of growth and development. So, special thanks to Nitish Kumar for opening the eyes of all political parties.
International Outsourcing and British Lingua
Al Jazeera the Qatar-based and state-owned broadcast network is all set to launch its English news channel in India very shortly. British Lingua were proud to be the subject of one of their news reports when a film crew from the channel visited the East Delhi centre to make a news programme about international outsourcing.
In light of the forthcoming visit to the country by US President Barak Hussain Obama, Al Jazeera wanted to discover more about British Lingua’s training for people seeking employment in call centres, especially those who deal with US customers. India is a long established destination for international business and with globalization showing no signs of slowing down Al Jazeera were keen to report on how young people are being trained and developing communication skills at a centre such as British Lingua.
With President Obama’s visit comes the potential for greater outsourcing possibilities, said one of the students in a discussion with the crew and Dr Birbal Jha, trainer. It gives the green light for many more companies from the USA to work with Indian outsourcing organizations, agreed Dr Jha. Another student excited about the call centre training and its benefits said “The visit by Obama is seen by many as a further and greater acceptance of India as the hub for outsourcing in Asia” Sunny Katyal, another trainee said “With the help of British Lingua’s training I feel much more confident about realising my ambition to work in an international call centre.”
When asked if he would like to work in the USA Katyal replied in excellent English; “Of course, why not? The opportunity to work abroad and progress in my career is something I’m working towards with the guidance I get from the training here.” The crew filmed Dr Jha’s class in progress. The session focused on some of the differences between British and American English, with examples of pronunciation, word usage and how to construct sentences. The students all commented that the training was very beneficial and would be a valuable component in their job search.
Call centre training and associated soft skill development is just one of the courses offered by British Lingua. A range of other classes are available at any of the organizations’ 20 centres across the country.