The Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) will launch a State-level programme to make literates out of one lakh illiterates in an year.
Announcing this at a workshop for local body heads and standing committee chairpersons in the district here on Monday, KSLMA Director P.S. Sreekekha said the last census showed that the State had over 18 lakh illiterates. Comprehensive literacy survey would be conducted in all the panchayats to ensure accuracy of the figure, she said, adding a preliminary survey had already been started in a selected panchayat.
Seeking cooperation of people’s representatives to the programme, Dr. Sreelekha said there were people who raised questions about the relevance of the ‘Preraks’ (resource persons) in the State. The raising of the honorarium of the Preraks had been both praised and criticised, she said.
Asserting that the Preraks could do a lot of things involved in the Haritha Keralam Mission and public education protection campaign, she said the programme, being launched in the State, included deployment of over 2,000 Preraks with each tasked to serve 25 learners. One lakh learners would be turned into literates in two phases in a year, she said.
Dr. Sreelekha also said literacy programmes would also be conducted for migrant workers and transgender people. The workshop was inaugurated by district panchayat president K.V. Sumesh. Panchayat vice president P.P. Divya presided.
