Union Minister of Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday inaugurated the two-day ULLAS Mela at the National Bal Bhavan in the national capital.

Union Minister of State for Education Annpurna Devi was also present as the Special Guest. Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Sanjay Kumar; Secretary, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Atul Kumar Tiwari; Joint Secretary, DoSEL, Archana Sharma Awasthi; Director, NCERT, Prof. Dinesh Prasad Saklani; In-charge, Cell for National Centre for Literacy (CNCL), Usha Sharma; and other dignitaries were also present at the event.

The dignitaries also visited the exhibition stalls of CNCL, NCERT and all the states/Union Territories (UTs) showcasing the resource materials developed by them.

Speaking at the event, Pradhan said hundred per cent literacy is the most important pillar of Viksit Bharat. He also said ULLAS is spreading new colours in the lives of those who could avail education and making them proficient in subjects related to common needs along with Fundamental literacy and numeracy.

Pradhan urged everyone to participate in the programme to convert it into a mass movement. Students should also participate in this campaign, and under the new credit architecture, the student will earn credit points by helping others to become literate, he added.

If the mass movement is to be successful then the method of teaching and learning will have to be made simple and enjoyable, Pradhan emphasised.

Honest efforts should be made to design the method of teaching depending on the learners’ preference and need, he said.

Pradhan also said the goal of complete literacy can be achieved only through a knowledge distribution system based on sports, folk language and things related to daily work.

He commended the efforts of the states who have adopted a model that is play-based making learning simple and enjoyable. These make the models more acceptable among the learners, he added.

Pradhan also suggested organising a 7-day workshop of the experts in developing resource material such as handbooks, digital capsules, etc. and connecting it with skilling.