Thiruvananthapuram: The first phase of the fourth standard equivalent course of Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority (KSLMA) has evoked a good response in the tribal villages of Wayanad. Around 5,729 participants from 283 hamlets were actively participating in the programme initiated after a survey found a large number of illiterates here.
Most of those who enrolled for the fourth standard equivalency exam on March 25, 2018, will be taking the first ever test in their life. An earlier project introduced in the Attappady region of Palakkad was a big success, said KSLMA director P.S. Sreekala. Majority of those enrolled are from the Paniya and Kattunaikka communities. The survey in colonies across Wayanad had found 9,751 illiterates, 6,044 of them women. The age wise, 5,474 were between 15 and 50 years, and 4,277 above 50. Wayanad district has a literacy rate of 89 percent. However, it is 71 percent among 11 tribes.
KSLM survey identified 300 study centres for literacy classes, each having at least 20 students. The mission would locate 600 instructors with two per centre and one of them an Adivasi. Wayanad has the highest number of tribal people - 152,808 of 8, 16,568, forming nearly 18.52 percent of the district and 38.16 percent of the total Adivasis in the state. As per the survey, they 69,116 Paniyas followed by 25,266 Kurichya and 20,983 Kuruman.
