ACTION PROPOSED UNDER NATIONAL POLICY ON EDUCATION & PROGRAMME OF ACTION (1992).
The various actions proposed under the Programme of Action are classified into three actions related to (i) structural aspects of adult and elementary education, (ii) pedagogical aspects and (iii) community participation and democratic decentralisation.
A. I: Structural Aspects: Adult Education. i. Persuading the State Governments / Union territories to formulate detailed action plans for the state as a whole for each district for achieving total literacy before 1997-98.
ii. Mobilization and harnessing of components of education system at the university, college .school level for promoting literacy as a part of social obligation.
iii. Making available the personnel at various levels by the State/Central Government, UT Administration to work for the campaigns as and when required and to ensure a reasonable stability in their tenure.
iv. Creating structures and facilitating mechanism by which the concept of women's equality and gender justice is integrated at all levels with the work of Saksharata Samities.
v. Strengthening and stabilization of the State Resource Centres which have been providing academic and technical resource support to the literacy and adult
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education programmes to shoulder their responsibilities in an effective manner and without any uncertainty.
vi. Evolving different strategies for post-literacy and continuing education for different parts of the country keeping in view the local needs and priorities, levels of achievement in the basic literacy phase and the situation in which most of the learners are placed.
vii. Initiating the planning for post-literacy programme preferably in the middle of the basic learning phase of the campaigns so that the time gap/interregnum, between close of the basic literacy phase and commencement of the post-literacy phase in minimised.
viii. Implementation of post-literacy programme in a planned, structured and coordinated manner, preferably in a campaign mode as in the TLC.
ix. Conversion of library movements like the Kerala Granth Sangam into a mass movement.
X. Evolving programmes of mobile libraries and implementing them in consultation with different State Government.
xi. Encouraging learning centres to set tip pen friend clubs,reader clubs etc. for promoting reading habits.
xii. Continuation of government support to post-literacy programmes for a period of at least two years before the community takes them over for implementation on a long term basis.
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xiii. Involving the employers, trade unions and the government departments/undertakings to provide facilities of reading rooms, li- braries etc. for the neo-literate 1earners and their employees etc.
xiv. Encouraging the National Book Trust, State Resource Centres, Voluntary agencies and the private publishers to bring out books of common interest to learners at subsidised rate.
xv. Persuading the educational institutions to allow the neo- literates to make use of facilities of their libraries.
xvi. Involving the University Grants Commission, Organically and effectively in literacy and post literacy movement by galvanising the entire higher educational system to discharge the social obligation.
xvii. Impressing the industry, trade, commerce and banks about the need to provide avenues for continuous learning to their employees, particularly the neo-literates.
xviii. Setting up post-literacy centres in SC/ST areas where literacy campaigns have been carried out in order to provide facilities for continued literacy for adult neo-literates., specially women.
xix. Formation of cooperatives of women neo,literates to enable them to become self-employed/better employed.
xx. Implementing specially designed programmes in adult education in areas of concentration of educationally backward minorities.
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xxi. Opening of additional Shramik Vidyapeeths in. urban, semi-urban and rural areas and promotion of more agencies / institutions in the non-formal sector. for the purpose of imparting vocational skill formation to the neoliterates and conducting such programmes.
xxii. Creation of enabling structures for working neo- literate women in the form of creches, day-care centres by the village level agencies and other departments organisations.
xxiii. Retention and strengthening of the structures of the National Literacy Mission at the national, state and district level.
II. UNIVERSAL ELEMENTARY EDUCATION: i. A National Mission on Elementary Education will be launched during 1993-94 for the achievement of the goal of universalisation of elementary education by 2000 AD. ii. Preparation of district specific, population specific plans for universalisation of elementary education within the broad strategy frame of micro planning through people's participation and introduction of Minimum Levels of Learning in schools to improve learner achievement. iii. In order to reduce disparities, a disaggregated approach will be adopted through district planning by classifying districts into four categories.
1. High literacy districts in which access and enrolement are almost universal and community awareness for education is already high;
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2. Total literacy campaign districts in which community mobilisation for educational needs has been successfully generated by the National Literacy Mission.
3. Low literacy districts in which the provision of educational facilities is unsatisfactory and delivery system function without any community involvement;
4. Externally-assisted project districts with a different management structure and sufficient financial support.
iv. opening new primary schools according to norms in unserved habitations.
V. Reviewing the work of DIETS and revamping them in such a manner as to serve the purpose for which they have been set up, specially enhancing their capability to organise pre-serviced and in service courses to elementary school teachers and for personnel working in non-formal education.
vi. Enlarging the scope of 'operation Blackboard' to three reasonable large rooms and three teachers and its extension to upper primary schools.
vii. In opening primary and upper primary schools, priority would be given to the needs of SC habitations and hamlets.
viii. Every scheduled tribe habitation would be provided with A primary school or other suitable institution
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before the end of the Eighth Plan in order to ensure universal enrolment and participation.
ix. In tribal areas, educational plan will be implemented in an integrated manner. The pre-school education through Balvadis, non-formal education, elementary education and adult education would be organically linked and integrated to ensure achievement of total literacy of the entire population.
X. Providing adequate incentives for the children of SC/ST and other backward sections in the form of scholarship, uniforms, text-books, stationery and mid-day meals.
xi. All schools, non-formal education Centre and pre- schools centres in SC/ST habitations will be equipped with necessary and essential infrastructural facilities in accordance with the norms laid down for operation Blackboard and for achieving Minimum Levels of Learning. xii. 'Operation Blackboard' would cover within a period of two years all schools in tribal areas, Harijan Bastis, irrespective of the date on which the school was set up. xiii. Non-formal education equivalent to primary schooling to be adequately provided in areas of concentration of educationally backward minorities.
xiv. A time-bound crash programme of school improvement with an inbuilt mechanism for covering minority concentration areas with the ongoing programmes of operation Blackboard, non-formal education and District Institute of
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Education to be implemented on.priority basis.
xvi. A Centrally sponsored scheme to be launched in the area of minority concentration to ensure the availability of Urdu knowing teachers in schools.
xvii. As far as possible, low cost and locally available designs relevant to the local conditions would be adopted for school buildings. Nirmithi Kendras (building centres) and local technical institutes will be associated in the endeavour.
xviii. The functioning of the school administrative set up will be studied to find out the difficulties inherent in the system. The school administrative set up will be made alert and responsive so that the defects in the system can be corrected.
xix. Making special efforts to recruit women teachers at the elementary level and ensuring that at least 50 per cent of them are women.
XX Making provision for support services and child care facilities as an integral part of universalisiation of elementary education.
xxi. Strengthening and enlarging the scope of non- formal education programmes.
xxii. Taking steps to facilitate lateral entry into formal system of education from non-formal system.
xxiii. Dovetailing the non-formal education programmes to total literacy campaigns in order to reach out to girls in 10-20 age group.
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xxiv. Giving highest priority to solving the problem of drop-outs by adopting an array of meticulously formulated strategies based on micro planning.
xxv. Making efforts to link non-formal courses with open schools.
xxvi.Linking non-formal progammes with the scheme of public libraries, JSNs etc.
xxvii. Providing vocational and technical courses of wide variety for children and youth who pass out of non-formal system. Shramik Vidyapeeths and Voluntary agencies will be involved in this process. xxviii. Encouraging voluntary agencies to undertake projects of non-formal education specially in areas where the formal school system is not able to meet the demands of universalisation of elementary education.
xxix. Special efforts to be made to improve the educational infrastructure in remote and inaccessible areas and areas of concentration of educationally backward sections.
xxx. Setting up of libraries, reading rooms for encouraging the reading habits among the minorities.
B. PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF ADULT EDUCATION: i. Orientation of political parties as also representatives of people (MPs, MLAs, chairman, Zila Parishads, Panchayat Samities, Mandal Panchayats, Muncipalities etc.) to come together , plan together, work together and pledge their unqualified solidarity and support
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to the literacy campaign.
ii. orientation of officers of all departments, both central and States in the campaign approach so as to secure their cooperation and support.
iii. Continuation of environment building activities through Organisation of Jathas, street plays, nukkad nataks, wall writing, slogans, articles in newspapers.
iv. Utilisation of media in literacy promotion as a tool of (a) dissemination of information, (b) mobilisation, (c) motivation, (d) sensitization, (e) learning by sharing information, ideas and experiences and (f) of social action for change.
V. Making available the benefits under various protective and anti-exploitation laws; institutional as well as development sch- emes to learners with a view to alleviating their poverty and depri- vation, promoting general economic well-being to the extent possible and ensuring effective participation in the affairs of family, community and society as also larger affairs of the nation.
Vi. Promoting social, emotional, linguistic integration, communal harmony, tolerance of and respect for each other's faith and belief.
vii. Promotion of women's equality as a major focus in literacy programme by enabling their participation in decision making processes of the campaign, ensuring their widest possible Participation as teachers and learners in adult education programme, organising activities specifically
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designed to bring about attitudinal change in man, thereby developing a greater sensivity towards difficulties faced by women.
viii. Designing a programme of continuing education to ensure that neo-literates and school going girls have access to reading materials.
ix. Evolving strategies for post-literacy and continuing education programme keeping in view the local needs and priorities/and levels of achievement of learners.
X. Suitably integrating the post-literacy programme with the programmes of other developmental departments.
xi. Integrating skill development in each programme of post-literacy and continuing education; enabling the neo-literates to acquire skils for economic selfreliance. Imparting skills like communication skills, survival skills and skills aimed at upgrading the functional capability of new-literates.
xii. Integrating the activities related to protection and conservation of environment into content of literacy primers, materials for neo-literates, curriculum and course content of training and orientation of all a dult education functionaries to enable them to assimilate, imbibe and internalise messages relating to conservation.
Xiii. Integrating into the content of the literacy primers and other materials, the importance of delayed marriage, proper spacing, changing existing social bias in favour of the male child etc.
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xiv. Integrating the messages of basic health care, programmes for women and children into the literacy campaign and processes of campaign, materials, training, environment building, actual teaching-learning etc.
B. PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION: i. Revision of process and content of elementary education to make teaching learning child centre, activity based and joyful.
ii. Introduction of continuous and comprehensive evaluation with focus on remedial measures.
iii. Modification of teacher training programmes in view of changed strategies and programmes.
iv. Improvement of the monitoring system for utilisation of elementary education.
V. Introduction of Minimum Levels of Learning at primary and upper primary stages including coverage of the non-formal education channel.
vi. Retaining the policy of non-detention at the primary level.
vii. Designing special non-formal education programmes for out of school and adolescent girls with a view to get then, back into family stream or to qualify them for technical or vocational education.
viii. Development of appropriate need-based nonformal education programmes for the working children in 9-14 age group.
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ix. Adoption of modern technological aids to improve the learning environment of non-formal education.
X. Taking effective steps to provide a framework for the curriculum on the lines of the national core curriculum but based on the needs of the learners and related local environment.
xi. Developing high quality 1 earning materials for non- formal education and providing it free of charge to all the students.
xii. Expansion of open-school distance education systems and other innovative educational programmes to reach out to girls in rural/remote areas and urban slums mainly by encouraging voluntary and community-based efforts.
xiii. Teaching children from tribal communities through their mother tongues in the earlier stages in primary schools.
Xiv. Preparation of teaching learning materials in the tribal languages providing for a transition to the regional languages by class III.
Xv. Re-writing standard teaching learning materials for SC/ST children so as to make them intelligible, specially in areas where the standard language of the learners is different.
xvi. Ensuring that Minimum Levels of Learning already set up for primary stage is achieved.
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III. COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION & DECENTRALISATION: The National Policy on Education and Programme of Action have emphasised the importance of decentralised planning and management of education at all levels and involving people in the process. Considering the need for ensuring a relationship of genuine partnership between government and voluntary agencies, the government will have to take positive steps to promote their wider involvement. Consultations will be held with them from time to time about the programmes and procedures for selection of voluntary and non- governmental agencies. The procedures for financial assistance would be streamlined to enable them to play an optimal role.
In pursuance of the Programme of Action, State Governments have been taking steps to move towards decentralised planning and management of adult education, UPE/UEC. This could be done through micro planning. Micro Planning will be made operational in about 20 project areas on an experimental basis during 1992-93. Based on the experiences gained during the course of implementation, it would be expanded to cover about 100 districts during the Eighth Plan. In due course, the entire country would be covered, thus ensuring universal access and enrolment and universal retention. Following specific action points have been suggested in the POA.