Back to school: 22.7 lakh adults gained literacy and numeracy skills this year
#GS1
Context:
- Ambitious plan: The New India Literacy Programme has targeted literacy for up to one crore adults in the year 2023-24
Points to ponder:
- 22.7 lakh adults from 10 Indian states and Union Territories became literate through the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test.
- 15 to 20 crore people in India do not know how to read and write.
- The Education Ministry launched the Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram (NILP) to teach one crore adults next year.
- The NILP relies on volunteer-based teaching due to a lack of funds to hire qualified teachers to exclusively teach adults.
- The Education Ministry is encouraging students and teachers to volunteer their time to teach adults.
- A credit-based framework is being put in place with the help of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to incentivize college students to volunteer.
- The previous literacy program struggled and took a hit during the pandemic years.
- The NILP has been allocated ₹150 crores for 2022-23, of which nearly ₹80 crores was released to States to start the scheme.
