Rotary Club of Bombay’s Adult Literacy Programme featured in RID Anirudh Roy Chowdhury’s bi-monthly magazine
The Rotary Club of Bombay is leading a transformative initiative to eradicate adult illiteracy and promote functional
education across India. This pioneering project aims to empower adults—especially women-through the Each One Teach Manymodel, a scalable and sustainable approach to literacy.
The Adult Literacy Program is designed to promote and strengthen the education of non-literate adults, enabling
them to achieve functional literacy within just three months.
For only INR 275 per adult, the program provides an NCERT-approved Primer Kit with books and flashcards, stationery,
final examination facilitation, graduation certificates, and administrative support. This nominal cost ensures that
learners receive quality educational tools while keeping literacy affordable and accessible.
By the end of the program, learners acquire a vocabulary of approximately 700 key words, which is sufficient for
day-to-day activities such as reading bus destination signs, filling out bank deposit and withdrawal slips, and reading
newspaper headlines. They also gain basic numeracy skills that enable them to manage household and personal accounts,
along with the ability to read and write with confidence.
By the end of the program, learners acquire a vocabulary of approximately 700 key words, which is sufficient for day-to-day activities such as reading bus destination signs, filling out bank deposit and withdrawal slips, and reading newspaper headlines. They also gain basic numeracy skills that enable them to manage household and personal accounts,
along with the ability to read and write with confidence.
In addition to teaching reading, writing, and arithmetic, the program introduces learners to the advantages of various
government welfare schemes such as Aadhar, Pradhan Mantri Yojanas, and other important social and financial
inclusion programs. This ensures that newly literate adults are not only educated but also informed and empowered
to access resources that can improve their lives.
In a country grappling with poverty, casteism, gender inequality, and inadequate access to education, adult literacy
acts as a powerful catalyst for change. The completion of this program leads to enhanced self-confidence, improved
employment opportunities, upliftment of families and communities, greater political and civic participation, smaller
and better-educated families, and meaningful poverty reduction, contributing to long-term social transformation.
Since its inception, President Satyan Israni, PDG Sandip Agarwalla, PP Vineet Bhatnagar and Committee Chair Rtn Runit Shah from the Rotary Club of Bombay have successfully educated over 1,05,000 women through this initiative,
creating a ripple effect of empowerment and progress across communities in India.
PDG Rtn. Sandip Agarwalla
RI District 3141
