Why in the News?
Himachal Pradesh was recently declared a ‘fully literate’ state, becoming the 5th State/UT after Goa, Ladakh, Mizoram, and Tripura.
Various Definitions of Literacy / Full Literacy:
- Ministry of Education (MoE) Definition: Literacy is the ability to read, write, and compute with comprehension, along with digital literacy and financial literacy as critical life skills.
- Full Literacy (MoE): A State/Union Territory (UT) is considered fully literate at 95% literacy rate.
- Census of India (2011): Any person aged 7 years or above who can read and write with understanding in any language is considered literate. Ability to read without writing is NOT counted as literacy.
- ULLAS Programme: Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society launched in 2022. Literacy here means acquiring foundational skills of reading, writing, and arithmetic plus functional knowledge like time, currency, and digital use.
- NILP: New India Literacy Programme (centrally sponsored, aligned with NEP 2020). Defines full literacy as achieving ≥95% literacy rate certified via assessments.
How is Literacy attained under ULLAS / NILP?
- Target Group: Adults (15+) who missed formal schooling are identified through door-to-door surveys or other state data.
- Basic Training: Learners are taught reading, writing, and arithmetic (up to Class 3 level), along with practical skills like using calendars, reading time, handling currency/cheques, and making safe digital transactions.
- Delivery Mechanism: Training delivered through the ULLAS mobile app or offline by student volunteers and community workers.
- Assessment: Learners appear for FLNAT (Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test), a 150-mark test available in regional languages.
- Certification: On passing FLNAT, learners are certified by the NIOS (National Institute of Open Schooling) as literate.
- Outcome: States/UTs are declared ‘fully literate’ when identified non-literates clear FLNAT and the literacy rate crosses the 95% threshold.
| [UPSC 2017] What is the aim of the programme ‘Unnat Bharat Abhiyan’ ?
Options: (a) Achieving 100% literacy by promoting collaboration between voluntary organizations and government’s education system and local communities. (b) Connecting institutions of higher education with local communities to address development challenges through appropriate technologies. * (c) Strengthening India’s scientific research institutions to make India a scientific and technological Power. (d) Developing human capital by allocating special funds for health-care and education of rural and urban poor, and organizing skill development programmes and vocational training for them. |
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