Mizoram: Adult Learners’ Week concludes

The highly appreciated ‘Adult Learner’s Week’ with the Theme ‘Women Literacy Programme’ was recently successfully concluded at Archives Hall, Babutlang amidst the presence of people from different strata of Mizo society. The Week had also been observed at all district headquarters in the state. J. Hmingthanmawia, Additional Deputy Commissioner (DC) & Chairman, sub- committee on observance of Adult Learners’ Week Aizawl in his keynote address to the assembled said that Adult Education, formerly known as ‘Social Education’ had been started by the foreign missionaries in Mizoram since 1894. The term ‘Social Education’ was changed and substituted by ‘Adult Education’ since October 2, 1978.
It is not surprising that when the ‘National Adult Education Programme’ was launched by the Central Government in 1978, Adult Education in Mizoram received a new impetus. Simultaneously, a centrally sponsored scheme (CSS) of three Rural Functional Literacy Projects were implemented. In order to facilitate vocational Training for Adult Learners, vocational schools had been started in Aizawl in August 1984. According to Adult Education Assistant Director B. Lungmuana, Indian President Pratibha Patil in a Joint Parliamentary Session held recently had declared 2009-14 as the years for Women Literacy Programme under Adult Literacy Policy in India. He said that as per the 2001 census the recorded illiterate people in Mizoram are Male 9.3% (35, 828 people) and Female 13.3 % (47,566 people), totaling up to 11.2 % as a whole.