Shimla, Sept. 9 -- Declaring Himachal a 'fully literate state,' chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Monday announced that the state has reached a 99.3% literacy rate, higher than the national benchmark of 95%. After Goa, Tripura and Mizoram, Himachal has now achieved the distinction of becoming a fully literate state, shared education minister Rohit Thakur. The state was declared fully literate as per the guidelines of Ullas, a centrally sponsored scheme for literacy. Extending his greetings to the people of the state, the CM said, "As a result of reforms introduced by the present government, the literacy rate in Himachal Pradesh had reached to 99.3% which is higher than the national benchmark of 95% with state ranking first in the country in terms of student-teacher ratio". Sukhu, in his address, said, "At the time of Independence, the entire country was known as illiterate, and Himachal's literacy rate was just 7%. After 78 years of Independence, Himachal has become a fully literate state. For this, congratulations to everyone. My mother had studied up to the fifth grade, my father up to the seventh, but they were hardworking and educated us. I also worked hard and reached the chair of CM." Lashing out at the previous BJP government, Sukhu said, "Before our government, the standard of public education had fallen sharply despite having good teachers and facilities. Our government has made several changes, and in the next five years, we will change the face of school education. Our government will reduce the pressure on teachers." Union education secretary Sanjay Kumar, in his video message, congratulated Himachal on this achievement and emphasised the importance of providing skill-based education to the newly literate. Education minister Rohit Thakur called it a golden day in the state's history. "The Himachal government spends 17% to 18% of the total state budget on education. We have taken many major steps in the field of education. During the previous government, Himachal was ranked 21st in the country in education; we faced big challenges but overcame them with collective effort. Policy changes have shown good results, and Himachal now ranks well on all parameters of education in the country. The state will move forward only when all teachers work with dedication," he said. He said that the dropout rate in the State had now come down to almost zero. Education secretary Rakesh Kanwar said, "On May 5, 1988, Rajiv Gandhi launched the National Literacy Mission. The Ernakulam district in Kerala was the first to be declared a literate district, and soon after, Himachal became the second literate state after Kerala. It has taken nearly three decades to achieve this milestone. Education has now become a priority for the people of Himachal."...