The Madhya Pradesh government has introduced a new initiative aimed at enhancing literacy among its citizens. Under the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram scheme, students in Classes 9 to 12 will serve as ‘literacy ambassadors.’ They will be tasked with teaching four non-literate individuals, assisting them in preparing for the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT). This initiative was announced by the Ministry of Education, Government of India, in a recent social media post on X.
India’s New Literacy Initiative Targets Non-Literate Adults
The New India Literacy Programme (NILP), also known as the ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram, has been launched by the central government to address the literacy gap in India. This initiative is in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and aims to empower adults aged 15 and above who have missed out on formal schooling.
The program focuses on providing functional literacy, which includes essential skills such as reading, writing, and numeracy. Additionally, it aims to equip learners with critical life skills that promote lifelong learning, according to official documents.
Census 2011 data highlights the urgency of this initiative, revealing that India has approximately 25.76 crore non-literate individuals in the 15 years and older age group. This figure includes 9.08 crore males and 16.68 crore females, underscoring the gender disparity in literacy rates, as reported by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
