First phase of Athulyam' literacy scheme over

Updated on: Monday, April 04, 2011

The LEAP (Lifelong Education Awareness Programme) District Mission has successfully completed the first phase of its ‘Athulyam' literacy programme for illiterates and school dropouts in 10 grama panchayats and two wards of the city Corporation.

Fourth class equivalency certificates will be issued to the neo-literates after a final examination is conducted on April 28.

LEAP District Mission authorities said 4,884 learners had completed their training and were getting ready for the final examination. Of the total learners, 2,937 were women. There were 2,509 learners above the age of 50.

Backward communities too displayed enthusiasm in joining the ‘Athulyam' project. Official figures state that more than 600 illiterate people from the Schedule Castes were trained under the scheme.

The Kodanchery grama panchayat has the highest number of people who benefited from the literacy drive. Official figures show that 1,267 people belonging to various age groups completed the training in the panchayat. The other trainees were from Perambra, Chorod, Chemanchery, Kunnamangalam, Feroke, Vanimel, Thalakkulathur, Kakkodi and Kunnummal grama panchayats. Thoppayil and Mukhadar wards of the city Corporation too come under the project.

Prior to the launch of the scheme, the LEAP Mission had conducted a comprehensive field survey in all the shortlisted panchayats to enumerate the total number of illiterates and school dropouts. The survey results showed that 8,816 people were expected to be covered under the scheme. The number, however, witnessed a fall with some learners discontinuing their studies. The majority of those who discontinued their studies were the physically challenged.

M.D. Valsala, coordinator of the LEAP District Mission, said the formal announcement of the completion of ‘Athulyam' would be made by the end of May. After that, the mission would move to the second phase to train these learners for the seventh class equivalency programme.

It took three months to complete the first phase of the Athulyam programme, which began in January. Learners' clusters were formed in all the selected panchayats to implement the scheme. Each cluster comprised 15 learners and an instructor. The classes were offered according to the convenience of the learners. Fifty-six hours of classes, focussed on regional and national history, were extended to each learner every week. Literacy mission officials said the scheme could be expanded to other grama panchayats if the panchayat authorities set apart a special fund for the initiative.

First phase of Athulyam' literacy scheme over

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