The Hindu : `Good response to Akshara Sankranti'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 26, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Andhra Pradesh

`Good response to Akshara Sankranti'

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD Feb. 25. Over 34.40 lakh learners were enrolled in about 2.66 lakh centres all over the State under Akshara Sankranti programme since October 2, 2001, the Minister for Primary Education, M. Venkateswara Rao, informed the State Assembly.

The Minister said the programme had been extended upto April-end and it is proposed to hold internal evaluation in the first week of April. Last year, about 29 lakh learners were enrolled under the Akshara Sankranthi from October 2000 to April 2001 and they had completed the two prescribed primers.

Mr. Venkateswara Rao appealed to legislators, cutting across party affiliations, to actively participate in the committees at the district, constituency and village levels to oversee the literacy movement. He pointed out that about 61.11 per cent of the population aged 7 years and above in the State had become literate as per the 2001 census, compared to the literacy rate of 44.09 per cent in 1991, representing an increase of 17 per cent. There had been substantial reduction in the illiteracy rate among women.

While 41 mandals had literacy which was less than 20% in 1991, there was only one mandal in 2001. There was no mandal with less than 20 per cent male literacy today. There were about 448 mandals with less than 20 per cent female literacy in 1991 which had come down to just 14 mandals as per the latest census.

The campaign approach adopted in the 1990s helped nearly 80 lakh learners become literate. The Government had taken up establishment of continuing education centres as a concurrent programme to provide fora for neo-literates to constantly update their literacy skills. As on date, 13,840 centres were functioning in 19 districts.

It is proposed to effect convergence of open schooling system, the network of libraries and the continuing education centres into community learning centres where neo-literates and school drop-outs would have an opportunity to pursue further learning and improve their levels of knowledge and competencies.

The Minister said that there were still about 80 lakh adult illiterates to be covered in the next four years. The TDP member, Kondabala Koteswara Rao, commended the efforts of the Government to push up the literacy rate.

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