President Pranab Mukherjee today called for change in society's outlook towards women. Speaking at a function of Jagat Taran Girls Inter College in Allahabad today, the President said that we must ensure a secure and favourable environment, which would allow women to contribute towards nation building. He said women's literacy rate was much lower than that of men and efforts were needed to correct this.

Voicing concerns over the quality of education in the country, Mr. Mukherjee said the Right to Education was not just about getting students enrolled in institutions, but also to impart knowledge that would enable the youth to rise above prejudices and channel their energies towards the betterment of the country.

The President unveiled the statue of Chintamani Ghosh, a great proponent of education in the pre-independence era.

Earlier, addressing the ’86th Nikhil Banga Sahitya Sammelan’ the President said that literature is the mirror of the society which not only entertains, educates but instills higher values for a purposeful life.

Mr. Mukherjee, who spoke in Bangla, said that the organistion has a cherished history of having association with prolific and stalwart writers of Bengali literature. He said that more translation of good literature is needed from Bangla to all the modern languages and vice versa.