Mission to make tribes literate

As many as 5,283 neo-literates, including 3634 women, from select tribal hamlets in the district will appear for a preliminary literacy examination, organised by the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) on Sunday.

The exams will be conducted in 283 tribal hamlets in the district. A three-month training programme was conducted in the hamlets for the purpose and two instructors were appointed in each hamlet to train the neo-literates.

Makka, a 90-year-old woman of Ambalakkunnu tribal hamlet in Muppainad, is the oldest neo-literate and Lakshmi,16, of the Chalakarakunnu in Padinharethara, the youngest. The tribal literacy project was executed in 283 tribal hamlets, of the total 2,226 tribal hamlets in the district, in the first phase three months ago.

There are 1,51,443 members in 2,226 tribal hamlets in the district, But nearly 30,000 tribespersons are illiterate, C.K. Pradeepkumar, coordinator, District Literacy Mission, said.

The mission had conducted a survey prior to identifying the hamlets and preference was given to most backward hamlets of Paniya, Kattunayakka and Adiya sects of tribespersons in the first phase of the project.

Two State-level teams led by KSLMA director P.S. Sreekala and assistant director K. Ayyappan Nair visited the hamlets to evaluate the progress of the neo-literates.

Those who pass the examination can appear for the Class 4 equivalency examination organised by the Mission, Mr. Pradeepkumar said. The project will be executed in other tribal hamlets too in a phased manner, he added.

The district panchayat has earmarked ₹15 lakh for Vignan Jyothi, a project to promote literacy among tribal people in the district in its 2018-19 budget.