New courses for adult educators

“A large number of volunteers, master trainers and resource persons are involved in different literacy and adult education programmes in the country. But unfortunately none of them get opportunities to upgrade their academic capabilities in the fields,” the committee, headed by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights chairperson Shanta Sinha, noted in its report.

At least three different academic programmes — a short-term diploma course in basic literacy, a higher level diploma course in continuing and lifelong education and a degree course in lifelong education — should “urgently” be initiated, it suggested.

The committee also proposed setting up of a National Institute of Lifelong Education to take up in depth studies and long-term planning, recommending that the degree and diploma courses proposed by it could be designed and run by the institute.

The levels and types of courses may further be expanded in due course which may be conducted both in regular and also in distance education mode, it said.Effort should be made to make proposed academic programmes available in all important languages, it added.