BHUBANESWAR : The Centre’s ambitious plan to bridge the adult literacy gap has hit the wall in the state, with 85 per cent of the districts not even reaching half of their enrolment target on the ULLAS (Understanding Lifelong Learning for All in Society) portal.
As per the School and Mass Education (SME) department statistics, against the target of ensuring enrolment of 22.66 lakh learners on the portal for voluntary learning in 2025-26, the overall achievement at the district level has remained just 31.7 per cent (pc) at 7.19 lakh so far.
Sources said only five districts - Nabarangpur, Deogarh, Ganjam, Nayagarh and Boudh - have been able to achieve a target of over 50 pc enrolment, while 11 districts have managed to secure 25 pc or above of their enrolment target for the year. The learners’ enrolment on the portal in remaining 14 districts has remained below 25 pc.
While Nabarangpur is on top with 64.77 pc enrolment, Nuapada is at the bottom with an enrolment percentage of only 16.45. Against the target of enrolling 15,000 learners, the field functionaries of SME department in Nuapada district have been able to tag only 2,467 people on the digital platform.
Similarly, Balasore has enrolled only 22,175 learners against the target of 1.2 lakh on the portal, achieving just 18.48 pc enrolment, while Khurda has enrolled around 23,600 learners realising only 23.65 pc of the target. In Keonjhar, the home district of Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the progress is about 21.96 pc against the enrolment target.
The ULLAS portal, a key part of the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) for functional literacy, has been rolled out since 2022 to address the challenge of adult illiteracy in the country, especially for millions of citizens who have missed formal schooling.
The platform aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP)-2020 and has been created as a gateway for non-literate adults to help them gain essential life skills through community and voluntary teachers-supported learning.
Sources said learners enrolled on the platform are tested through the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test (FLNAT) and receive certificates from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS).
SME department officials, however, admitted that the progress of enrolment in nearly half of the districts in the state is far from the physical target set for the year. An official of the department said the enrolment of volunteer teachers from the districts on the platform is also low and the SME secretary has expressed serious concern and dissatisfaction over the matter during a review meeting held recently.
“As the state is approaching the second FLNAT for the current year in March, the district education officers (DEOs) and block education officers (BEOs), as instructed by the SME secretary, have been asked to monitor the progress of enrolment on a daily basis to meet the given target for the fiscal in their jurisdiction,” he said.
CONCERNING NUMBERS
Against target of 22.66 lakh learners’ enrolment, it is just 7.19 lakh at district level
Only Nabarangpur, Deogarh, Ganjam, Nayagarh and Boudh - have been able to achieve over 50% enrolment target
Nabarangpur tops the chart with 64.77% enrolment while Nuapada is at the bottom with 16.45%
In Keonjhar, the home district of the CM, the progress is about 21.96% against the enrolment target