After being disrupted for two successive years since the COVID-19 outbreak, the District Literacy Mission has kick-started ‘Changathy’, its Malayalam-centric basic literacy programme for the migrant community.
The programme will be implemented in Kadungalloor panchayat this year, and nearly 300 participants have already evinced interest in it. Though the project was introduced in 2018, it had to be discontinued in 2020 owing to the pandemic.
In the inaugural batch in Perumbavoor Municipality, 448 migrants, including 254 from Assam, 86 from Bihar, 62 from Bengal, and 46 from Odisha cleared the exam. The second batch in Nedumbassery panchayat comprised 105 persons from Bengal.
“The project will be implemented in one local body in the district every year based on the size of the migrant community as determined by the District Literacy Samiti chaired by the district panchayat president. We have completed the survey to identify potential participants in Kadungalloor panchayat. Six instructors proficient in both Hindi and Malayalam have been trained, and we are now set to begin classes,” said Deepa James, district coordinator, Kerala State Literacy Mission.
Muppathadam West, Ward 17 of Kadungalloor panchayat, has witnessed maximum enrolment this year. Two sessions have already been held for migrants, mostly women from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, at a local library in the ward.
“Initially, they [migrants] were reluctant to participate in the programme, and it required quite a bit of convincing on our part about its benefits for turning them around. According to a survey, there are 255 potential participants in the ward. While some were enthusiastic, there were others who had been living here for decades but still have no clue about Malayalam,” said K.S. Tharanath, ward member.
A specially designed textbook, Hamari Malayalam, based on a translation from Hindi to Malayalam is being used for Changathy. The idea is to make the lives of migrants rather easy by enabling them to converse in basic Malayalam.
“We mostly target illiterate members of the community. The class is a mix of literacy, personal hygiene and cleanliness, and basic financial literacy, since migrants constitute the biggest users of cash deposit machines. Classes are held on Sundays or weekdays either at their camps or a conveniently accessible centre. However, the continuous education of migrants remains a challenge considering their floating nature,” said Ms. James.
Binitha Sain, a newly trained instructor, found the first two classes of the year very promising. Easier interaction in hospitals and the ability to read boards of buses are some of the basic advantages that seem to lure migrant participants into the programme.
“They are interested in daily interactions using Malayalam rather than being able to read and write. So, the focus of our instruction is also tuned to cater for that. Those who have their wards doing schooling here seem more interested in the programme,” she added.
