Open House: How can Chandigarh achieve 100% literacy by the end of the academic session?

Destigmatise adult education

To achieve 100% literacy in Chandigarh through Mission-100, a multi-faceted approach is essential. Launch a city-wide campaign using social media, street plays, and local influencers to raise awareness and destigmatise adult education. Deploy mobile learning units equipped with digital tools to reach underserved areas, ensuring access for all. Integrate gamified, interactive literacy apps to engage young learners and adults alike, making education fun and accessible.

Gaganpreet Singh, Mohali

Visit household to spread awareness

The investment in Human Resources is the best investment. Since the City Beautiful has already attained above 95% literacy level, attaining a 100% should not be as difficult. Only some dedicated steps are required like the regular visits by the staff from education department to pay visits to each and every household and stress upon admitting their ward in the nearest school of the locality. The visits need to be conducted in the rural areas, slums and the colonies falling under Chandigarh.

NPS Sohal, Chandigarh

Govt-run facility for adults can help

A major hurdle in achieving 100% literacy in Chandigarh is inadequate education infra and poor pupil-teacher ratio. The situation is more grave in schools situated in colonies and slum areas. The administration must rope in NGOs working in the education sector to pursue kids from underprivileged backgrounds to enroll. The NGOs may be supported to hold classes of such kids at their premises. A government-run facility with proper infra can also help adults in need of education.

RP Malhotra, Panchkula

Reward educators for good results

Hold teachers responsible for student performance and provide them with proper training to enhance their teaching skills. Offer extra classes and remedial support to weak students, ensuring no one is left behind.

Assign teachers to mentor at least one non-literate adult each, promoting adult literacy and earning teachers additional credits towards the state teacher award. Conduct monthly reviews and use digital tools to track student progress and school performance. Recognise and reward schools and teachers showing improvement.

Capt Amar Jeet, Kharar

Introduce bridge courses for dropouts

Conformity with Constitutional values is a must. The administration may constitute a high-level committee to check regularly the private schools that proper quality educational facilities are being given to children under the RTE Act, 2009. If any violations are brought to the notice, higher authorities should take necessary action against the schools. The management of private schools, on their part, should create such a environment that children do not face any partiality from teachers and staff.

Harinder Singh Bhalla, Chandigarh

Develop individualised learning plans

Developing individualised learning plans for every student, leveraging AI-powered platforms can identify and address learning gaps. Establishing after-school and weekend learning centers within communities, run by local volunteers and educators, fostering a supportive learning environment can also be taken up. Lastly, efforts should go into implementing robust professional development programmes for teachers, coupled with peer mentorship networks, to enhance pedagogical skills and motivation.

NK Guglani, Chandigarh

Empower teachers and educators

Teachers are the foundation of any educational system. To ensure quality education, only well-educated and qualified individuals should be appointed as teachers through an open entrance examination, based on specific academic criteria. Continuous professional development is essential-teachers should regularly enroll in capacity building programs and other relevant courses to transform classrooms into true temples of learning.

Hridyansh Kalra, Zirakpur

Monitor school-wise progress

All 111 government schools need to invest in three key pillars: teachers, students and the parents. The teachers should be motivated to get involved personally. They should first complete the syllabus well in time to enable multiple revisions, regularly assess and evaluate the academic performance, and lastly, but more importantly, provide remedial support to the underperforming students. The national digital platform, ie VSK (Vidya Samiksha Kendra), should be used to analyse the school's performance and ensure timely monthly reviews.

Brigadier Advitya Madan, Chandigarh

Ensure students don't drop out of school

To achieve cent percent literacy, the dropout rates have to be zero. This can be achieved by following the tenets of NEP 2020 which aim to promote a play based learning environment and experiential learning for all. Extensive research must be carried out to understand the local reasons which hinder 100% literacy and customised solutions for dealing with them. A collaboration among schools, administration, researchers and volunteers can ensure foolproof goal accomplishment.

Shobhna Kalra, Zirakpur

Community-driven campaigns required

To achieve 100% literacy, Chandigarh must adopt a multi-pronged strategy blending innovation, inclusivity and accountability. First, leverage community-driven campaigns with local volunteers to identify out-of-school children, especially marginalised groups, and enroll them through doorstep outreach. "Each One Teach One" programmes, pairing literate citizens with learners via mobile platforms for mentorship can also go a long way.

Gurdev Singh, Mohali

Improve accessibility to education

To achieve 100 per cent literacy, Chandigarh's Mission-100 initiative could focus on several key strategies. To start with, improving accessibility to education is crucial, ensuring that all children have access to quality schools and educational resources. This can be achieved by increasing the number of schools, hiring more teachers, and implementing inclusive education policies. Innovative teaching methods, such as digital classrooms and educational apps, can also help engage students and improve learning outcomes.

Sargunpreet Kaur, Mohali

Hold evening classes to boost enrolment

To achieve 100% literacy under Mission-100 start with door-to-door surveys to identify out-of-school children and adults, followed by enrollment drives. Deploy mobile learning vans and evening classes for working children and illiterate adults. Empower teachers with digital tools and continuous training to enhance engagement and accountability. Encourage community participation through literacy volunteers, retired educators, and student mentors.

Sahibpreet Singh, Mohali

Citizens need to do their bit

Learn and then teach. The students who successfully completed their education may adopt one person over a period of time and motivate him to be educated. This can be one's maid, rag picker. There are people who want to contribute financially in this noble cause but fear that their funds will be misused. We may their contribution in the form of tangible assets like books, pencils and call them to directly give to students.

Harveen Singh, Chandigarh

Make use of digital advancements

Digitisation, driven by advancements in information technology and internet connectivity, is transforming education systems globally. Leveraging technology by utilising digital platforms like Swayam, Swayam Prabha, the National Digital Library, E-PG Pathshala, are designed to create engaging, collaborative and media-rich virtual environments that offer significant advantages over traditional classroom teaching methods. These can enhance access to learning resources remotely from home and provide interactive learning experiences to the masses by facilitating flexible learning.

Vaibhav Goyal, Chandigarh

Encourage flexible learning means

Offer flexible learning schedules to accommodate working adults. Special educators and trained teachers can be deployed for students who need remedial help. Mobile apps, SMS based lessons or televised classes for self-paced learning may be used particularly for adults. Night schools are also beneficial for working students. The administration can also run bridge courses for dropouts and lagging students to reintegrate them effectively.

Anita K Tandon, Mundi Kharar

Reach out to parents

To make the 100% literacy mission a success, it is essential to motivating parents to seek admission for their wards in schools located near their homes. Before the commencement of each academic session, the education department should prepare a complete list of all eligible children, ensuring their timely and appropriate placement in schools. A proportional admission plan across all schools can help guarantee full enrollment. Moreover, the administration may consider engaging retired educators, former bureaucrats, philanthropists and private schools to support the cause.

Vijay Katyal, Panchkula

Active participation of all stakeholders key

The 100% literacy rate can be achieved with the active participation of all the stakeholders i.e. the parents, their children, schools, teachers, Administration. Bring the students to schools, ensure their maximum attendance in schools, ensure the completion of classes by the students without leaving in between the sessions, continuous monitoring/evaluation of results/performance of students, more of parent/teacher interactions and timely availability of course books are essentials.

Rajeev Kumar, Chandigarh

Launch back to school programmes

The authorities must ensure that students attend schools regularly. Moreover, regular comprehensive teacher training workshops are a must. Launching back to school programs to enroll students who have left school will also be essential. Schools should also focus on holistic development to attract students back to schools. Regular correspondence with parents to ensure an academic environment at home can be important.

Saikrit Gulati, Chandigarh

Keep tabs on school performances

To improve the educational standards, performance and accountability of schools staff, teachers and management may be kept a check on by the Education Department. To achieve 100% literacy, the common citizens have to accept the challenge. We should identify the illiterate house hold helpers, daily labourers, boys and girls above the age of 7 from the less privileged families who are not going to school. Retired teachers should come forward to arrange classes.

Sqn Ldr Manjit Singh Johar (retd), Chandigarh

Encourage community involvement

To make the Mission-100 vision a reality, a collaborative effort is essential. Parental and community involvement must be encouraged to build a strong support network around students. Infrastructure improvements-like safe classrooms, clean facilities, and proper ventilation-will enhance the learning environment. Additionally, NGOs and local volunteers can offer mentorship and after-school support for struggling learners.

Jeevanjyoti, Mohali

Need to plug infrastructural gaps

Before we take any steps towards the ambitious 100% literacy goal, infrastructure gaps must be addressed. Schools and education needs to be made more accessible and inclusive, including for children with disabilities. Partnerships with NGOs, volunteers and private institutions can provide the necessary support.

Sanjay Chopra, Mohali