Itanagar: Of the total 16 districts of Arunachal Pradesh, 12 districts were selected by the Centre for implementation of its flagship programme, Saakshar Bharat Mission (SBM). According to official sources, the programme was aimed to achieve 80 per cent adult literacy, especially among women. The programme has special emphasis on reducing the existing gender gap from 21 to 10 per cent, in the country by the year 2012.
The programme is also aimed at imparting functional education to those illiterates of 15 to 35 years age group, who lost the opportunity of access to formal education and crossed the standard age for receiving such education. Besides, it would enable neo-literate adults to continue their learning beyond basic literacy. It would also acquire equivalency to formal educational system and facilitate skill up gradation to improve their living conditions, and to create a learning society by providing opportunities to the neo-literates for life-long learning.
As per sources, all the 12 districts, chosen for the programme, were having less than 50 per cent female literacy rate. In its first phase, five out of 12 districts namely, Changlang, East Siang, Upper Subansiri, Tawang and East Kameng will implement the Saakshar Bharat Mission. Bosiram Siram, Education Minister has said that the Centre's flagship programme is set to be a force multiplier for the state towards stepping up of its literacy rate from existing 54.74 per cent (as per 2001 census) with its female literacy rate tottering at 44 per cent- far below the national average.
Assuring all possible support from the state government's end for its effective implementation in five out of 12 districts with total coverage of 46,042 people, initially, Mr Siram, said the SBM has been envisaged as people's programme, adding the Panchayats and communities will be the stakeholders at the operational level. He also added that under the programme, each Gram Panchayat will have Lok Shiksha Samiti headed by the president of the Gram Panchayat.
