“Literacy is the bridge from misery to hope.”
— Kofi Annan, former U.N. Secretary General

Literacy is essential for effective communication, personal empowerment and participation in society. It plays a crucial role in education, employment and overall quality of life, enabling individuals to navigate their daily tasks and access knowledge and opportunities. Literacy is a fundamental human right that opens the door to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship.

Why is Literacy Important?

Studies have shown that countries with higher literacy rates tend to have stronger economies and lower poverty rates. Literacy plays a crucial role in promoting health literacy, which is essential for overall well-being. Countries with higher literacy rates often have a more engaged and informed citizenry, capable of participating meaningfully in democratic processes, advocating for their rights, and contributing to societal development. Literacy, therefore, serves as a foundation for active citizenship and democratic governance. Literacy is also essential for achieving many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including poverty reduction, gender equality, and improved health.

Meaning of Literacy

Literacy is the ability to read, write, and comprehend written text. It encompasses not only basic skills like reading and writing but also the capacity to critically analyse and engage with information. Education, on the other hand, is a broader concept that encompasses formal and informal learning processes that includes the acquisition of knowledge, skills, values, and critical thinking across various subjects.

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The academic year 2024-25… yet another brand new opportunity to excel. Starting a new academic year is an exciting and pivotal time for both students and educators alike. Striving for academic excellence begins from the first moment the student enters the school or college gate with a clear-cut academic and career goal and a commitment to pay the required price.

Everyone wants to win, but few are willing to the pay the price. All students aspire for success, but only a select few are prepared to endure the hard work, discipline and the sacrifices necessary to realize their ambitions.

Students have to cultivate certain skills and turn them into routines to achieve academic excellence.

What is a Student Skill?

A skill is an ability or proficiency acquired through practice and education. Both hard and soft skills are essential in academic and personal contexts. Hard skills are specific, teachable abilities or knowledge that can be defined and measured. Soft skills are interpersonal or people skills that are harder to quantify. They relate how individuals interact with others and manage their work.

Student skills help in learning maximum with less effort and time. For a fruitful and meaningful life, students have to spend time on many activities apart from just studying. Study skills or academic skills are the subset of student skills.

Essential Student Skills

1. Self-motivation skills
2. Career Goals Fixation skills
3. Time Management skills
4. Reading skills
5. Note-taking skills
6. Concentration and Memory skills
7. Examination skills

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“Yoga is an invaluable gift of ancient Indian tradition. It embodies unity of mind and body; thought and action; restraint and fulfilment; harmony between man and nature and a holistic approach to health and well-being. Yoga is not about exercise but to discover the sense of oneness with ourselves, the world and nature. By changing our lifestyle and creating consciousness, it can help us to deal with climate change.” (Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to the UN General Assembly on 27 September 2014)

What is Yoga?

The word ‘yoga’ is derived from the Sanskrit root yuj meaning “to join”, “to yoke” or “to unite”. According to Yogic scriptures, the practice of yoga leads to the union of individual consciousness with universal consciousness. Yoga is essentially a spiritual discipline based on an extremely subtle science which focuses on bringing harmony between mind and body that will help in attaining self-realisation. It is an art and science for healthy living. Medical research in recent years has uncovered many benefits that yoga offers — physical fitness, musculoskeletal functioning and cardio-vascular health. It is also beneficial in the management of diabetes, respiratory disorders, hypertension, hypotension and many lifestyle related disorders. Yoga helps reduce depression, fatigue, anxiety disorders and stress.

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Vacations are the sweetest part of a person’s life. Every student waits for these joyful moments. These days, when youngsters are stressed out, a vacation has become an essential part of his/her healthy growth. Parents who have been toiling along with their children throughout the year heave a sigh of relief.

This valuable time should not be idled away, but turned into a valuable investment in the growth of the youngster. A judicious spending of the vacation can help in rejuvenation, strengthening family bonds and enhancement of social relations. This time can be utilized for acquiring new skills and improving knowledge.

Here’s how you can make your summer vacation a fruitful one.

1. Indulge in physical exercise. Play your favourite game. Enrol in summer camps. This will enhance physical agility as well as mental alertness. Yoga camps are held in different places. The physical director of your school or college can help you to take assistance from the District Sports Authority.

2. Time spent with your grandparents becomes a sweet memory both for you and you grandparents. They will joyfully share with you their stories of the good old days and their life experiences.

3. Go an excursion or a pilgrimage with your family. This will refresh your mind, strengthen family bonds and improve social relations.

4. Visit an orphanage or a home for the destitute to inculcate compassion for the poor and the needy. You will realize how lucky you are and how you should be grateful to God and your parents.

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