Every woman in the country must be literate: President

Shillong, Oct 23 (UNI) President Pratibha Devisingh Patil today said every woman in the country must be literate and educated as they make up make up about half the population of the country.

"A nation can not progress without educating and empowering its women", the President said while addressing the student of Laban Bengali Girl's Higher Secondary School to mark the centenary celebrations.

" If women are educated, they can help in removing many of the evil social practices and dealing with addiction to liquor and drugs, a problem which is increasing among the youth,'' she stated.

Expressing concerns over poor literacy rates among the women here despite the state was being a matrilineal society, President Patil said Meghalaya must strive for 100 per cent literacy with focus on women's education.

Announcing the sanctioning of Rs two crore for developing the Laban Bengali Girl's Higher Secondary School, Chief Minister Donkupar Roy requested the President to use her good offices for improvement of the educational institutions in Meghalaya.

He said the government was making effort to set one college and a model school in every district.

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