Click to play videoWest Godavari district: In a remote village in the West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, housewives and grandmothers are in full attendance in night schools.
The Andhra Pradesh government started these schools a decade ago as part of a unique state-run literacy drive that targets adult women as learners and teachers, Akshara Mahila.
Among the dozens of women attending government-run night schools is a 60-year-old grandmother Anjana Devi, who's learning to read.
"I didn't know how to read or write, but after my husband's death, I joined Akshara Mahila. Now I can use the bank and read newspapers," says Anjana Devi.
The course is structured to teach reading and the basics of writing in just 42 days, with two hours study every evening. There's no writing for the first two weeks.
Alphabet recognition is taught using charts, pictures, symbols and a specially designed adult education primer. Graduates go on to teach new students, keeping the cycle alive.
"My health and financial problems at home kept me away from school. But now, I'm really interested in studying," says Palagani Rajkumari, a student.
At the start of this programme, most of these women could barely read or write. But now, many can sign their names, some even maintain bank accounts — it's a transformation that is life changing.
From just 24 women in the first batch, Akshara Mahila has pushed Andhra's literacy drive onto the world map. It's been selected by UNESCO as one of the nine most effective global literacy models.
And the impact is visible — female literacy rates have shot up from 45 per cent to nearly 70 per cent in West Godavari alone.
"Women have realised that sending their child to school is important. So, enrolment in schools has gone up. Women are self-reliant now, they even question officials and authorities for better services" says K Sivakumarappa, Joint Director of Adult Education, Andhra Pradesh government.
Akshara Mahila has now evolved into Akshara Bharati, covering 12 lakh people in Andhra Pradesh. Seven lakh of these are adult women — mothers, wives, even grandmothers spreading the light of education.
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