Madikeri: Continuing education programmes at Continuing Learning Centres (CLCs) have run into rough weather in Kodagu district.

Goals set under the scheme to make people neo-literates and make them continue to learn in the 195 CLCs are not being met, in spite of funds being pumped into the district for the programme.

The objective of the programme is to bring people who have remained outside the purview of basic education and literacy under one roof, and to provide them with learning opportunities in accordance with their needs and capacities. The age group chosen under this "Saksharata Mission" scheme of the Union Government is between 15 and 35 years.

The five-year programme, which started in 2002, is a failure in the sense that out of the 18,866 people identified in the district to undergo training in the neo-literacy progamme, only 5,771 have availed themselves of the benefit till end of July 2006.

Of the 195 such centres functioning in Kodagu, 18 are nodal centres. The district has so far received funds to the tune of Rs. 1.37 crore, of which Rs. 1.35 crore had been spent, according to sources.

The Union Government funds the programme in the first three years, and in the last two years, both State and the Union Government bear the cost on a 50:50 basis. The evaluation of the performance of the 195 CLCs is done by the NSS unit of Mysore University.

Damp squib

The scheme has been a damp squib in the five gram panchayats identified in Virajpet taluk. As many as 1,206 persons were identified to become neo-literates in Thithimathi, Chennayanakote, Devarapura, Balele and Nittur. Only 406 availed themselves of the benefits and evaluation was done concerning them.

In the "Kalike-Galike" programme envisaged under the scheme, 1,330 had enrolled and they had been imparted six months' training.

This programme involved learning as well as improvement of earning through different avocations. Among other functions, the CLCs are expected to interact with the gram shikshana samitis, maintain libraries, organise people to make use of reading materials in libraries, organise neo-literates to involve in development activities, provide information to people on various programmes of the Government, identify child labourers and arrange for their admissions in special schools and bring back drop-outs to schools.

None of these programmes are being taken care of in the CLCs in Kodagu.

K. Shankare Gowda, who heads the Adult Education Department, who also is in-charge of the implementation of the programme, insists that continuing education programmes was one of the best ways to organise people in rural areas to come together.

They had access to television, newspapers and involved in fruitful discussions on matters relating to what they had learnt.

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