The State government will launch the 12th-grade (Class XII) equivalency course in January 2014.
The programme will become the fourth to be initiated by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) after equivalency programmes for Classes 4, 7, and 10.
The announcement in this regard was made by Mons Joseph, MLA, on behalf of Education Minister P.K. Abdu Rabb, at a State-level inauguration of the 8th batch of the Class X equivalency course held at Kuravilangad on Tuesday. Mr. Joseph inaugurated the function owing to the Minister’s inability to attend the event.
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Presenting the report, KSLMA Director Geetha Sajeev said that a total of 1,66,566 persons had completed the Class X equivalency course in seven batches since the launch of the programme.
Other centres
Besides Kerala, the programme was conducted in Lakshadweep, Mahe, Doha in Qatar, and Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. She said that literacy programmes were also being conducted in Tamil and Kannada.
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While the Class X equivalency programme was being conducted for those aged above 17 years, those who had failed the SSLC examination conducted on grade basis were not eligible for applying for the equivalency course. She said that KSLMA aimed at ensuring total literacy among those aged above 18 years by the year 2017.
Presiding over the function, district panchayat president Nirmala Jimmy said that 1,500 persons from Kottayam district had already registered for the Class X equivalency programme. According to her, the equivalency programmes had been immensely beneficial for many who had to face several hurdles in gaining employment owing to inadequate educational qualification.