The Adult Education and Skills Development Programs initiated by the Government of India with the support of the Department of School Education and Literacy and the Ministry of Human Resource Development aim to provide the necessary financial support for adults aged 15-35 , Their literacy levels or get themselves certified in certain courses or vocational titles that makes them more employable in the labour market. It was during 1986 that the Government of India partnered with NGOs and other non-profit organizations to establish plans for the benefit of adults. The main schemes that were operated by the Government in this category were Jan Shikshan Sansthans and Assistance to Voluntary Agencies in the field of Adult Education. The latter program aims to support the development of innovative technical and academic courses that will go far in the adult education department. The first scheme was designed for adults who had a very basic education or no education and aimed to provide vocational training courses.
Subsequently, the Indian Government decided to combine these two regimes and create a new scheme known as the "Voluntary Agencies Support Plan for Adult Education and Skills Development". Through this, the scheme helped nongovernmental organizations with the help and support needed for different projects. This new and revised plan aims to provide greater financial assistance to those in need than their previous counterparts. The Government launches a new set of rules, regulations and guidelines, whenever a new project arises. The nongovernmental agency will have to abide by these measures to obtain maximum benefits from that plan.
Objectives of the Scheme
The target audience of the program are adults aged 15-35 and the main objective of the Government is to involve extensively and intensively the voluntary and non-governmental agencies in this scheme. This will enable the government to generate the necessary help to improve adult education and skills development. The NLM (National Literacy Mission) monitors the performance of these schemes from time to time. The objectives of the scheme and those of the NLM are as follows:
1. Get self-sufficiency in literacy and arithmetic
2. Know why they were denied certain services and motivated to organize and participate in all kinds of development activities to remove obstacles that deny benefits
3. Be trained with the necessary skills to improve their general living conditions and their social status.
4. Following some of the basic national welfare regimes, such as the small family, equality of women, protection of the environment and realization of the value of national integration