By Jeevan Mathew Kurian, IANS
Malappuram (Kerala) : Seventeen years ago, Kerala was declared a fully literate state. And now the state’s Nilambur village panchayat has achieved total primary education – possibly a first in India.
Everyone in the village is now qualified as having passed the Class 4 examination’s equivalent. Nilambur in Malappuram district is located around 450 km north of state capital Thiruvananthapuram.
The drive for universal primary education, named Jyotirgamaya, began in Nilambur two years ago. The project was initiated by panchayat (village council) president Aryadan Shoukat with the support of the State Literacy Mission (SLM).
“I found that many people coming to the panchayat office did not know how to write an application or to fill a form. Some of them did not even know the year they were born in. It was then that I thought about launching an education drive,” said Shoukat, who is also a well-known script-writer.
The drive came to fruition Jan 8, 2008, when Kerala Governor R.L. Bhatia declared that the panchayat – with its population of 43,000 people – had achieved total primary education.
“On Jan 26, 2006, a survey involving 5,000 volunteers was conducted. The survey found that 1,700 people in the panchayat did not have Class 4 education. And 60 percent of them were illiterate. They were in the 15-55 age group,” Shoukath told IANS.
The SLM provided the syllabus for the education campaign.
“We made certain changes to the study material provided by SLM, incorporating local content. We opened 142 study centres for learners in the panchayat,” he added.
“Nilambur village is the first village panchayat in India to achieve total primary education. Payyannur municipal town in Kerala had earned this distinction earlier and the declaration was made in May 1, 2007,” said Jayadevan, the SLM director.
The Nilambur project cost Rs.1.3 million, of which Rs.1 million came through public contribution.
After the campaign, the learners underwent examinations equivalent to Class 4 conducted by the SLM.
The official declaration of Nilambur’s accomplishment was made after two rounds of external evaluation.
“Ninety-eight percent of the learners came out successful in the tests. Two rounds of external evaluation were conducted. The first was by Calicut University’s adult education department and the second by a committee constituted by the Literacy Mission,” Shoukat said.
After the success of Jyotirgamaya, the SLM Mission is planning to launch a state-level primary education campaign.
“For the campaign we are revising the syllabus used in Nilambur. This is because the learners coming under the project, though lacking in formal education, are rich in awareness. We also intend to provide some employment training,” said Jayadevan.