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Literacy campaign policy to change

KATHMANDU, AUG 06 -
With the National Literacy Campaign failing to bear the expected fruit, Non Formal Education Centre (NFEC) is all set to change the modality of the special classes from this fiscal year.

The literacy classes that are conducted by the District Education Offices under the direct supervision of NFEC will see changes from the fiscal year that started in July if the latter’s plan is endorsed by the National Planning Commission. As per the plan, the responsibility of conducting the classes will be handed over to schools in locality if they so wish. While, local NGOs with good history and concrete plans to make people enrolled in the classes literate will be given funds in the size determined by the number of learners. “Organisations will be selected on the basis of their proposal,” said NFEC Deputy Controller Gopal Bhattarai.

The campaign aims to make 1.08 million people, in the age group 15-60 years, literate by enrolling them in 150 hours of informal classes this year. The government has set aside Rs 700 million— Rs 60 million more than earlier allocation—for the purpose.

The campaign, rolled out in 2009 to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of Education by 2015, has been criticised for its failure to

prove its worth. Around Rs 1.2 billion was earmarked for the drive in 2009, aimed at making 2.3 million people literate but it was reduced to 1.2 million in 2010 as only 1.8 million benefited from the programme in the year before.

The literacy campaign suffered miserably in the absence of active local bodies in the districts. “No campaign becomes successful unless it gets good support from the local bodies,” Bhattarai added. He said more than 5.2 million people in the country are illiterate at present. The MDG of universal education will not be achieved if programme implementation does not improve pace, the official said.

Posted on: 2011-08-07 09:09

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