Mangaluru : More than three decades after India launched its National Literacy Mission in 1991, Dakshina Kannada continues to carry forward a grassroots literacy campaign that has long been discontinued in most parts of the country. What began as the Total Literacy Campaign and later continued through the Post-Literacy Programme, evolved in the district into community-based Grama Vikasa Kendras (Model Village Development Centres), giving literacy a broader role in village development.
The district’s sustained effort was backed by state panchayat raj circulars issued in 2004 and 2005, which mandated every gram panchayat to earmark Rs 25,000 annually for adult education and human resource development. Of this, Rs 12,000 was allocated towards an honorarium of Rs 1,000 per month for grassroots mobilisers, or preraks, while Rs 13,000 was meant for operational activities. “Since this campaign started in 1991 as part of the National Literacy Mission under the PV Narasimha Rao-led central govt, Dakshina Kannada remains the only district actively involved in spreading the literacy campaign throughout the region. Social activists said most gram panchayats have, in recent years, stopped releasing the statutory Rs 25,000 annual allocation, leaving preraks without their honorarium, and severely affecting the functioning of the village centres. Of the 225 Grama Vikasa Kendras that were once active in the district, only around 15 are functioning now, they said.
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Through literacy, our goal is to build villages free from garbage, addiction, violence and hatred, thereby realising Mahatma Gandhi’s dream of Gram Swaraj,” said Sheena Shetty, director of Jana Shikshana Trust. Krishna Moolya, co-founder trustee of Jana Shikshana Kendra, said Dakshina Kannada has continued the literacy movement long after it was discontinued elsewhere. In other districts across the country, the campaign was phased out long ago,” he said.
The preraks were entrusted with tasks that went beyond teaching basic literacy. They mobilised BPL families to construct individual household toilets, worked towards ensuring universal school enrolment and promoted awareness on water conservation, among other community initiatives. Over the years, the Grama Vikasa Kendras became platforms for broader social and civic empowerment. Centres such as Bannur in Puttur, Manavalike in Kadaba and Laila in Belthangady, run with the involvement of anganwadi workers, emerged as examples of how literacy initiatives could foster civic participation and communal harmony. “Ultimately, a person must continue learning throughout their life to build a true learning society. However, the legacy now faces a funding crisis. Alarmed by the decline, activists have submitted petitions to the Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat and the district minister, seeking immediate intervention. Their memorandum calls for strict enforcement of the mandated annual allocation, timely payment of preraks’ honorarium and revival of the Grama Vikasa Kendras. Download the TOI App.