COIMBATORE: Samagra Shiksha will deploy Illam Thedi Kalvi (ITK) volunteers in the New India Literacy Programme (NILP) to teach foundational literacy and numeracy to people aged above 15 years old in Coimbatore district. A section of IKT volunteers opposed this decision.
A source from the district school education department said, “Around 20,000 people from Coimbatore will take part in the NILP to learn foundational literacy and numeracy through the volunteers who will work without honorarium.
For this, as many as 1,225 centres have been formed to conduct classes from next month. However, volunteers did not show interest to work under this scheme in many places in the blocks such as Kinathukadavu and Sulthanpet in Coimbatore as honorarium was no assigned.
To cope with this shortage, officers have planned to deploy ITK volunteers to the NILP to teach basic education to the illiterate apart from ITK classes. However, a group of volunteers oppose this move,” sources added.
A volunteer, K Sivapriya (name changed) in Coimbatore, told TNIE, “When officers deploy ITK volunteers into this program, we won’t be able to concentrate on the ITK activities.” She further alleged that some headmasters are forcing ITK volunteers to join this program.
Kalvi Mempattu Kootaimaipu coordinator Su Moorthy said volunteers will work diligently only if the government provides an honorarium to them. When asked about it, district Samagra Shiksha officer said that they did not force anyone to join the program.