Odisha Education Department Urges Swift Action on Adult Literacy Program
The School and Mass Education Department in Odisha has issued a clear directive to district and block-level education officers. They must speed up the enrolment process for adult learners and volunteer teachers in the Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society (ULLAS) initiative. This national program, led by the Union Ministry of Education, focuses on providing functional literacy skills to adults who missed formal schooling.
ULLAS Initiative Aims for Universal Literacy by 2030
The ministry launched ULLAS to achieve complete literacy across India by 2030. This goal aligns with the National Education Policy-2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for quality education. The program specifically targets adults aged 15 and above from all backgrounds who lack basic literacy.
Volunteer teachers play a crucial role in this effort. They teach essential skills like reading, writing, and numeracy at a Class 3 level. After completing the training, learners take the ULLAS Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT). This nationwide exam, organized by the ministry, leads to literacy certificates for successful participants.
Current Enrollment Figures Show Mixed Progress
The ministry set an ambitious target for Odisha in the current 2025-26 financial year. It aims to enrol 22.66 lakh learners and volunteer teachers under ULLAS, also known as the New India Literacy Programme (NILP). However, progress so far shows a significant gap.
District and block levels have enrolled only 7,19,596 individuals to date. Balamakunda Bhuyan, the Director of Elementary Education, provided a detailed breakdown of the current situation. Five districts in Odisha have achieved over 50% enrolment in ULLAS. Eleven districts report around 25% enrolment, while the remaining fourteen districts lag below 25%.
The high-performing districts include Nabarangpur, Deogarh, Ganjam, Nayagarh, and Boudh. With the FLNAT scheduled for March this year, Bhuyan has urged all education officers to accelerate both enrolment and training efforts immediately.
Literacy Context and Broader Goals
Recent data highlights the importance of this initiative. The Periodic Labour Force Survey for 2023-24 indicates Odisha's literacy rate for people above seven years exceeds 79%. This marks an improvement from the 72.87% literacy rate recorded in the 2011 Census.
The ULLAS program represents a critical step toward bridging the remaining literacy gap. By empowering adults with basic skills, it supports broader educational and developmental objectives across the state.
