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Journalism of Courage
You are now declared a literate. These magic words appear on a certificate that is increasingly sought after across rural areas of India. A new population of adults is keenly queuing up to appear for the government Assessment Test that earns them the literacy certificate,an incentive recently introduced.
Sample this. As part of the National Literacy Mission,over 121.77 lakh adult learners have already appeared for the assessment test as on March 2012. In August 2010,when the first testing round conducted,a mere 5.8 lakh neo-literates appeared. The jump to 121.77 lakh was by the fourth round of assessment tests.
This test assesses candidates on proficiency level attained in functional literacy skills reading,writing,numeracy and the empowerment experienced through literacy. The test is not incursive but based on summative assessments,with a total of 150 marks,50 for each of the three skills. The certificate comes with grades: A (good,with 60 per cent and above),B (satisfactory,between 40 and 60) and C (needs improvement,below 40).
A successful learner in the assessment is awarded a joint grade sheet-cum-certificate of NLMA and National Institute of Open Schooling partners for the programme while one getting a C in any of the three component is awarded only the grade sheet and a chance to reappear in the test.
Besides people who may be complete illiterates,there are a huge number of people who are semi-finished who may have studied up to a certain level and then dropped out of formal schooling. So we identify these gap areas and proceed. The NIOS certificate that is now being issued is already eliciting a huge response. More and more people now want to take our assessment test just so they can get this certificate. This certificate is considered equivalent to Class X level and factors in prior learning if any in case of a candidate who may have, a senior official in the HRD Ministry said.
The test,besides assessing the learner,also aims to gauge the effectiveness of the programme and provide inputs for learner-specific needs,the official adds.
Flagged off in 2009,the Sakshar Bharat – National Literacy Mission – aims at imparting functional literacy to 70 million adults in the 15-35 age group. So far,the NLM has covered over 372 districts,enrolled 174 lakh learners and conducted 15.9 lakh literacy classes. While 213 lakh learners have been assessed so far,by last December 64 lakh learners had also been certified. The NLM is targeting making 20 million adults literate in 2012-13.
Much more,however,remains to be done. Government data suggest that there are over 259.52 million illiterate adults in the country and most of them come from marginalised segments of society.
As per recent NLM data,while most states are either on track or picking up on ensuring literacy for adults,in Haryana,Jammu & Kashmir,Madhya Pradesh,Maharashtra and Tripura,the programme has been a near-nonstarter.
