One-Day ‘ULLAS’ Orientation Programme Held at Gauhati University Mass Movement Needed to Make Every Non-Literate Person Literate: Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta

 

Guwahati, 21 January: A one-day orientation programme under the Government of India’s ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram was held on 20 January at Gauhati University. The event was organized by CNCL,NCERT,New Delhi in collaboration with Gauhati University, NCTE, and SCERT. Around 130 participants from various DIETs and Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) of Assam took part in the programme.
The Vice Chancellor of Gauhati University, Prof. Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta, graced the event as the Chief Guest. In his address, he highlighted that Assam’s villages are home to many knowledgeable individuals who, despite being non-literate, are guided by traditional wisdom and the socio-cultural teachings of Srimanta Sankardeva. This, he said, is a unique strength of Assamese society. He stressed the need to transform the ULLAS programme into a people’s movement to ensure that every non-literate person becomes literate.

 Extendinng the welcome address, The nodal coordinator of the programme and Professor at Gauhati University, Dr. Jogen Chandra Kalita, stated that individuals above 15 years of age must be mobilised to participate in this people’s movement to make ULLAS successful.
Representing CNCL,NCERT, Prof. Dr. Usha Sharma emphasised the crucial role that teacher education institutions in Assam must play in this national mission.
Prof. Dr. Subhash Chandra Roy of the North East Regional Institute of Education (NERIE), Shillong, encouraged universities, DIETs, teacher education colleges, and higher education institutions to motivate their students to volunteer for this literacy programme.
Dr. Jayanta Kumar Sharma, Director of Non-Formal and Adult Education, delivered an informative address focused on making Assam a fully literate state.

The local coordinator of the event and Lecturer at DIET Kamrup, Dr. Shiromoni Bhuyan, highlighted during the academic session that every literate citizen in Assam must take the initiative to identify non-literate individuals in their neighbourhoods and bring them under the ULLAS programme.
SCERT’s Assistant Director, Manaswi Gohain, offered words of appreciation, while other academic sessions were conducted by NCERT-CNCL senior consultants Dr. Monalisa Paul and Siddhant Singh.
The programme was anchored by Dr. Tabachchum Rizvi, Assistant Professor at the Madan Mohan Malaviya Teacher Training Centre, Gauhati University.

Senior faculty members from the Department of Communication & Journalism, including Dr. Chandan Kumar Goswami, and several senior professors from the Department of Education, were also present.
Support in conducting the event was extended by DIET Lecture Dr. Himangshu Goswami, General Secretary of the All Assam DIET Officers Association, Dr. Rituparna Mahanta, and ULLAS State Consultant Dr. Wajida.
Coordinator Dr. Jogen Chandra Kalita expressed hope that this orientation Programme would provide a strong organizational foundation for advancing the ULLAS programme across Assam.