UEE to pre-empt adult illiteracy

7.9.0 The low rate of literacy in India is a direct consequence of continued failure to universalise Elementary Education, a Constitutional directive. In this context, a comment is necessary about Kerala, where the literacy rates have almost reached the level of, 90% or, in certain parts, even higher. The Committee observes that the success in Kerala on the literacy front is a result of more than a 100 years of sustained effort by various segments of society in promoting school education. Same can be said about Mizoram, where, too, the literacy rates are far ahead than in most part of India.

Recommendations

i) Imparting of literacy should be placed in the context of the developmental needs of the adult. Adult education programmes should be accompanied by a wide range of measures relating to health, nutrition, housing, and employment needs. They should also address themselves to issues of fundamental rights, laws secularism and democracy. After creating awareness in respect of these essential needs and issues the adult learner himself should be expected to, ask for adult literacy as a felt need. Instead of starting with adult literacy, the start should be in respect of creation of awareness for essential needs and from there work backward to adult literacy.

ii) While the mass campaig strategy may be tried out further, the alternative model being employed by the Department of Education through Mahila Samakhya may be closely monitored and its application for adult literacy examined considering that the objective of this project is to create awareness regarding issues of survival and thereby generate felt needs.

iii) The mass campaign strategy as well as the Mahila Samakhya model may be objectively evaluated to look for meaningful lessons for the future.

iv) On most of the developmental problems and matters relating to, fundamental rights, social justice etc., the majority of the illiterates more often than not find themselves in positions of conflict with the official authorities. Therefore genuine initiatives for adult education programmes, voluntary agencies, community groups, political parties and their mass organisations should be facilitated.

v) While NLM goes ahead with its planned literacy campaign in the Eighth Five Year Plan period, an independent study group should be commissioned to evaluate the programme, particularly with a view to arrive at an

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understanding of what may be appropriate strategies to remove adult illiteracy in the quicker possible time. The evaluation may also look into the various alternative models and study their relevance with respect to diverse socio- cultural and political conditions 'in different parts of India. The minimum objective of this study should be to find out on objective basis what approaches do not yield results, so that, five years later, at least those models may not be encouraged.

vi) The Department of Education should coordinate with the Department of Rural Development and Ministry of Labour and organise programmes for vocational skills for the adult illiterates facilitating flow of funds from programmes like TRYSEM (Training of Youth for Self-Employment). Community Polytechnics should also be involved in a large scale in imparting vocational skills amongst the adult illiterates. (This will enhance the employability of the adult illiterates and thereby create awareness regarding basic needs and issues of life, in the process generating demand for adult literacy as a felt need.)

vii) The neo-literates should be placed in an environment in which they have constant interface with the challenge of the written word.

viii) illiterate adults are those who have either not had access to education or having had access, have been unable to complete their schooling. A person has to remain in school atleast for a minimum of four years to attain a relatively irreversible level of literacy. Literacy should be a form of basic training making it possible for the adult to acquire some knowledge as may be necessary. It is imperative that Universalisation of Elementary Education is given top priority in educational planning and resource allocation. The objective should be to ensure that no child in the early nineties shall grow into an illiterate adult in the next century. (If this can be achieved, we would have then succeeded in controlling the chief contributor to illiteracy in India, i.e. low rate of participation in school education.)

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