ALAPPUZHA; The Kerala State Literacy Mission (KSLM) will conduct literacy survey to find out the number of illiterate persons in the state. Mission director P.S. Sreekala said this after inaugurating a workshop for the heads of local self government institutions at district panchayat hall here on Tuesday. "As per the 2011 census, there were around 18.5 lakh illiterate people in the state. But the absence of 'preraks '(motivators) in panchayats prevents knowing the exact number of illiterate persons. So the mission has decided to initiate a survey for the same," she said.
"A model survey will be conducted in one panchayat in each district next month. Later, the survey will be extended to all panchayats. The aim of the mission is to make the state fully literate in four years," she said. She also said that special projects would be implemented in coastal areas and tribal colonies to find out the number illiterate persons. "Adivasi literacy project will be implemented in tribal villages with the help of literate people from among them. The literate people from the tribal community will be appointed as preraks to conduct the survey. The pilot project will begin at Attappadi and it would be extended to other districts. The project for coastal areas will be implemented with the help of Fisheries Department," she said.
The mission has been surveying environmental literacy survey in 2000 wards of the state. An awareness programme to protect environmentally important areas will also be implemented after the survey, she said. District panchayat president G Venugopal inaugurated the workshop. Vice-president Daleema Jojo, Cherthala municipal chairman Isaac Madavana, district panchayat members K.K. Ashokan, K.T. Mathew, K. Suma and Jameela Purushothaman, district literacy mission coordinator K.V. Ratheesh and district panchayat secretary A. Noushad spoke
