Continuing Edu Centres continue the good work

Programme now focuses on skill enhancement

Dakshina Kannada district has 203 Gram Panchayats with 710 Continuing Education Centres (CEC) and 71 Nodal CECs. The activities of these CECs are not restricted to literacy alone. The centres have formed 2,200 neo-literates’ Self Help Groups and are continuing their programmes. There are 24,720 members who have saved a sum of over Rs two crores.  

Speaking to Deccan Herald, Jana Shikshana Trust (which was a forerunner in literacy movement in the district) Director Sheena Shetty said Dakshina Kannada is the only district where functional literacy activities have been carried out continuously over the last 21 years by promoting neoliterates organisation at the village, taluk and district levels. The neoliterates organisation for Empowerment and Action has been carrying out activities without any help from the government. It is inspiring people to be independent, self-reliant and has been encouraging them to mobilise local resources for education and development programmes. The organisation has been enabling the neoliterates to contact directly the officials concerned whenever need arises, he said.

He said the neoliterates and literacy volunteers have been organising Aksharotsava at the taluk and district level since 1991 in the month of December. During Aksharotsava all the neoliterates come together on one  single platform and share their  experience and exhibit their talent.

Shetty said that the government in its notification dated February 8, 2005 had directed all the Gram Panchayats to earmark Rs 25,000 towards continuing the literacy activities in their gram panchayat limits. If all the gram panchayats in the district earmark Rs 25,000 for literacy activities, then it would provide motivation for the neoliterates. However, few gram panchayats have already started working towards it,” he said.

In the meantime, Directorate of Loka Shikshana, State Literacy Mission Authority, DK district Continual Education Association, Zilla Panchayat, Jana Shikshana Trust, Capart organised skill development training in 49 continuing education centres in the district benefiting 500 neo literates. Of these centres,  ten continuing education centres have already become production centres with the production of products required for the day-to-day activities and have been named as Madari Grama Vikasa Kendra.

These centres have been creating awareness on cleanliness, government schemes like Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and others and aim at ‘total literate, clean village,’ said Shetty.

Models

The Madari Grama Vikasa Kendra at Kaukradi and Ichlampady in Puttur taluks have become model for other CECs in various gram panchayats.

Shetty said under the leadership of Suvarnalatha, a preraki of literacy movement as many as seven Self Help Groups have been constituted with 71 members including neoliterates.

They have saved a sum of Rs 3,75,191 and under Swarnjayanti Gram Swarozgar Yojana (SGSY), the SGHs have received a sum of Rs 17,37,500 for undertaking income generating activities.

They have taken up dairy farming, agriculture, irrigation, skill development activities like jasmine cultivation, preparation of soaps, phenyl, soap liquid, detergent powder and so on. The Kaukradi Gram Panchayat has unanimously taken a decision to earmark Rs 25,000 from its budget for the literacy activities during the year.

The Ichlampady Centre has formed four Self Help Groups with 50 members under the leadership of preraki Sooji and have saved a sum of Rs 1,4,050. These Self Help Groups  members have been actively involved in creating awareness on cleanliness, government schemes among the villagers and so on, he added.

International Literacy Day

The Zilla Panchayat will organise International Literacy Day in a unique way by organising a interaction with the neoliterates on September 8 in Mangalore.