National Literacy Mission

The eradication of illiteracy from a vast country like India beset by several social and economic hurdles is not an easy task.Realising this the National Literacy Mission was set up on 5th May,1988 to impart a new sense of urgency and seriousness to adult education.After the success of the areas specific,time bound, voluntary based campaign approach first in Kottayam city and then in Ernakulum district in Kerala in 1990,the National Literacy Mission had accepted the literacy campaigns as the dominant strategy for eradication of illiteracy.

Out of 600 districts in the country,597 districts have already been covered under Total Literacy Campaigns.The number of continuing education districts is 328.

The National Literacy Mission was revitalised with the approval of the Union Government on 30th September, 1999.The Mission's goal is to attain total literacy i.e. a sustainable threshold literacy rate of 75% by 2007.The Mission seeks to achieve this by imparting functional literacy to non-literates in the 15-35 age group.To tackle the problem of residual illiteracy,now it has been decided to adopt an integrated approach to Total Literacy Campaigns and Post Literacy Programme. This means the basic literacy campaigns and post literacy programmes will be implemented under one literacy project called 'Literacy Campaigns an Operation Restoration' to achieve continuity,efficiency and convergence and to minimise unnecessary time lag between the two.Post literacy programmes are treated only as a preparatory phase for launching Continuing Education with the ultimate aim of creating a learning society.

In order to promote decentralization,the State Literacy Mission Authorities have been given the authority to sanction continuing education projects to Districts and literacy related projects to voluntary agencies in their States.

Ever since its inception the National Literacy Mission has taken measures to strengthen its partnership with NGOs and to evolve both institutional and informal mechanisms to give voluntary organisations active promotional role in the literacy movement.Now under the scheme of Support to NGOs they are encouraged and provided with financial assistance to run post literacy and continuing education programmes in well defined areas. The goals of the National Literacy Mission is to attain full literacy, i.e., a sustainable threshold level of 75 percent by 2007.The mission seeks to achieve this goal by imparting functional literacy to non-literates in the 15-35 age group. This age group has been the focus of attention because they are in the productive and reproductive period of life. The total literacy campaign offers them a second chance, in case they missed the opportunity or were denied access to mainstream formal education

It has been enlarged to include people in the age group 9 to 14 years, in areas not covered by the non-formal education programme, to ensure that the benefits of TLCs are made available to out-of-school children as well.
Special care is taken to bring disadvantaged groups like women, scheduled castes and tribes and backward classes into the programme. The basic objective is to create a generation which will ensure that their children are educated, to realize the dream of Education For All.
NLM OBJECTIVES: In quantitative terms, the Mission seeks to impart functional literacy to all non-literate persons in 15-35 age group.
In qualitative terms, functional literacy implies:
  • Self-reliance in 3 R's
  • Becoming aware of the causes of deprivation and moving towards amelioration of their condition by participating in the process of development
  • Skill improvement to improve economic status and general well being.
  • Imbibing values of national integration, conservation of environment, women's equality and observance of small family norms etc.

GOALS FOR XI thPLAN:
  • Target for XIth plan-85% Literacy rate.
  • Reduction in gender gap in literacy to 10%.
  • Reduction of regional,social and gender disparities.
  • Use of ICT for Literacy.
  • New models of Continuing Education.

Right to Education Act

In 1950, India made a Constitutional commitment to provide free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14, by adding this provision in article 45 of the Directive Principles of State Policy.

With the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth) Amendment Act on 12th December 2002, Article 21A was amended in order to introduce Right to Education as a fundamental right. The Right to Education Bill, 2005 was introduced to give effect to the Constitution (Eighty-Sixth) Amendment Act.

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act finally came into force on 1st April 2010. With the implementation of this Act, it is expected that issues of school drop out, out-of-school children, quality of education and availability of trained teachers will be addressed in the short to medium term plans.

Main provisions of the Act:

  • Every child between the ages of six to fourteen years shall have the right to free and compulsory education in a neighborhood school, till completion of elementaryeducation.
  • No child shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education.
  • Where a child above six years of age has not been admitted to any school or though admitted, could not complete his or her elementary education, then, he or she shall be admitted in a class appropriate to his or her age.
  • The appropriate government and local authority shall establish a school, if it is not established, within the given area in a period of three years from the commencement of this Act.
  • The Central and the State Governments shall have concurrent responsibility for providing funds for carrying out the provisions of this Act.

The Act also contains specific provisions for disadvantaged groups, such as child labourers, migrant children, children with special needs, or those who have a disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economical, geographical, linguistic, gender or any such factor

SarvaShikshaAbhiyan

SarvaShikshaAbhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the Children of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right.

SSA is being implemented in partnership with State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in 1.1 million habitations.

The programme seeks to open new schools in those habitations which do not have schooling facilities and strengthen existing school infrastructure through provision of additional class rooms, toilets, drinking water, maintenance grant and school improvement grants.

Existing schools with inadequate teacher strength are provided with additional teachers, while the capacity of existing teachers is being strengthened by extensive training, grants for developing teaching-learning materials and strengthening of the academic support structure at a cluster, block and district level.

SSA seeks to provide quality elementary education including life skills. SSA has a special focus on girl's education and children with special needs. SSA also seeks to provide computer education to bridge the digital divide.