Panaji: The Goa government on Friday decided to launch an adult education programme intended to take the state, ranked as India's fourth most literate, to the top of the list.

Chief Minister Digambar Kamat said that the state education department had been authorized to embark on a new adult education mission which will push the 82-84 percent literacy rate to 100 percent.

"The cabinet has approved the new scheme today. We have always been languishing between the 82 to 84 per cent mark for the last several years. With this new innovative scheme, we will work our way up," he told reporters in the post cabinet meet briefing.

Kamat further said that the adult education scheme would be worked out with the help of the state education department and other NGOs working in the education sphere.

"In earlier schemes, we used to have night schools for adults. But the concept did not work. We are looking at working things differently now," Kamat said, adding the new scheme will be flexible, especially in the timing of the classes and their location in order to suit the needs of those employed and unemployed people seeking an education.

The new adult education scheme is expected to cost the exchequer Rs.1.78 crore, he said. IANS