THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After imparting literacy to nearly 11,000 tribal people at Attappadi block in Palakkad and in Wayanad district, the tribal literacy programme of the State Literacy Mission is all set to be rolled out in Kannur.
Aralam farm in Kannur, where a significant tribal population resides, will be the third area where the tribal literacy programme, launched in 2017, will be introduced.
A total of 10,972 tribal people have embraced literacy -including 7,302 in Wayanad and 3,670 in Attappadi - under the special programme. An additional 1,996 tribesmen had already become literate through the Samagra programme launched in 100 select tribal settlements across the state.
Big role for Kudumbashree
The tribal literacy programme at Aralam farm will be implemented in association with Kudumbashree Mission. The survey to identify the beneficiaries will begin on November 12. Students from the Payyannur campus of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit will undertake the survey. The classes are slated to begin on November 16.
Around 1,600 tribal families are settled in six blocks in Aralam farm and majority of them do not know to read or write. As many as 70 Kudumbashree neighbourhood groups with 840 members are active at Aralam farm.
As part of the programme, 10 classrooms will be set up in six blocks with each classroom catering to at least 25 beneficiaries. Kudumbashree promoters will be designated as instructors of the programme. The three-month course will be funded by the Aralam Special project. According to Literacy Mission director P S Sreekala, the success of tribal literacy programmes could be attributed to selection of instructors from among the tribal community itself. “Through specific programmes, the Mission aims to wipe of illiteracy from all tribal settlements in the state,” she added.
Neo-literates