JAIPUR: In a first, the Jhalawar district administration has introduced ‘NREGA Pathshala’ for women labourers so that they can undergo basic education courses at the work sites for an hour daily.
As per the 2011 census, the literacy rate of women in Jhalawar is 41%. The district administration has been struggling to improve literacy rate among women. It has been running several campaigns sponsored by both the state government and the Centre, but the success rate has remained low. Pilot projects introduced under ‘NREGA Pathshala’ in Manoharthana tehsil have a teaching module of 45 days in three phases of 15 days each, said officials.
“The module is designed for women labourers aged between 21 and 70 years. The mate who will be selected to teach them must have passed class VIII. The women labourers will be taught the basics of maths, Hindi, English, health and hygiene. There will also be a small module on NREGA so that they can understand the job guarantee scheme,” said Jhalawar district collector Bharti Dixit.
She said most NREGS labourers are women and that they spend 6-7 hours during the terms of work that last for 15 days each. “That is why we worked on a module of 45 days, which means three terms of NREGS work. It can run to a few months, but the idea is that imparting an hour or 30 minutes of education daily can help them learn,” added Bharti.
The mates have been given basic training on teaching, and a standard operating procedure has been made for them in terms of class timings and places on the site. Class timings have been kept in the middle of working hours to ensure the presence of all labourers. “Women labourers who would like to continue their studies can be connected with adult education programmes,” said Dixit.
