The second phase of Aksharasagaram, a Fisheries Department initiative to improve literacy levels in coastal areas, will cover 12 local self-government institutions in Kozhikode district. According to sources in the Kerala State Literacy Mission, the classes are expected to start in February.
Azhiyoor, Cherodu, Onchiyam, Chemanchery, Chengottukavu, Moodadi, Thikkodi and Kadalundi gramapanchayats, Koyilandy, Vadakara and Payyoli municipalities, and Kozhikode city corporation will be covered. Literacy programmes and Class 4 equivalency programmes will be implemented in these places.
The sources said that the objective of Aksharasagaram was to strengthen Class 4, Class 7, and Class 10 equivalency programmes. Illiterates, neo-literates, school dropouts, those with physical and mental disabilities, and people who have not passed Class 4 are the beneficiaries.
Coastal and fisheries conservation and career guidance too are part of its aims.
The government decided to launch the programme after a 2012 survey by the Kerala State Planning Board revealed that there are 18 lakh illiterates and 12 lakh neo-literates in the State. The rate of literacy was found to be low in coastal areas.
The sources said that the beneficiaries would be selected by the volunteers chosen by an organising committee whose chairman will be the ward councillor. The instructors will be chosen from the respective areas. The first phase of the project was launched in Thiruvananthapuram, Malappuram, and Kasaragod districts. The second phase covers Kollam, Ernakulam and Kozhikode districts.
