2,146 elderly learners sit literacy test across 90 centres in Erandol taluka

The foundational literacy and numeracy assessment test was held with great enthusiasm in Erandol taluka of Jalgaon district on Sunday, October 25. It was conducted as part of the 'Ullas Navbharat Saksharta Karyakram', a programme run by the Central government. The examination ran from 10 am to 5 pm.

The programme aims to make illiterate people aged 15 and above across the country literate. A total of 2,146 elderly learners took the test at 90 examination centres in the taluka. The test-takers have shown that there is no age limit to learning.

Among those who took the test were 1,364 women and 782 men, so women outnumbered men. A total of 2,176 people had registered for the test, including 1,374 women and 802 men. Of those registered, 30 elderly learners did not turn up.

The test was for 100 marks in all, with questions worth 50 marks each on two components: reading and writing, and numeracy. To pass, a candidate must score at least 33 per cent in each component, which works out to 18 marks. There is curiosity over whether the 30 absentees will get another chance to take the test in future.

Arrangements at all examination centres in the taluka were planned under the guidance of Collector Rohan Ghuge, Zilla Parishad Chief Executive Officer Karishma Nair, Education Officer Kalpana Chavan and Block Education Officer R. D. Mahajan. Erandol taluka coordinator L. R. Patil and all the teachers put in special effort for the successful conduct of the test.

The Ullas Navbharat literacy campaign does not teach only reading, writing and basic arithmetic. It also stresses a few important matters linked to everyday life: using banking transactions and digital services with confidence, taking care of daily health and understanding hygiene, understanding government schemes and knowing one's own rights, and building awareness about the environment.

The initiative, which helps people whose education remained incomplete to enter the mainstream of literacy and handle their daily affairs with greater confidence, is proving highly inspiring in Erandol taluka.