With Tamil Nadu planning an ambitious five-year literacy drive for people above the age of 15, the Tamil Nadu Directorate of Non-Formal and Adult Education is seeking volunteers for imparting writing and reading skills.

The programme slated to be conducted from 2022 to 2027, will be run totally using the support of volunteers, as stated in a report by IANS. A total of five lakh people are expected to gain writing and reading skills through this programme in the state.

What will the drive entail?

With the help of student volunteers, the non-formal education department will identify those who are not able to read and write. The volunteers have to be those who have passed Class X and will have to work for a minimum of six months.

Volunteers with Illam Thedi Kalvi (ITK), which is the doorstep education programme of the government, Nehru Yuvak Kendra Volunteers and students are preferred as volunteers for the adult literacy programme.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) records will be used to check on the reading and writing abilities of its members. The volunteers will enquire with the students about the reading and writing skills of their parents and their relatives. 

The Chief Education Officers (CEOs) will be monitoring the progress of the programme every month. The department of formal and adult education officials told IANS that the classes can be held at local aided and unaided schools. A total of 200 hours of teaching should be done in a six months period.