Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Nilambur scores a first in education

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On January 8, Nilambur will be declared the first grama panchayat in the country to achieve total primary education.

The achievement is the result of Jyothirgamaya, a total primary education programme implemented by the State Literacy Mission in Nilambur, panchayat president Aryadan Shoukath told reporters here on Sunday.

The beneficiaries of the programme included 1,608 residents in the panchayat in the 15-50 age group, who were identified through a survey held in January 2006. As many as 350 facilitators contributed their services through 142 study centres.

The first phase of the programme, which began in March 2006, concluded with the annual examination conducted by the State Literacy Mission in December. Ninety eight per cent of the students passed the examination with 40 per cent marks.

External assessment was done by two teams of evaluators, one headed by C. Nazeema of the Centre for Continuing Education, the University of Calicut, and the other led by K. Sivadasan Pillai of the Literacy Mission. The reports of both the teams were approved by the National Literacy Mission.

The students were provided with textbooks equivalent to those for the fourth standard. About 50 training sessions were organised for them.

A decentralised system consisting of ward-level committees and academic, monitoring and organising committees was constituted.

Free eye camps were organised as part of the programme and spectacles were distributed free of cost to 1,110 students.

The students also participated in cultural competitions.

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