Women in Aryad block panchayat are set to make history by taking part in a unique initiative in education. All women in the panchayat will have the minimum qualification of 10th class soon. A project to enable those with lesser qualifications to pass the 10th equivalency examination conducted by the Kerala State Literacy Mission is under way in the panchayat.
A pilot project has been launched in one division, consisting of seven wards. About 130 women have enrolled under the project. They will appear for the next 10th class equivalency examination. The course and examination fee will be borne by the panchayat.
Classes for preparing candidates for the 10th, Plus One and Plus Two Equivalency examinations are being conducted by the State Literacy Mission at a local school. The classes under the new programme will be held at another school.
“Women below 55 years are being enrolled under the scheme. Those aged above will also be included if they have a desire to join. An amount of ₹3 lakh has been set apart by the panchayat for the programme. The project is to be extended to the entire block consisting of 13 divisions. It is a first of its kind in Kerala,” Sheena Sanalkumar, block panchayat president, told The Hindu.
Named Aksharashree, the project is primarily intended to educate Kudumbasree members. Meetings of Kudumbasree units held at the ward level have identified the candidates. The project will be extended to the other divisions of the block panchayat within two years, according to her.
State Literacy Mission Director P.S.Sreekala said Aryad block panchayat was the first in the State to have embarked upon a ‘total 10th class education’ project.
“The equivalency courses are conducted by experienced teachers. The mission has been conducting equivalency examinations for 4th class and 7th class apart from those of the higher classes,” she said.
The 11th batch of candidates are getting ready for the 10th class equivalency examination in the State. About 40,000 people will appear for the forthcoming examination.
About 2,000 Literacy Preraks have been engaged in helping people join the course. Each Prerak has been given an enrolment target of 50 candidates. About 70,000 candidates are expected to be enrolled for the 12th batch, according to her.