On the occassion of International Literacy Day (declared by UNESCO in 1965) on Friday, former minister and educationist Prof B K Chandrashekar has sought literacy to be redefined with a new approach.
Speaking to Express, he referred to various suggestions made by international research agencies.
“Literacy, as it is today, is not about making a signature or learning alphabets. We have to look at ‘reading’ literacy on the lines of math and science literacy,” he said.
Science literacy, for instance, he said is about extending and using knowledge accumulated through books to raise new questions.
“We must help our students arrive at a situation where they can come to conclusions with evidence,” he said, adding that his wish is “to develop a format for science literacy to help teachers and students alike to develop scientific temper.”