Panchayats to power new literacy mission

That apart,procuring teaching-learning material,supervision of literacy classes,logistical support for national level test ensuring honorarium for teachers post-evaluation and setting up of a Jan Shikshan Kendra for continuing education are all tasks that could go to the panchayat,which will be expected to have on board elected women representatives,female teachers,anganwadi workers among others.

The restructured mission will be launched on September 8.

The panchayat-based campaign,the Ministry feels,will help ensure total female literacy in rural areas in another five years. The new scheme will also focus considerably on improving the emoluments for educators.

With women literacy level at a low 54 per cent vis-a-vis the 75 per cent male literacy rates as revealed in the 2001 census,the HRD Ministry is restructuring the entire National Literacy Mission (NLM),formulating new schemes with a focus on improving female literacy levels. It has also asked all state governments to close down all existing adult education and NLM programmes by the month-end.

While NLM focused on volunteer-based teaching,the new scheme plans to institute incentives for educators with 100 per cent accountability for performance — for each adult made literate,the educator would get a Rs 500 honorarium.

The educators,to be identified by the panchayat,would be a high school passout in rural areas while tribal areas could appoint a resident instructor.

Unlike the vertical and highly centralised set-up in NLM,the new scheme will rope in local schools and teachers as ‘collaborators’ to provide academic support at the village level. Teachers will be asked to motivate non-literate parents to enroll as learners and motivate educated youth to help as educators or double up as teachers in literacy classes. Annual evaluation of adult learners would be held and that would decide the honorarium payable to the educator.

The strategy for urban areas would be different with ample help from actors,NGOs and social groups,said sources. The focus area of the new scheme would be districts with female literacy of 50 per cent or lower and special attention to disadvantaged sections like the SCs,STs,Minorities,backward groups,low literacy states and tribal areas.

As many as 365 such districts have been identified for the purpose.