Goa Government to Evaluate New India Literacy Mission Impact

According to an official, the Goa government has decided to assess the implementation of the New India Literacy Mission (NILM) ahead of its ambitious aim of reaching 100% literacy in the state by 19 December of this year. Honourable Chief Minister Mr Pramod Sawant has instructed senior panchayat and municipal officials to certify that their ward, locality, village, or city is entirely literate or provide a list of illiterate individuals in their jurisdiction.

A government spokesman stated that Chief Minister Mr Pramod Sawant presided over Monday's i.e., 02 September 2024 National Education Policy (NEP) steering committee meeting, during which the committee deliberated on the NILM and the policy's implementation.

"Reviewing the (status of the implementation of) literacy mission, the chief minister instructed directors of panchayats and municipal administration to direct secretaries and chief officers to provide a list of illiterates in their respective areas or to issue a certificate confirming that the ward, locality, village, or city is literate," he said.

"The Education secretary briefed the chief minister on the current status of NEP 2020 implementation," he said. He added that the state curriculum framework for the foundational and secondary stages has been officially notified. "The curriculum for the first two foundational stages has been developed and distributed to all schools. Art and vocational education teachers have been allocated to all schools to introduce art education as part of the NEP-2020 implementation," he added.

The meeting was told that 80 mathematics and science teachers had undergone training at the Indian Institute of Science - Bengaluru. The chief minister was told that the state curriculum development committees for the preparatory and middle stages are developing curricula for NEP implementation starting next academic year.

The centrally Sponsored Scheme, "New India Literacy Programme," was launched for five years from FYs 2022-23 to 2026-27. It will be implemented with central and state funds.The scheme aims to cover a target of 5 crore non-literates aged 15 and above.Kerala is the only state in India with a 100% literacy rate.