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VIDYA
Centre-Based
A trained Akshar Saathi runs a community centre of 40+ adult learners in a shared village space.
- 40 learners per centre
- Reaches whole hamlets at once
- Works where schools are absent
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4,00,000+adults made literate
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200+NGO partners on the ground
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22States across India
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100,000Youth Volunteers trained
Akshar Jyoti
Making India Totally Literate.
A movement that leads to opportunity — helping every adult in India read, write and count.
Akshar Jyoti is India Humanity Foundation's adult literacy programme, bringing the light of literacy to every community. For adults who never went to school, or left too soon, learning to read, write and count brings more than a skill — it brings a sense of independence, opportunity and dignity. This is a goal that is in motion and has impacted 4 lakh adults till date.
The challenge
The challenge
20 crore
adults in India still cannot read, write or count.
They were never enrolled in school, or left too soon. Without literacy, they are locked out of bank accounts, government schemes and job forms — even as India races toward a knowledge economy.
A literate household changes everything — parents who can read become more involved in their children's education, helping build a brighter future for their families and for the country. And as every member of the household learns, doors that were once closed to them begin to open
Understand the challengeHow literacy opens opportunities?
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01
Ability to access government schemes
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02
Signing the name as an identity
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03
Reading signboards on the road
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04
Opening bank accounts
About us
How We Work to Make a Difference
Akshar Jyoti brings adults who never went to school or dropped out early into a structured 60-session programme that builds the skills and confidence to read, write and count.
Graduation ceremony of adults who become literate under Akshar Jyoti
Vision
A fully literate India, where every adult has the confidence, skill and freedom to read, write and count.
Akshar Jyoti is an Adult Literacy Program of India Humanity Foundation
Mission
Making India totally literate.
We make literacy accessible to every adult who never went to school or left too early — through a structured, low-cost, 60-session programme delivered by trained volunteers and community facilitators, in the learner's own neighbourhood.
Meet Akshara
The friendly face of Akshar Jyoti
Akshara, our mascot, represents every volunteer, every teacher, every student, every Akshar Saathi who steps forward to teach adults to read and write. Through Akshara, we celebrate the power of literacy, the joy of sharing knowledge and the collective effort to build a literate India.
Together, let's spread the light of literacy to Making India Totally Literate.
Why now
Why now
The Government's ULLAS – Nav Bharat Saaksharta Karyakram (2022–27), aligned with NEP 2020, calls on every literate citizen to teach at least one adult in their community.
Akshar Jyoti answers that call.
How it works
One learner. Sixty sessions. A new life.
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01
Identify
Volunteers and Akshar Saathis map non-literate adults in the community.
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02
Enroll
Learners join a DIKSHA peer-taught group or a VIDYA centre batch.
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03
Teach
60 structured sessions using field-tested flashcards and activities.
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04
Certify
Learners are assessed and recognised as functionally literate.
Our implementation model
One brand. Two delivery models.
The programme aims to enlighten the whole community through the light of literacy — through a student in the home, or a centre in the village.
DIKSHA
Each-One-Teach-One
A school student teaches one non-literate adult in their own neighbourhood, 45–60 minutes a day.
- Teacher cost: zero
- Reaches inside the home
- Builds a citizen, not just a learner
Impact & reach
This is not a pilot.
It is already working.
4,00,000+
adults made literate
200+
NGO partners on the ground
22
states across India
100,000+
youth volunteers trained
Get involved
How you can support
Work with us
Partner as an NGO, institution or CSR team to bring Akshar Jyoti to your community.