1. The Prime Minister launched Saakshar Bharat, a centrally sponsored scheme
of Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL), Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India (GOI), on the
International Literacy Day, 8th September, 2009. It aims to further promote and
strengthen Adult Education, specially of women, by extending educational options
to those adults who having lost the opportunity of access to formal education and
crossed the standard age for receiving such education, now feel a need for learning
of any type, including, literacy, basic education (equivalency to formal education),
vocational education (skill development), physical and emotional development,
practical arts, applied science, sports, and recreation.
2. To impart functional literacy to non-literates in the age group of 15-35 years in a
time bound manner, the National Literacy Mission (NLM) was launched in 1988
and it continued through Ninth and Tenth Five Year Plans. By the end of the
Tenth Five Year Plan (March 2007), NLM had covered 597 districts under Total
Literacy Campaign (TLC), 485 districts under Post Literacy Programme (PLP)
and 328 districts under Continuing Education Programme (CEP). As a cumulative
outcome of these efforts, 127.45 million persons became literate, of which, 60%
learners were females, while 23% learners belonged to Scheduled Castes (SCs)
and 12% to Scheduled Tribes (STs).
3. Despite significant accomplishments of the Mission, illiteracy continues to be an
area of national concern. Though precise number of non- literates at this stage is
not available and will be known only after 2011 census, 2001 census had revealed
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that there were still 259.52 million illiterate adults (in the age group of 15 +) in the
country. While further accretion into the pool of adult illiterate persons is expected
to recede significantly on account of enhanced investments in elementary
education and a reverse demographic trend, addition to this pool cannot be ruled
out altogether on account of relatively high school drop out ratio. Wide gender,
social and regional disparities in literacy also continue to persist. Adult education
is therefore indispensable as it supplements the efforts to enhance and sustain
literacy levels through formal education.
4. It was, therefore, considered necessary to continue the NLM during the XI Plan
period. While acknowledging, in principle, the need for continuing and
strengthening further the efforts to promote Adult Education, the Planning
Commission agreed to the continuance of NLM during the XIth Plan provided it
was appraised de novo and modified suitably to meet the contemporary
challenges. The programme was accordingly subjected to extensive in-house and
external review and evaluation.
5. This in-depth appraisal had revealed certain inadequacies in the design,
architecture and mode of implementation of the programme, most conspicuous
being, non-viability of a single pan Indian solution, limitations of voluntary
approach, limited involvement of the State Governments in the programme, lack
of convergence, weak management and supervisory structures, lack of community
participation, poor monitoring and inadequate funding.
6. Meanwhile, the Government announced that literacy would be its key programme
instrument for emancipation and empowerment of women. Efforts of the
Government to give impetus to school education, health, nutrition, skill
development and women empowerment in general are impeded by the
continuance of female illiteracy. Government expects increase in female literacy
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to become a force multiplier for all other social development programmes.
However, this is only the instrumental value of female literacy. Its intrinsic value
is in emancipating the Indian woman through the creation of critical consciousness
to take charge of her environment where she faces multiple deprivations and
disabilities on the basis of class, caste and gender.
7. In the context of Government‟s overall policy aimed at empowerment of women
and in recognition of the fact that literacy, especially female literacy, is a prerequisite
to socio-economic development, it was considered imperative that the
National Literacy Mission (NLM), as a programme instrument, be recast with an
enhanced focus on female literacy. It is also felt that such a repositioning of the
mission would have a very positive impact on re-energising the literacy movement
that, after an initial decade of spirited social mobilization, had waned over two
decades of its operation.
8. To recast the mission, a protracted process of countrywide consultation with
stakeholders was gone through. A series of consultative meetings were held
across the country with representatives of the government of States, NGOs,
literacy practitioners, managers, administrators, State Resource Centres,
universities, social activists and other stakeholders. The broad strategy was also
discussed with Education Secretaries of all States on 30.6.09. The Council of
National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) considered and approved the
strategy on 21-08-09 and thereafter it was placed before Central Advisory Board
on Education (CABE) on 31-08-09.
9. The general opinion of the stakeholders, expressed during the consultations, was
that the new mission ought to take note of considerable demand for female literacy
generated on account of large scale changes at the grassroot level and the new
opportunities that have been created over the past several years, most notably, the
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increasing vibrancy of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs), post 73rd Constitution
Amendment, the shift to the model of Self – Help- Groups (SHGs) that operate
through collectivities for self-employment programmes, the massive new
organisational capital being forged again through work collectives such as
National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) , Joint Forest Management
Groups etc.
10. It is in this background that Saakshar Bharat has been devised as the new variant
of National Literacy Mission. Saakshar Bharat will cover all adults in the age
group of 15 and beyond though its primary focus will be on women. The scheme
has not only been relieved of the shortcomings noted in its preceding editions, but
also, several new features added to it. Basic Literacy, Post literacy and Continuing
Education programmes , will now form a continuum, rather than sequential
segments. Besides, the volunteer based mass campaign approach, provision has
been made for alternative approaches to adult education. Jan Shiksha Kendras
(Adult Education Centres) (AECs), will be set up to coordinate and manage all
programmes, within their territorial jurisdiction. State Government, as against the
districts in the earlier versions, and Panchyati Raj institutions, along with
communities, will be valued stakeholders. Vigorous monitoring and evaluation
systems will be installed. Last, but not the least, budgetary support has been
enhanced substantially.
11. Saakshar Bharat will come into operation from 1-10-2009. Though duration of the
scheme, National Literacy Mission, was valid only till the end of the Tenth Five
Year Plan, residual activities under the Mission were allowed to continue till
30-09-2009, as a special dispensation, so that the ongoing activities could be
completed during the extended period. With the launch of Saakshar Bharat, the
National Literacy Mission and its entire programmes and activities stand
concluded on 30.09.2009.
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