Sikkim was declared a fully literate state under the New India Literacy Programme

Sikkim was declared a fully literate state under the New India Literacy Programme

¨     Sikkim was declared a fully literate state under the New India Literacy Programme (ULLAS).

¨     The state achieved a literacy rate of 99.82%, exceeding the Ministry of Education’s benchmark of 95% for full literacy.

¨     ULLAS stands for “Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society”.

¨     The programme was launched in Sikkim on 14 November 2022.

¨     It was implemented across all 6 districts, 34 blocks, Gram Panchayat Units, and wards of the state.

¨     Prem Singh Tamang announced the achievement during the 7th convocation ceremony of Sikkim University in Gangtok.

¨     The ceremony, held at Manan Kendra in Gangtok, was attended by Droupadi Murmu and Om Prakash Mathur.

¨     Surveys conducted under the programme identified 15,361 illiterate adults in the state.

¨     Out of them, 14,447 were certified as literate through the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) Assessment Test.

¨     More than 4,000 volunteer teachers, including school teachers and college students, participated in the campaign without remuneration.

¨     The ULLAS programme aims to provide foundational literacy, numeracy, and lifelong learning opportunities to adult learners.

Fully Literate States and Union Territories

¨     Sikkim joined Mizoram, Goa, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh among the states and Union Territories recognised as fully literate under the ULLAS programme. The recognition is linked to adult literacy, foundational numeracy, and certification through assessment-based verification.