One Step Forward, Two Step Backwards S Mohana Kumar THE Total Literacy Programme (TLP) in Ernakulam district and its extension to the rest of the districts in Kerala in February 1990 ushered in a new era in the struggle against mass illiteracy in the country. The model of literacy campaign experimented in Kerala has now become widely accepted as the most effective way of achieving mass literacy. It is in the light of Kerala's experience that states like Goa, Pondicherry and selected districts in West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have launched their total literacy programmes. But, while the message of Kerala
