Adult Education Unit is situated in a parallel wing of Government Model High School Sec-22, Chandigarh under the Director School Education, UT, . Chandigarh Administration.
Adult Education Unit is running the Project of Adult Literacy under National Policy. The existing scheme of Adult Education is being run project. Govt. of India has permitted Chandigarh Administration to run this project. The Project was started in the year 1998 with 360 Prerak Centers and 40 Nodal Centers with permission of Finance Department, UT, Chandigarh. This Project was fully funded by the State Govt, the Unit has two Dy. Director and two Assistant Directors, office staff, one Nodal Preraks and 22 Preraks. At present there are 600 adult learners in 25 Adult Education Centers ( AEC) situated in 21 Govt. Schools and three Centers in Burail Jail and 1 center in Nari Niketan UT Chandigarh. Preraks and Nodal Preraks work at AEC on part time basis for 2 hours daily.
As per the Govt. of India learners of age group 15-35 from class 1st to 8th and to motivate them for vocational courses and their Annual Exam is being conducted under the supervision of respective school principals. Adult learners are upskilled and are supported to locate the areas which help them earn a decent livelihood.
The recommendation of National Education Policy 2020 on Adult Education and Lifelong Learning at para 21.4 state, “Strong and innovative government initiatives for Adult Education in particular, to facilitate community involvement and the smooth and beneficial integration of technology – will be effected as soon as possible to expedite this all-important aim of achieving 100% literacy”. Coupled with these recommendations of NEP- 2020 on Adult Education, the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.6 of the United Nations mandates that “By 2030 ensure that all youth and adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy”.
Adult Education Unit has implemented New India Literacy Programme (NILP) as a Scheme on ‘Education for All’ from 1st April, 2022 . For F.Y 2023-24 , a target of 50,700 Adult Learners will be covered. For F.Y 2020-22. A total of 7,000 Adult Learners have been certified for Foundational Literacy & Numeracy under Centrally Sponsored Scheme ‘Padhna Likhna Abhiyaan’ jointly by Education Department, Chandigarh Administration, NIOS, New Delhi and Adult Education Bureau, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, New Delhi.
For increasing enrollment of Adult Learners, community participation is encouraged and Awareness Drives are undertaken from time to time. Participation of Adult Education Unit in Tableau for presentation on Republic Day is an annual feature for spreading the message of attaining 100 % Literacy in UT, Chandigarh.