Public’s literacy level became the foundation for the development of quality human resources for the nation’s prosperity, Head of the National Library Muhammad Syarif Bando stated here, Monday.
Public literacy index improvement activities became one of the efforts to support improvement in the quality of human resources that aligns with the central government’s vision and mission as described within the Mid-Term National Development Program (RPJMN).
This is because the foundation of development of human resources is access to reading material, both printed and digital, to acquire knowledge and technology.
Improving innovation and creativity can create jobs for boosting the people’s prosperity and national development that is the definition of quality human resources, he noted.
“Obtaining quality human resources is difficult without awareness to search for knowledge through reading. Thus, printed books are still necessary since digital reading material comes from printed materials,” he remarked.
He urged everyone to improve Indonesians’ literacy, specifically those in Bengkulu, since the high literacy rate can drive the people’s prosperity and nation’s development.
Bando affirmed that library is the bulwark of democracy wherein it serves as a source of knowledge for various elements of society.
Meanwhile, Governor of Bengkulu Rohidin Mersyah revealed that the Benkulu provincial government plans to form the regional library Regional Integrated Service Unit (UPTD), so that it can focus on improving public literacy.
“We also strive to develop an independent library, with a representative building, to realize an inclusive library for everyone,” he remarked.
The literacy rate of residents in Bengkulu is still very low as can be seen by the number of people still easily swayed by information that is not necessarily true.
“Bengkulu residents’ reading capability is already good, especially in social media. However, their processing skills are still low, given that they still like to read hoax,” he remarked.
Source: Antara News