ULLAS initiative: Students in teaching courses to be mandatorily engaged in adult literacy drive

ULLAS stands for Understanding of Lifelong Learning for All in Society. It is also called the Nav Bharat Saksharta Karyakram or New India Literacy Programme. Launched in April 2022, it is designed to help non-literate people aged 15 years and above gain foundational literacy and numeracy.

The programme uses volunteer-led, face-to-face teaching alongside digital materials on its mobile application and community learning centres. Learners study basic reading, writing and numeracy, plus critical life skills, vocational skills, basic education and continuing education. They later take the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test, or FLNAT.

ULLAS aims to cover 50 million learners by 2027. Those who pass FLNAT receive literacy certification from the National Institute of Open Schooling. The new guidelines bring student teachers into this effort as mandatory Volunteer Teachers, linking their academic credits to their learners’ certification.

Participation is mandatory for student teachers enrolled in NCTE-recognised Teacher Education Programmes. The covered courses include B.Ed., B.P.Ed., M.Ed., M.P.Ed., D.El.Ed. and the Integrated Teacher Education Programme. These learners must register as Volunteer Teachers under ULLAS.

The number of adults depends on course duration. Students in two-year programmes must help at least five non-literate adults become literate. Those in three-year programmes must support six learners, while students in four-year programmes must support eight. The target therefore rises with the length of the teacher-education course.

This requirement is tied to academic recognition. Participation alone is insufficient for credits or equivalent marks. Each assigned learner must appear for FLNAT and receive ULLAS literacy certification. The guidelines do not specify which academic batch, admission year or implementation date is covered.

ULLAS treats adult learning as broader than reading, writing and numeracy. Student teachers will also impart critical life skills, vocational skills, basic education and continuing education. The programme therefore connects literacy with practical learning and ongoing educational opportunities.

For example, a student teacher must identify and register assigned adults, plan teaching schedules, prepare lessons and conduct regular assessments. Teaching uses face-to-face work, supported by digital learning materials available through the ULLAS mobile application and community learning centres. Learners then prepare for the FLNAT.

The guidelines make student teachers responsible for monitoring learner progress and helping learners reach certification. This matters because their academic credits depend on successful certification, not merely on taking part. The source text does not provide a longer itemised list of the specific life or vocational skills taught.

A learner’s progress is monitored through regular assessments conducted by the student teacher. These checks support teaching and help track whether the learner is moving toward foundational literacy and numeracy. The final formal measure is the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test, known as FLNAT.

Learners study through volunteer-led face-to-face teaching, digital materials on the ULLAS mobile application and community learning centres. After preparing, they appear for FLNAT. The test is conducted twice a year, giving learners recurring opportunities to complete the programme’s formal assessment process.

Learners who clear FLNAT receive literacy certification from the National Institute of Open Schooling. That certification is also the key mechanism linking learner progress to student-teacher credits. Under the guidelines, credits or equivalent marks are awarded only after assigned learners appear in FLNAT and are certified as literate under ULLAS.

The guidelines make learner certification the condition for academic credit. A student teacher may register, teach and participate in ULLAS, but those actions alone do not qualify for credits or equivalent grades or marks. The assigned learners must complete the formal assessment pathway.

The key mechanism is FLNAT. Learners must appear for the Foundational Literacy and Numeracy Assessment Test and be certified as literate under ULLAS. Only then can the student teacher receive the academic credit or equivalent academic recognition linked to the programme.

If assigned learners do not receive certification, the guidelines therefore do not provide the student teacher with those ULLAS-linked credits. The article does not explain whether the student teacher gets another opportunity, repeats the requirement or faces a separate academic penalty. It does state that no monetary incentives will be offered; credits, marks or grades are the incentive.

The article places the main operational responsibility on student teachers acting as ULLAS Volunteer Teachers. With help from teacher educators, they must register themselves on the ULLAS mobile application. They are also responsible for identifying and registering the non-literate learners they will teach.

After learners are identified, student teachers plan teaching schedules, prepare lessons and conduct regular assessments. These duties create the working link between the teacher-education institution, the volunteer teacher and the adult learner. The mobile application and community learning centres provide digital and learning support.

The source does not explain a separate process by which institutions select learners or formally assign them to individual student teachers. It does state that the National Council for Teacher Education is expected to provide regulatory and academic direction, including credit linkages. The detailed institutional monitoring structure is therefore not specified in the reported guidelines.

ULLAS is framed as a lifelong-learning programme rather than a narrow reading campaign. Alongside foundational literacy and numeracy, it includes critical life skills, vocational skills, basic education and continuing education. This broader design recognises that literacy learning is connected to practical knowledge and ongoing education.

Its learning model combines face-to-face volunteer teaching with digital materials on the ULLAS mobile application and community learning centres. Learners therefore study basic skills while also engaging with wider forms of learning before taking FLNAT. The programme’s stated content gives adult learners more than a single test-focused goal.

The guidelines also acknowledge ULLAS’s role in promoting adult literacy and restoring learners’ dignity and confidence. The source does not list detailed outcomes for digital or financial literacy specifically. It does show that ULLAS includes wider skills and continuing education, rather than limiting adult learning to reading, writing and numeracy.