Guwahati: Former Chief Election Commissioner Harishankar Brahma on Monday said illiteracy was the main reason behind most problems in Assam and the entire Northeast.

Accepting the Krishna Kanta Handiqui National Award here, Brahma said the picture of the society gradually changes as one travels from other parts of the country to the Northeast primarily because of the stark contrast in literacy rate."In other parts of the country, life expectancy of people is around 71 years but in the Northeast, it is about 69. Moreover, the mother-child mortality rate is also very high. The main reason behind such a situation is low literacy rate as compared to other parts of the country. Barring Tripura and Mizoram, we have many miles to go to attain full literacy. So, we should work to expand modern education to all sections," Brahma said.

Stressing the importance of professional education through the open university system, Brahma said, "Now there are around 28 lakh jobless youths in our state. Many of them are deprived of employment as they could not get the desired education because of various problems and obstacles. In such a situation, an open university has many duties. I want to request Krishna Kanta Handiqui State Open University (KKHSOU) authorities to introduce professional courses for the youths.""If we don't have knowledgeable and educated citizens, the country or the state cannot develop. First step of development is to educate people. All backward countries of the world are now suffering from problems like deteriorating public health, hunger and all these problems are directly linked to illiteracy," Brahma said.

Brahma received a memento and a cheque#for Rs 5 lakh.

The university on Monday also awarded its annual national fellowship to mountaineer Anshu Jamsenpa from Arunachal Pradesh and young Assamese writer Sarmistha Pritam. Under the fellowship, Rs 6 lakh per year for two years will be provided to them.