Adult Literacy Program

Empowerment through learning

Computer Based Functional Literacy (CBFL)

The CBFL is developed and implemented by :TCS Corporate Adult Literacy Program (ALP) Group

Traditionally it requires 200 hours of instruction – up to two years – to make a person literate.

Leads to a high dropout rate.

Economic development is related to literacy

260 million illiterate in India. Initiative started in the year 2000 to addressand overcome impediments of illiteracy through information technology

Multimedia features

Computers, were made use of with animated graphics patterns for visualization and audio appreciation

CBFL software was designed and developed by TCS

Enables the illiterate to develop 3 R’s in 45 to 50 hours

Metaphors in the multimedia presentation make it interesting and attractive for learners.

Puppet Shows are used

Use of minimal set of words to train learners on all letters in the language.

The software has features for the learner to create new words for display and teaching

Teacher can operate the computer and software easily.

Even without any prior computer training, the teacher can learn to use the machine in a day

Available in nine languages: (Telugu, Tamil, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Gujarathi,Oria, Kannada and Urdu)

The multimedia format ensures the pronunciation of the words / letters is taught accurately through the system, rather than being left to individual teachers

No large scale infrastructure or majortraining of teachers is required

The teacher conducts classes using acomputer for a batch of 20 to 25 student in a session.

TCS trains the teacher and provides the software, donating computers on need basis

Classes are run for one to two hours each day for about three months to suit the local community

High-quality CBFL software, in an extremely short turn around time conceptualized & developed by TCS in2005

It uses automated process to assemble audio and visual elements that conform to TCS standards for instructional material.

Text is converted to speech & produce variants of the CBFL solution & training material is also produced for facilitators , script writers & software developers

Second generation CBFL now has three parts Reading, Writing and arithmetic – in two forms

Puppet Theater model involving animated puppetry built around a localized theme

Electronic Book or e-book - electronic version of the NLM primers - more cost effective than its printed version. .

On the Indian Map:CBFL program is active in more than 250 centers

States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

Over 2,00,000 people have been made literate

Andhra Pradesh accounts for the major success story With help from the State Adult Education Authorities, a total of over 1,00,000 learners have been covered till date in the state.

In the State of Tamilnadu, more than 36,000 have been trained in Chennai and other districts. The State government has plans to deploy CBFL in Panchayat (in village council) centers

Successfully conducted in Maharashtra in Pimpri, Chinchwad, around Pune and Purandar taluka in about in about 35 centers where a total of 10,000 were trained in about 35 centers

In Bengali, it has been implemented in and around Kolkata.

In North India, 15 centers, including Tihar jail are carrying the program forward in Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Uttaranchal covering 3,500 learners.

The NASSCOM Foundation has deployed the program with over 10,000 persons in various parts of India.

The CBFL program in nine languages will be adopted by Gramin Gyan Abhiyaan, initiated by the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation and partnered by TCS.

It aims to connect every village through a network of Village Knowledge Centers, covering about 6,00,000 Indian villages.

The National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) conducted 9 CBFL pilot experimental camps in A.P., Karnataka and UP for 40 days in July-Sept 2010.

The learners took the test conducted by NIOS and 94% of them passed the exam with ‘A’ grade and the remaining with ‘B’ grade. The drop rate was very negligible

Elsewhere on the Globe:

In Pretoria, the TCS team helped design, develop, and initiate the first set of lessons in the Northern Sotho language. It was implemented in Lephalale Northern Province

The Stern Stewart Institute, Munich sponsored the development of the TCS CBFL in Morre, an important tribal language spoken in Burkina Faso, West Africa.

Benefits

Acceleration in the pace of learning to 3R’s.

It takes about one –third the time required by conventional methods

Flexibility in adjusting to individual learning speeds

Lower dropout rates in comparison with other adult literacy programs