Overview:
Addressing illiteracy in
India has to be undertaken in an accelerated manner to overtake the rate of
population growth. It is estimated that a million youth are going to be
entering the workforce every month. In providing jobs and opportunities for
these new entrants, the illiterate among them will have to be factored in.
A number of
recommendations are made to reduce illiteracy:
- The solution has to be driven by a Central Organization for Consistency and expediency. This should factor in the multiplicity of languages and input from the States.
- Adult/youth illiteracy and child illiteracy are two different problems each requiring its own unique solution.
- Instructor involvement is indispensable and the solution has to include and augment the traditional methods of teaching students such as black board, slate, chalk, paper, pencil/pen, books and charts. The outcome of the solution should enable an interested and marginally competent individual to effectively impart literacy.
- Involvement of urban students of all disciplines, like rural internship of medical students must be mandated to assist in this endeavor.
The situation:
According to a report by
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, India has the
highest population of illiterate adults at 287 million. This amounts to 37 per
cent of the global total.
The 2013/14 Education for
All Global Monitoring Report said India’s literacy rate rose from 48 per cent
in 1991 to 63 per cent in 2006, the latest year it has available data, but
population growth cancelled the gains so there was no change in the number of
illiterate adults.
The data indicates that
progress is being made, but not fast enough.
The Cause:
Illiteracy results from
any of the following:
- Teacher incompetence and/or absenteeism
- Access to schools
- Student absenteeism
While the above reasons has
resulted in the current number of illiterate adults the issue going forward, is
whether it will continue to fall short of reaching the desired level of
literacy.
Setting Realistic Goals:
A relevant statistic to put things in
perspective is to compare the illiteracy rate of the US. According to a study conducted in late April 2013, by the U.S.
Department of Education and the National Institute of Literacy, 32 million adults in the U.S. can't read. That's 14
percent of the population. 21 percent of adults in the U.S. read below a 5th
grade level, and 19 percent of high school graduates can't read. It had not
changed in 10 yrs.
So if India were to take
the situation in the US as a baseline and India achieves 85% literacy rate,
then that would be a significant achievement.
Adult and Student
illiteracy – Two issues requiring two solutions:
Addressing adult
illiteracy and the ensuring literacy of current students require different
initiatives.
India faces the challenge
of a million youth entering the workforce every month. A significant number of
these youth are Uneducated, Unskilled and will be Unemployed (U3), if Jobs or
Opportunities are lacking. The situation is further acerbated with a significant
number of them being illiterate (U2I). India is staring at the “Demographic
Dividend” turning into a “Demographic Disaster”!
Jobs for illiterate youth
– consider jobs that don’t require reading and writing skills:
Addressing Adult
Illiteracy is a critical immediate issue. Ensuring literacy is imparted in
schools is a high priority issue. Furthermore, faced with the gargantuan
challenge of the U2I group, a pragmatic approach would be to offer teaching
interested U2I just reading skills, and where relevant, train them in skills
that don’t require reading or writing skills.
War against illiteracy?:
Addressing this challenge
requires a war like footing. Needless to say, it requires people with the
requisite skills assisted by teaching aids both traditional and technological.
The solution has to be available in multiple languages.
The traditional approach
is well understood but badly implemented due to lack of due process and
accountability. Going forward the issue is whether to fix the process or
disrupt it with technology. The pragmatic approach is to attempt both.
Introducing change is resisted for a number of reasons. It has to be co-opted
by the existing organization. Teachers should be convinced that the
introduction of teaching aids – Print, TV, and Technology etc. will facilitate
their role, will enhance their effectiveness and make things enjoyable for the
students and themselves as well. The key is to convince the staff that the
changes being introduced are not viewed as job threatening or playing into
their insecurities. Selecting and supporting the technology platform along with
the requisite training has its challenges as well.
Goals and Reach:
Regardless of the approach
taken achieving the following literacy goals are recommended:
- 95+% in all cities having airports
- 90+% in all towns with major train stations/junctions
- 85+% in all towns with railway stations
- 80+% in all towns with Bus Stations reachable by bus within an hour from a railway station
The reason for establishing
the above goals is two fold. First a feeder approach will make the reach more
effective and enable regular evaluation of the progress or lack of progress
being made. Secondly it will provide opportunities for urban/town students to
participate in this endeavour.
Call for a National
student program:
Student participation is
critical, to assist and monitor a nationwide illiteracy eradication program.
Other countries like Israel, Singapore, and Norway etc. have a compulsory army
internship program that all students have to participate in. India could use a
rural assignment program that is compulsory for all college students of
government assisted colleges of all disciplines. Currently it is mandatory only
for medical students.
Enhancing the Traditional
approach to literacy:
MOOCs (Massive Open
On-Line Courses) are trending as an effective learning system. However, it
requires the student to be literate. Teaching reading and writing requires
significant teacher-student interaction and even if it can be proven to work,
by eliminating the teacher, it will take time and will have to be implemented
in multiple scripts.
The basic assertion is
that teacher, black board, slate, chalk, paper and pencil/pen are
indispensable. In addition to available teaching aids such as charts and books,
all options of augmenting teaching reading and writing skills must be used such
as DVDs, TV programs and Internet/Mobile based technologies.
Besides being affordable
and scalable a goal would be to enable an interested and somewhat competent
instructor to teach reading and writing skills. In essence the learning system
would train the trainer as well.
Rapid execution:
As mentioned earlier, time
is of the essence. The answer is to establish a Center for Literacy that
produces these learning aids in multiple languages and then provide incentives the
States to implement it. Maybe there are organizations already existing that can
be re-purposed and given the charter to proceed with a sense of urgency.
This is a problem that can
be solved with the right political and administrative will.
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