Kerala literacy mission to enroll 1 lakh school dropouts

In an unique attempt, the Kerala State Literacy Mission Authority has decided to enroll nearly a lakh members of women empowerment project "Kudumbashree", who had discontinued school education, to take the 10th and Plus Two equivalency exams from next year onwards.

The literacy mission would arrange classes in 1,000 local bodies across the state with two batches of 50 members each attending the classes.

Mission Director P S Sreekala said the initiative would help those who had to stop their schooling due to various reasons to continue their education.

A release issued by the literacy mission said that it's probably for the first time in the country, that women in such huge number would be enrolled to study.

"There are over 48 lakh kudumbashree members in the state. Many of them lack the 10th equivalent certificate. Kudumbashree has collected the details of all of them and the course fees and the exam fees would be taken care of by the local self bodies," the release said.

It also said those members of Kudumbashree who were qualified to teach will be given preference for conducting the classes.

The registration for the course will start from October 11 and the classes would start from January 2020.

Kudumbashree was launched in 1998 as a joint programme of the Kerala government and the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to remove absolute poverty through concerted community action under the leadership of local self-government bodies.

It is one of the largest women-empowerment projects in the country today and covers over 50 per cent of Kerala households.