 REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON
 ADULT EDUCATION & LITERACY
 (ANNEXURE-VIII)

We declare that the attainment of mass literacy is linked to the attainment of the national objectives of. eradication of poverty, the achievement of full employment and realisation of the values of national concern, namely national integration, women's equality and employment, small family norm, protection and conservation of environment.

1.1 Magnitude of the problem of illiteracy

The number of illiterate adults should be shown on the basis of the Census of 1991 instead of projecting them on the basis of 1981 Census.

1.2 Factors contributing to the phenomenon of rising illiteracy in the country.

These include :

*Inadequate coverage of children of school going age in schools due to poor infrastructure and unwillingness of parents.

* Majority of the children, particularly belonging to the underprivileged and in educationally backward areas, not staying long enough in the school to acquire the minimum levels of learning on account of social and economic compulsions caused by poverty and deprivation.

* Adult Education/Literacy programmes not being able to counter the pulls and compulsions resulting in large scale drop-out of adult learners before achieving minimum levels of literacy.

* Inadequate and unsatisfactory arrangements failing to enthuse neoliterates to take up post- literacy & continuing education programmes and preventing them from relapse into illiteracy.

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* Growth in literacy (both in rate as well as in absolute number) not keeping pace with rise in population (both rate of growth as well as in absolute number).

* Educational backwardness of specific areas (desert areas, slum areas, tribal and forest areas and other interior and inaccessible areas), poverty, social deprivation, economic exploitation, unemployment, irrelevance of the educational system to the larger needs of life, absence of a positive and conducive learning environment and general absence of a society which values and prizes literacy.

1.3 Strategy for reduction in illiteracy

This would include the following measures :-

* Universal enrolment and retention of children in schools upto 14 years of age.

* Improvement of socio-economic conditions including creating conditions for ameliorating the plight of socially and educationally disadvantaged groups and creating an environment which will facilitate learning and reinforce the teaching- learning process.

* Improvement in the quality of education imparted in the formal school system.

* Provision of non-formal education of good quality to those who cannot join regular primary school.

* Provision of opportunities to illiterate adults in 15-35 age-group to enable them to become functionally literate.

* Overriding priority to female literacy.

* Provision of opportunities and facilities for post-literacy and continuing education.

* Outlining a special strategy for areas which are actually disadvantaged from the point of infrastructure, communication, transport, etc. as also other educationally deficient areas.

1.4 Findings of Institutes of Social Science, Research and Management on evaluation of the impact of the Adult Education Programme conducted by them.

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The summary of the findings of evaluation studies as brought out in the agenda was noted. These include the following :-

* Lack of stress on time-bound plan for eradication of illiteracy.

* Lack of adequate planning and preparation with special reference to environment building prior to actual commencement of the Centre-based programme.

* Wrong selection of staff.

* Lack of back-up support by training and continuing education of functionaries.

* Delayed supply of teaching-learning materials.

* Deficient physical teaching-learning environment.

* Excessive emphasis on quantitative rather than on qualitative achievement.

* Lack of credible and effective management information system.

It was emphasized that while these deficiencies be made good in the current programme, they should not be allowed to repeat themselves in the future Centre-based programmes.

1.5 Shift from institutionalised Centre-based approach to Campaign approach

Determination and Unqualified support of State Govts. & UTs to literacy campaigns

The welcome shift which is taking place from the traditional Centre-based approach to the Campaigns-approach, which is area-specific, time-specific, volunteer-based, cost-effective and result-oriented, is endorsed. For this, there is need for total political will, commitment and unqualified support of the State Govts. and UTs as preconditions for the success of these campaigns and suggested that such involvement and Support may be secured in the following manner :-

In respect of districts where campaigns have already been launched.

* An energetic and committed district administration will have to be the focal point of mobilisation of social

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forces as well as coordination of all such forces to act in synergy for the success of the campaign. The State Government, in addition to creating conditions for such a synergy, will also have to ensure continuity of tenure of the functionaries at various levels of district administration who are closely involved with the campaign and particularly of the District Magistrate who provides the principal driving and coordinating force for the campaign in the district.

* Voluntary Agencies are grass root level organisations which have flexibility of structure and operations and have volunteers who have intimate knowledge of and contact with field conditions. They have, therefore, a very special role to play in a campaign for total literacy. The State Government and the District Administration will have to create conditions in which the VAs can make their voluntary contribution to the campaign more meaningfully and effectively. Such involvement and support of VAs can be secured in a number of ways such as giving them representation at various committees, assigning specific responsibilities such as resource support through training, evaluation, conducting of literacy programmes, etc.

* Involvement of State Government would also mean total emotional involvement of development functionaries in the campaign. Such an involvement is also necessary to convert the campaign. for total literacy into a campaign for immunisation, maternity protection, child health care. protection and conservation of environment, small family norm, etc. In addition to issuing instructions in clear and unambiguous terms to Secretaries to Govt. Heads of Development Departments. Revenue Divisional Commissioners, Collectors and all other independent bodies (including statutory and corporate bodies) regarding release of personnel and provision of logistic support to the campaign, the State Government also needs to monitor the pace and progress of such involvement.

In selection of new districts for launching campaigns afresh

* Campaigns can become a part of our strategy for total eradication of illiteracy only if State Govts. develop faith in the efficacy of the campaigns approach and

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create conditions for their success. One of the factors which can contribute to this process is selection of TLC districts with imagination and far sight. The following broad criteria may be kept in view for selection of the TLC districts :

O A rich folk culture and tradition which can be harnessed for environment building.

O A confluence of creative forces and energies which can be harnessed for providing resource support such as training, monitoring and evaluation of the campaign.

O A team of energetic and committed officials and non-officials at all levels.

Campaigns for total literacy have, as their clientele, persons in different age-groups such as 6-60, 9-35, 9-45, 15-35, 14-45. etc. Of these, children belonging to the age-group of 6-8 and 9-14 will have to be covered in the NFE programme, which has a duration of two years for achieving the minimum levels of learning as against the duration of 6 months or 200 hours for adults. While children in these age- groups can be covered in the campaigns by providing separate curriculum instructional materials. training and separate teaching- learning places for them, the State Govt. will have to take a policy decision in regard to extension of the NFE programme (Centre-based) beyond the campaign period with a view to ensuring minimum levels of learning for children covered in the campaign.

Ensuring adequate media coverage and support to the developments in campaign districts.

While sizeable media coverage and support will have to come from the Ministry of I&B and the autonomous bodies thereunder, such as AIR and Doordarshan, the State Govt. can contribute a lot in (a) preparing and disseminating success stories of ongoing campaign districts; (b) identifying creative thinkers, writers and artists and encouraging them to contribute by way of regular writeups in the local press to disseminate the message of literacy in its correct perspective as well as to dispel the mistaken notions about such campaigns for total literacy, and (c) Placing the services of

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the District information and Public Relations set up at the disposal of the campaign authorities for intensive publicity and propaganda for reporting the pace and progress of the campaign as well as the outcome thereof.

Mass Mobilisation

It was noted that significant achievement has been made both in regard to coverage, as well as in creation of a positive environment for literacy by Bharat Gyan Vigyan Jatha as well as Paidal Jatha of Gandhian and Sarvodaya workers in October November, 1990. It was also noted that a large number of area-specific concrete action plans for total literacy have been formulated as a result of the positive environment which has been created and total literacy campaigns are being implemented in a number of districts. In view of the imperative need for reinforcing and sustaining, it is suggested that similar initiative may be launched on a large scale all over the country. It is also suggested that necessary measures be taken to secure large scale involvement of students and teachers in the environment building as well as campaign effort by designing appropriate motivation strategies for them.

The new initiative takan by Prof Yash Pal, former Chairman, UGC and a number of like-minded persons on the subject of Mass Action for National Regeneration by large scale involvement of students in schools, colleges and universities for one year to deal with the problems of illiteracy and mal-development was welcomed. It was noted that for the current year, a beginning is to be made by extending the summer vacation during which students and teachers will work intensively for literacy on the one hand and by integrating literacy as an integral part of the curriculum in the school, collegiate and university system on the other. It was further noted that this has been endorsed by the Council of the National Literacy Mission Authority in its recent meeting held on 15th February, 1991.

Priority to women's literacy

Keeping in view the close linkage between the female literacy and the status of the women in society, maternity protection child health care and its impact on reduction of infant mortality rate and birth rate and also in view of the abysmally low rate of females literacy in several parts of the country, the Group suggested a number of measures for giving an effective boost to female lite-

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racy (both in terms of rate as well as absolute number), such as involvement of women functionaries in adult education and literacy programmes in large number, designing curriculum (both teaching- learning and training) as well as conducting the Programme in a manner which will enthuse and motivate woman to participate in the programme in large numbers, etc. It was noted with satisfaction that a good deal of link-age has been established between the campaign for total literacy in some of the districts and the new programme for women's equality and empowerment, known as "Mahila Samakhya". The functionaries of Mahila Samakhya in these districts, in addition to helping in creation of a positive environment for literacy, have also acted as resource persons in training and mobilisation of women. While recommending extension of the Mahila Samakhya project to larger number of districts, reinforcement of the nexus between Mahila Samakhya and Campaign mode for total literacy was also emphasised.

Involvement of Voluntary Agencies

The voluntary agencies will also have to be persuaded to adopt the new approach which is area-specific, time-bound, volunteer-based, cost-effective and result-oriented as far as possible and practicable. This would require considerable efforts on the part of the Central and State machinery in-charge of implementation of the programme in (a) organisation of work-shops for VAs for their large scale familiarisation with the area-approach and IPCL techniques; (b) assisting the VAs in formulation and reformulation of action plans for total literacy in specified areas; and (c) extending continuous encouragement, support and help to VAs to enable them to run the programme in a climate of total freedom and spontaneity.

The Director-General, National Literacy Mission stated that in the wake of the Paidal Jatha undertaken by a large number of Gandhian and Sarvodaya workers in the 5 States of Assam, Orissa, Bihar, UP and MP, a good number of good and reliable VAs have been mobilised and motivated to come up with concrete action plans for total literacy in specific areas. A workshop was held at Sevapuri near Varanasi with representatives of 30 such voluntary groups, which was attended by him and the Education Secretary, Govt. of India, and the need for creating a decentralised set up and mechanism for processing, of such proposal from the VAs, with utmost speed and expedition on the one hand and also to provide continuous encouragement, guidance, leader-

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ship and support on the other, was felt. It is in this context that need for constituting a State level body to assist the VAs in for- mulation and reformulation of action plans, sanction and release of funds, monitoring and all other promotional activities related to the VAs, was felt. He indicated for information of the Group the consensus which had emerged from the workshop about the broad composition of such a state level body. The composition would be as below :-

        
        Chairman :          a distinguished civil servant serving or  retired, 
                            of  sufficiently high seniority in  the  hierarchy 
                            who has emphathy and sensitivity to the  voluntary 
                            sector and who is acceptable as such.
        
                                          OR
        
                            an otherwise eminent person in public life.
        
        Secretary :         Should be full-time to be taken on deputation from 
                            the   State  Govt.  (Dev.   Deptt.).   Should   be 
                            acceptable to the VAs.
        
        Members :           3 local VAs of whom atleast one should be a woman.
        
                            1 VA from outside the State.
        
                            1 representative from GOI.

The state level body would be registered as a Society under the Societies Registration Act and may be named as "Sampoorna Saksharata, and Gram Swarajya Samiti" or by such other name as may be considered locally appropriate. In addition to scrutiny and sanction of proposals of VAs, this body would also function as a promotional and developmental. body vested with mobilisation and leadership development functions. While endorsing the suggestion regarding constitution of such a State level body for the specific purpose as indicated above, it was recommended that Director, Adult Education of the State and Director, State Resource Centre should also be made members of the society.

REPORT OF THE WORKING GROUP ON ADULT EDUCATION & LITERACY (ANNEXURE-VIII)