"Even after 67 years of Independence, the standard of education in rural India has not so improved and is being neglected. This only shows that the National Literacy Mission has failed to yield expected results," Sharma said.
The National Literacy Mission is a nation-wide programme started by the Government in 1988. It aims to make 80 million adults in the age group of 15 - 35 literate over an eighty year period.
Sharma was addressing the opening ceremony of a two-day meet of the heads of upper primary schools of the district here.
Expressing concern over the growing number of students opting for private educational institutes, Sharma said this trend should be checked by introducing innovative and job-oriented training programmes in government schools.
She also called upon the teachers to play an active role in checking female foeticide.
