Shillong, Apr 10: Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma has urged citizens to work together towards achieving 100 per cent literacy rate.
Speaking at the inauguration of the ULLAS Fest, 2026 at U Soso Tham Auditorium here, the Chief Minister said, “We are nearing the 100% literacy rate but we have to work together as a society to bring transformations in education while empowering all sections of society.”
He said that ULLAS is a programme to reach out to those who did not have the opportunity to become literate.
The ULLAS initiative, which stands for Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society, is a central program aimed at promoting functional literacy among adults, particularly those aged 15 and above who have missed formal education opportunities. This program runs from 2022 to 2027 and focuses on volunteerism for teaching, ensuring that individuals gain not only literacy skills but also critical life and vocational skills. The campaign utilises a hybrid approach, offering both online and offline training to maximise reach and effectiveness.
Education Minister Lahkmen Rymbui in his speech informed that about 2 lakh people in Meghalaya are still illiterate. “Literacy does not mean being a matriculate or graduate but to have the basic knowledge of reading, writing, numeracy and life skills and about 8 per cent of our population still fall under the illiterate category,” he said.
He urged all stakeholders to work towards achieving the benchmark of 95 per cent to be considered as a fully literate state.
ULLAS achievers and the oldest learners from the Khasi and the Jaintia regions were felicitated during the occasion.
The ULLAS Awareness videos in Khasi and Pnar languages were also launched by the Chief Minister during the occasion.
