A Brief on Saakshar Bharat

The programme aims to further promote and strengthen Adult Education, specially of women, by extending educational options to those adults who having lost the opportunity of access to formal education and crossed the standard age for receiving such education, now feel a need for learning of any type, including, literacy, basic education (equivalency to formal education), vocational education (skill development), physical and emotional development, practical arts, applied science, sports, and recreation. Programme Framework of Saakshar Bharat The programme framework as provided in Saakshar Bharat document is as under: Objectives:The Mission has four broad objectives, namely, Impart functional literacy and numeracy to non-literate and non-numerate adults, Enable the neo-literate adults to continue their learning beyond basic literacy and acquire equivalency to formal educational system, Impart non and neo-literates relevant skill development programmes to improve their earning and living conditions, Promote a learning society by providing opportunities to neo-literate adults for continuing education. Targets and Special Focus Areas:The Government has set a National Goal of achieving by 2012, 80 percent literacy rate and reducing gender gap in literacy to 10 percent In addition, minimising regional, social and gender disparities with Special Focus on Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Minorities, disadvantaged groups, adolescents and low literacy States and tribal areas is the other national target. This target has to be achieved through formal schooling of 6-14 year old children and literacy programme of adults. In order to achieve 80% literacy, the principal target of the Mission is to impart functional literacy to 70 million adults in the age group of 15 years and beyond, to reduce gender disparity, 60 million of 70 million will be women. To reduce social disparities, within the overall target, 14 million will be Scheduled Castes (10 million women + 4 million men), 8 million Scheduled Tribes (6 million women + 2 million men) and 12 million minorities (10 million women + 2 million men). An auxiliary target of the Mission is to cover 1.5 million adults under basic education programme and equal number under vocational (skill development) programme. To minimise regional disparities, all districts that had adult female literacy rate of 50% or less as per 2001 Census are being covered under the programme. In addition, Left Wing Extremism Affected districts irrespective of their literacy rate are also eligible under the programme. As 84% of illiterate population lives in the rural areas, the prog ramme is being implemented only in the rural areas of the eligible districts. Whereas, in the urban areas, the demand for residual literacy will be met by innovatively using new actors like Jan Shikshan Sansthans, State Resource Centers, NGOs, social groups and any other institution through Public Private Partnership (PPP) or any other mode. Strategy: Saakshar Bharat will cover all adults in the age group of 15 and beyond though its primary focus will be on women. Basic Literacy, Post literacy and Continuing Education programmes, form a continuum, rather than sequential segments. For the volunteer based mass campaign approach, provision has been made for alternative approaches to adult education. Adult Education Centres (AECs), are to be set up to coordinate and manage all programmes, within their territorial jurisdiction. State Government and Panchyati Raj institutions along with communities would be valued stakeholders. Vigorous monitoring and evaluation systems are to be installed. Last, but not the least, budgetary support has been enhanced substantially. Teaching–Learning Programmes: To respond to the demand for literacy and address the diverse needs of the non and neo-literate adults, an assortment of teaching learning programmes, including Functional Literacy Programme, Basic Education Programme, Vocational Education and Continuing Education Programme are being offered as an integrated continuum. Functional Literacy Programme Programme Objectives:Literacy Programme (LP) aims at achieving the first objective of the scheme, that is, two Impart functional literacy to non-literate adults. Functional literacy, in context of the programme, implies achieving self-reliance in Reading, Writing, Arithmetic (Numeracy) and becoming aware of the causes of one’s deprivation and moving towards amelioration of their condition through organization and participation in the process of development; Acquiring skills to improve the economic status and general well being; Creating an aware and responsible citizenry (Imbibing values of national integration, communal harmony, conservation of the environment, women’s equality, and reproductive behavior etc. ). Literacy Programme Framework:The programme entails identification of non-literates through a survey, area wise mapping of their learning needs and imparting them instructor based teaching of about 300 hours spread over 3 months or beyond, depending on motivation of the learner and local conditions. Successful completion of the 300 hours of instructional learning would enable the learner to read and comprehend unknown text (news paper headings, road signs etc); apply skills of writing in day to day activities like writing applications and letters and filling up of application forms, etc., and compute simple problems involving multiplication and division. A certificate will be issued to every successful learner based on a professional evaluation of learning outcome. This will open up opportunities for further education through Open Learning Systems. Classes are convened at such time and venue as would be suitable to the learners. Volunteer-based Mass Campaign Approach: Under this appro ach, volunteer teaching takes place on a mass scale. A volunteer acts as a mobiliser, trainer and teacher and is responsible for imparting literacy, on an average, to 8-10 learners. The implementing agency at the operational level, will be responsible for identification of the potential learners as well as volunteers, their batching and matching, making arrangements for their training, distribution of literacy kits to learners and volunteers, keeping track of the progress made by each learner-volunteer group, ensuring that the momentum of learning is not lost, while simultaneously ensuring that learning takes place at the pace suitable to the learner. Incentives to the Volunteers and Learners Voluntary Literacy Educators are not paid any remuneration. Since highmotivational level of Voluntary Literacy Educators is critical, they need to be motivated through different means including public recognition, at different levels, of their contribution besides other incentives and rewards. Although budgetary provision has not been made for paying honorarium to Literacy Educators but, State Government, Gram Panchayat or NLMA through any other funding source, including do nations or public private partnership, may consider paying the same to them. Flexi Approach:Though Mass Campaign Approach continues to be the dominant strategy, the scheme discounts a homogenous approach uniformly throughout the country. To ensure that basic literacy is provided through a variety of context specific and group specific approaches. Implementing agencies may adopt any approach/model or a mix of approaches/models, including the illustrative formats outlined below: Centre-based Approach: a. Resident Instructor: In the eventuality of qualified Volunteers not being a resident within a particular village, instructors may be engaged from outside the village or community to live with the community and provide instructional teaching to the learners and assist them in completing basic literacy course. On an average, one Resident Instructor will be required to teach at least 30 learners in a period of one year. The Resident Instructor will be provided an honorarium as per NLMA norms. In this approach the centre will function for about 7-8 hours every day, and individual/groups of learners will attend classes for a couple of hours or more depending on the free time available to them. The instructors will be especially chosen for their sensitivity to issues of gender and caste equality, and their commitment to Constitutional values of democracy and secularism.b. Residential Camps: The residential camps are organized, specially for adolescents and young adults in the age group of 15-25 years, who might have already completed primary education (Standard IV/V) but later relapsed to illiteracy for want of follow up; and those who dropped out of the school system, and are now too old to rejoin school and those altogether excluded from systematic education. Identified young adults and adol escents are being motivated to participate in residential camps, which are organized at a suitable location in the Blocks. c. Part-residential Camp – Part-volunteer-based Approach: Provision has been made in the scheme to cover group-specific learners, such as non-literate members of self-help groups, women’s groups, or members of gram panchayats, or persons who may have joined together in a common cause. There are many such groups in the country today and many of them also function as a forum for credit and savings. It would provide for basic literacy in camps conducted for a suitable period, keeping in view the convenience of the beneficiaries, interspersed with guided learning in volunteer mode. These camps would enable learners to acquire literacy skills of pre-determined levels, simultaneously, providing opportunity for discussion and debate on issues relevant to their living and working conditions. Basic Education Programme Framework: This programme is designed to achieve the second objective of the scheme, namely, â€Å"Enable the neo-literates to continue their learning beyond basic literacy and acquire equivalency to formal educational system†. Arrangements have been made to enable young adults to continue their learning till they are able to achieve equivalence levels with Grade III, IV, V, VI, VII and VIII and beyond in the formal school system or through the Open Learning System. The Open Basic Education (OBE) programme initiated by the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) and other State Open Schools have been taken as the starting point. INITIATIVES AND ACHIEVEMENTS (upto March, 2012) Although Saakshar Bharat Programme was launched on 8th September, 2009 but, the programme became operative from 1st October, 2009. The programme initially faced several challenges. It got revived after long hiatus and was as good as a new one. There was no formal implementation structure in the States. It heavily depended on spirit of Voluntarism. The programme envisaged for the first time involvement of Panchayati Raj Institutions at Gram Panchayat, Block and District levels as the implementing agencies. Lot of preparations like environment building, formation of Management Committees at different levels, opening of Bank Accounts of each  implementing agency, authorisation of funds under the ICT based Fund Flow Mechanism, Training/Orientation of Resource Persons and functionaries and Representatives of Panchayati Raj Institutions, Preparation and Distribution of Teaching Learning Materials were required to be done to streamline the functioning of the programme. The following initiatives were taken during the last two and a half years of the functioning of the Saakshar Bharat Programme: Environment Building, M otivation and Mobilisation For environment building and mobilisation, an effective communication strategy was required for creating sustainable demand for literacy, making visible the importance and relevance of literacy and making literacy campaign participatory and voluntary. A strategic communication group was formed under the Chairpersonship of Dr. D. Purandeswari, Minister of State, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. The group approved a comprehensive communication strategy for mobilisation and environment building which entailed a multi media approach.