User:Pooja Tyagi/Challenges Ahead

CHALLENGES AHEAD

Inspite of the substantial accomplishments since Independence, India has the dubious distinction of having the largest number of illiterates and out-of-school children in the world - 30 per cent of the world's adult illiterates and 21.87 per cent of out-of-school children. About 19 to 24 million children in the age group 6-14 are out of school of whom about 60 per cent are girls; about 121.3 million are adult illiterates in the age group 15-35 of whom 62 per cent are women. Given the demographic pressure the numbers are likely to increase further. A number of schemes and programmes were launched in pursuance of the emphasis embodied in the NPE and the POA. These included the scheme of Operation Blackboard (OB); Non Formal Education (NFE); Teacher Education (TE); Mahila Samakhya (MS); State specific Basic Education Projects like the Andhra Pradesh Primary Education Project (APPEP), Bihar Education Project (BEP, Lok Jumbish (LJP) in Rajasthan, Education For All Project in Uttar Pradesh; Shiksha Karmi Project ( SKP) in Rajasthan; National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (MDM); District Primary Education Programme ( DPEP).