The Government of India approved the New India Literacy Programme scheme for the fiscal years 2022-2027 that will cover all areas of adult education and match with the national education policy 2020.
Overview:
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced the ‘New India Literacy Programme’ for the next five years, to cover all aspects of adult education. The ministry has decided to use the term ‘Education for All’ instead of ‘Adult Education,’ because the previous term didn’t represent all non-literates who are in the age group of 15 years and above.
This programme is expected to cost Rs 1037.90 crore between 2022 and 2027, with the central government providing Rs 700 crore and the states providing Rs 337.90 crore, respectively.
Implementation of the scheme
Through volunteerism, in an online mode, this newly launched scheme will be implemented. Face-to-face training, workshops and orientation for volunteers will be arranged. All available information and resources will be made available digitally so that registered volunteers can easily access them via digital channels such as radio, television, portals and mobile phone-based free open-source apps.
The Ministry of Education will be the implementing ministry of this scheme.
The objective of the scheme
This scheme’s objectives are to teach not only foundational numeracy and literacy, but also critical life skills such as digital literacy, financial literacy, awareness and health care, commercial skills, education and child care, and family welfare. Vocational skills development will also be focused upon so that obtaining local employment becomes easier and basic education including preparatory, middle, and secondary education.
Education courses in sciences, arts, culture, technology, recreation, and sports as well as various other areas of interest to local learners, such as more advanced material on key life skills, are also to be included under this programme.
The target of this scheme
The target for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy for FY 2022-27 is five crore learners using the Online Teaching, Learning, and Assessment System (OTLAS), which was developed in collaboration with NCERT, the National Informatics Centre, and NIOS and allows a learner to register with essential information such as date of birth, name, Aadhaar number, gender and mobile number.
