New India Literacy Programme: the changing need of education in India

Recently, the Government approved a new scheme “New India Literacy Programme” for the period FYs 2022-2027 to cover all the aspects of Adult Education to align with National Education Policy 2020.

• The government has also decided to use the term “Education For All” in place of “Adult Education.” 
• This is because the terminology “Adult Education” is not appropriately incorporating all non-literates of 15 years and above age group.

• As per Census 2011, the absolute number of non-literates in the country, who are 15 years and above, is 25.76 crore.
• It is estimated that currently, around 18.12 crore adults are still non-literate.

What is the New India Literacy Programme (NILP)?

• The New India Literacy Programme is implemented by theMinistry of Education in convergence with various Ministries and Departments to implement the scheme.
• It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• The scheme will be implemented through volunteerism through online mode. 

• The training, orientation, workshops of volunteers, maybe organised through face-to-face mode.

• The Objective of this Programme to impart not only foundational literacy and numeracy but also to cover other components which are necessary for a citizen of the 21st century.Such as-

• Critical life skills (financial literacy, digital literacy, commercial skills, health care and awareness, child care and education, and family welfare)
• Vocational skills (with a view towards obtaining local employment); 
• Basic education (including preparatory, middle, and secondary stage equivalency) and 
• Continuing education (including engaging holistic adult education courses in arts, sciences, etc and recreation, as well as other topics of interest or use to local learners).

• The scheme will cover non-literates of the age of 15 years and above in all states/UTs.
• The target for Foundational Literacy and Numeracy for FYs 2022-27 is5 crore learners at one crore per year by using “Online Teaching, Learning and Assessment System (OTLAS).”

Status of Adult illiteracy in India

• As per Census 2011, the absolute number ofnon-literates of the country in 15 years and above age group is 25.76 crore.  

• About 7.64 crore persons are certified as literates under the Saakshar Bharat programme.
• Hence, it is estimated that currently, around 18.12 crore adults are still non-literate in India.

Government initiatives promoting online education in India:

Digital India initiative in mind, the government is aiming to give online education a big push, in an attempt to widen the reach of higher education. Following are the major initiatives taken by the government to promote online education in India:

 How Government is promoting online education?

• SWAYAM: The ‘Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM) is an integrated platform for offering online courses and covering school (9th to 12th) to Post Graduate Level. 
• SWAYAM Prabha: SWAYAM Prabha is an initiative to provide 32 High Quality Educational Channels through DTH (Direct to Home) across the length and breadth of the country on 24X7 basis.
• National Digital Library (NDL): The National Digital Library of India (NDL) is a project to develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources with a single-window search facility.
• Free and Open Source Software for Education (FOSSEE):FOSSEE is a project promoting the use of open source software in educational institutions.
• E-Yantra: e-Yantra is a project for enabling effective education across engineering colleges in India on embedded systems and Robotics.
• Other major initiatives include:
  • UG/PG MOOCs for non-technology courses
  • e-PG Pathshala or e-content containing modules on social science, arts, fine arts, natural and mathematical science
  • CEC-UGC YouTube channel
  • Vidwan – a database of experts who provide information to peers and prospective collaborators,
  • NEAT – an initiative by AICTE based on the PPP model to enhance the employability skill among students, in collaboration with Education Technology Companies and National Digital Library (NDL), a repository of learning resources with single window facility.
  • Many noteworthy initiatives have been taken up like Spoken Tutorial, Google Classroom and so on.