The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Call for need-based strategies to boost literacy rate

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Oct 08, 2007
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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Call for need-based strategies to boost literacy rate

M. Raghuram

E-9 countries’ meet had a study by Indian experts as lead paper

BANGALORE: Even as the National Literacy Mission is ready for the 11th five-year plan programmes (2007-08 to 2012-13), experts in literacy movement have come up with ambitious targets and a revamped strategy clubbed with enhanced budgetary allocation and technology integration.

The international conference of E-9 countries on ICT for Literacy, which concluded here on Friday, had a study made by Indian experts as its lead paper. The E-9 countries are Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nigeria, Egypt, Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, China and India.

The Indian experience recognises illiteracy as one of the key impediments to development and empowerment of the people. The Planning Commission has laid emphasis on increased use of information technology and information, communication and technology, according to Director-General of the National Literacy Mission Vandana Jena.

She told The Hindu that under the mission, the target of 85 per cent literacy and bridging the gender gap to less than 10 per cent still remained. “We need to make learning joyful, contemporary and in tune with the times,” she said.

In a federal polity there was a need to enhance indigenous, area specific and need-based strategies and programmes, she said.

The approach paper produced by experts also examines the experience of the mission in various States, especially in the area of private–public participation. Chittorgarh district in Rajasthan has reported a trend setting development where Hindustan Zinc Limited has installed computers in all the nodal continuing education centres and has taken up training of motivators in expanding the literacy drive with the help of computers.

The role of the private sector is considered important not only in implementing the computer-aided learning under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, but also in isolated efforts made by groups and individuals where a number of children as well as adults would get literacy programmes.

The computer-aided programme is being used in 25,928 schools, benefiting 4.82 million children in 34 States and Union Territories, 69 private organisations were involved in the computer-aided learning programmes.

Village knowledge centres at Kollam in Kerala has been hailed by the approach paper as an innovative concept which aimed at social inclusion in access to the benefit of digital technology.

The Jan Shikshan Sansthan of Kollam is the first to set up village knowledge centres.

However, the mission has all reasons to be pleased with its performance, particularly in increasing the literacy rates by 12 percentage points between 1991 and 2001.

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