The literacy rate of women in Bangladesh is 67.6 percent, said Education Minister Nurul Islam Nahid yesterday.

He said the government has ensured equity in male and female student ratio at primary and secondary levels, yet reducing the drop out rate and ensuring standard education at all levels remain a big challenge, said an official handout.

The minister made the observation when presenting a country paper at the first plenary session of an international conference at Manekshaw Centre's Ashoka Hall at New Delhi in India on the occasion ofWorld Literacy Day.

The conference titled 'Women's literacy for inclusive and sustainable development' was jointly organised by Unesco and the Indian government.

Indian President Pratibha Patil inaugurated the conference.

Nahid said, as per the Dakar Declaration, the government has taken initiative to ensure cent percent enrolment in primary school by 2011 and standard education for all by 2014.

Nigerian Education Minister Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa'i presided over the session while State Minister for Indian Human Resources Development Dr D Purandeshwari, Minister for Education and Literacy Department of Pakistan Pir Mazhar-ul Haque, Education Minister of Sri Lanka Bandula Gunawardhana, Deputy Education Minister of Indonesia Fasli Jalal also spoke.