27m kids still out of school despite improvement

Though literacy increased on an average of 18 percent since the mid-90s in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, 27 million children aged between 5 to 13 years are still out of school in the three and in Sri Lanka, said Commonwealth Secretary General Kamalesh Sharma quoting a Unicef study.

"Considering this region as a home to the largest number of young people in the world, it is vital this generation is equipped with skills that will see them into work life," he said in a statement on International Literacy Day, observed yesterday.

"This year's theme for International Literacy Day 2015, 'Literacy and Sustainable Societies', draws together vitally important Commonwealth priorities: social and economic inclusion through education, and sustainability," he said.