Agartala: Tripura may find it hard to implement its plans for accomplishing 100 percent literacy in the state, owing to several challenges that need to be overcome.

The problems that are currently being faced by the state that are proving to be hindrance in accomplishing the literacy goal include poor scheme management, lack of proper training for those involved with the 'Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)' and lack of infrastructural facilities for the endeavor.

Only three blocks in the state from 40 blocks have been able to achieve 100 percent literacy till now.

Even though SSA is the biggest educational flagship programme that is being implemented in the nation with an objective to universalize education, it has not been much effective in the state of Tripura.

SSA involves providing primary education to children of the age group 6-14 years, providing educational facilities to all inaccessible and unreserved rural habitations, creating new infrastructure and renovating the current one. The highest aim of the programme is to provide quality education to school students all over India.

The SSA programme had been launched in Tripura in 2001-2002 with a goal to attain complete literacy by the year 2010-2011.

It should be noted that 133,254 children who were out-of-school were enrolled to schools between 2001-2002 and 2010-2011 under the programme. Also, the dropout rate in the state had fallen from 50.42 percent in 2001-2002 to 4.55 percent in 2009-2010. around 2,660 teachers were appointed during this time and 2,607 were employed for upper primary schools.

Other accomplishments of SSA in the state include 332 cluster resource centres that had been set up and the several schools that had been opened. The project approval board sanctioned funds worth Rs. 562.95 crores during 2001-2002 and 2009-2010 for the implementation of the SSA.

The sustenance of the infrastructure in the absence of financial assistance from the Centre was a major issue during the implementation of the SSA. During the current financial year, around 90 percent of SSA allocation was incurred by the Centre, which meant that only 10 percent had to be borne by the state.

What the SSA scheme currently lacks in the state is providing the kind of quality education to rural students which is apt for the present socio-economic context.

The government had launched the mid-day meal scheme for all government and government-aided primary schools in Tripura on August 15, 1995. this was done as a measure to raise the enrolment of children to schools an well s to reduce the dropout rate.

Even though the state had claimed that the scheme had been a success, its claims were marred by an lack or absence of documents that proved the claims of achievement by the education department of the state.

The secondary objective of the mid-day meal scheme was to provide nutrition to children in primary classes. However, this issue, till date, has not been properly addressed.

The state currently possesses enough unspent funds with different schools inspectorates and unutilized foodgrains with the Food Corporation of India for the SSA and mid-day meal schemes to be implemented in a better way than before.

Unheard of before, embezzlement of government funds in the North-east states has been gaining momentum. This might prove to be a major hindrance for the state to achieve it's long-pending goal of 100 percent literacy.