Among the districts in literate Kerala, Palakkad stands first in the number of adult illiterates. As per the latest findings of the State Literacy Mission and the district panchayat, Palakkad has 3,30,000 illiterates. Most hail from tribal regions like Attappady and the eastern regions sharing border with Tamil Nadu.
However, literacy activities in the district have achieved tremendous progress in recent years with 1,02,300 people getting initiated into the world of letters since 2011 when the number of illiterates was 5,70,000.
Apart from a massive literacy drive among tribal residents of Parambikulam region, projects Akshara Jyothi and Akshara Velicham have helped reduce the number of illiterates.
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The highest number of illiterates hail from the grama panchayats of Muthalamada, Elappully, Pudussery, and Alanallur.
In the tribal belt of Attappady, Agaly grama panchayat has 9,172 illiterates. In Sholayur, the number is 6,165. In Pudur grama panchayat, 5,960 tribal residents are illiterates.
Literacy mission district coordinator Shaju John said that a round of literacy initiative, beginning next month, would focus on tribal residents and the Tamil language minority.
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Next phase
During the next phase, 1 lakh illiterates would be taught. Kudumbasree Mission, Library Council, and Education Department will join hands with various local bodies to implement the project.
Four days a week
District panchayat president K. Santhakumari said efforts were on to coordinate the literacy drive better. Classes would be conducted four days a week. In October next year, there would be qualifying examination and distribution of certificates. She said the move was getting tremendous response from adult illiterates. Neo-literates were volunteering on a large scale to prompt illiterates to attend the classes, she said.