Education Ministry defines ‘literacy’, ‘full literacy’

Education Ministry defines ‘literacy’, ‘full literacy’

Subject: Schemes

Sec: Education

Context:

In a letter to all States, the Ministry of Education (MoE) has defined ‘literacy,’ and what it means to achieve ‘full literacy,’ in the light of the renewed push for adult literacy under the New India Literacy Programme (NILP), a five-year programme (2022-27), which aims to onboard one crore learners per year above 15 years across all States and union territories.

More on News:

• Literacy may be understood as the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, i.e. to identify, understand, interpret and create along with critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy etc, and full literacy (to be considered equivalent to 100% literacy) will be achieving 95% literacy in a State/UT that may be considered as equivalent to fully literate.
• A non-literate person may be considered as literate under the NILP, as per the aforementioned definition when she/he has been declared literate after taking the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT). 
• According to the Census 2011, India faces a significant literacy challenge, with 25.76 crore non-literate individuals in the 15 years and above age group, comprising 9.08 crore males and 16.68 crore females.
• All States and union territories to strive for Bharat reaching full literacy by 2030 with the ULLAS (NILP) initiative.

New India Literacy Programme:

Aim:

• To cover a target of 5.00 crore non-literates in the age group of 15 years and above.

The scheme has five components:

• Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
• Critical Life Skills
• Vocational Skills Development
• Basic Education
• Continuing Education

Identification of Beneficiaries:

• Door-to-door surveys on a mobile app are conducted by surveyors in the States/UTs to identify beneficiaries.
• Non-literates can also register directly through a mobile app.

Volunteerism for Teaching and Learning:

• Volunteerism for teaching and learning, and volunteers can register through the mobile app.

Implementation through Technology:

• Implemented predominantly through the online mode and is based on technology.
• The teaching and learning material and resources are available on the DIKSHA platform of NCERT and can be accessed through mobile apps.

Dissemination of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy:

• Modes like TV, Radio, Samajik Chetna Kendra, etc. are also used for dissemination of Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.

Eligibility:

• All non-literates above 15 years of age are eligible to avail of the benefits of the scheme.