Low female literacy responsible for backwardness: Nitish

Patna, Mar 30 (UNI) Identifying ''illiteracy'' among women as one of prime reasons behind the backwardness of the state, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said the state government was providing a number of incentives to encourage parents to send their daughters to schools.

Inaugurating ''Kishori Mahotsav'' here, Mr Kumar said that priority was being given to provide better educational facilities to girls as an educated ''mother'' would change the way of thinking of a family. He said that Rs 700 per year would be given to each girl student of middle schools for uniforms while high school students would get bicycles for facilitating easy access to schools.

With the provision of fifty per cent reservation of seats for women in panchayati raj institutions, an era of renaissance among them had begun, he said, adding the decision had been taken to provide similar reservation to them in municipal corporations and other local bodies.

While referring to scarce toilet facilities in rural areas, Mr Kumar said that the state government would provide aid to poor families for construction of toilets in their homes.

UNI