Recast literacy programme to focus on women's education

Updated on: Saturday, August 22, 2009

The mission ' Literate India ' would be run in active participation with the state governments unlike in the past when the mission was run directly from the Centre through different implementation agencies at the district level.

Chairing a meeting of the NLMA (National Literacy Mission Authority ) council, Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal said the government has decided to 'tweak' the NLMA to focus on women and the mission will be launched in these districts where female literacy levels are below 50 per cent.

'We are structurally changing the mission and adopting entire new strategies. We have decided to implement the new scheme with the help of Panchayati Raj institutions. We aim to bring the country's literacy level to 80 per cent by 2017,' he told reporters after the 11th meeting of the NLMA council.

Sibal said Adult Education Centres would be set up at the Gram Panchayat which will be the unit for implementation of the programme. The Panchayat will work in tandem with the community to implement the programme.

The minister said there is a 21 per cent gap which is 'wide' between the literacy levels of men and women and seven states alone account for 70 per cent of illiterate people in the country.

Recast literacy programme to focus on women's education

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