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The Rediff Special/ Purshottam Das Chitlangia

The Mountain must go to Mohammad

My presentation is based on my experience and knowledge gathered over the last ten years in promoting non-formal primary education in remote tribal areas. This will be the focus area of my presentation today. However, I will also briefly touch upon middle and higher level education.

Ladies and gentlemen, we all know the importance of primary education and its current status in our country. Official statistics look rosy but are far removed from reality. It is high time to realise that unless there is a concerted and collective effort to seriously address the issue of accelerating the spread of effective primary education, as a nation, we will continue to lag behind most other countries. My objective in this presentation is to remind you about this imperative. Literacy is widely recognised as the principal index of social leaning. It does not simply mean an individual's capability to sign his name. That is what in common official parlance of India today known as Shaksharata. This to my mind is an erroneous understanding of the concept of literacy.

Literacy means an individual's capability of respect of three R's -- that is, Reading, Writing and Arithmetic, and specially the ability to deal with real life problems. That alone is not enough for developing an articulated mind in our children. Keeping this in mind, we, in the Friends of Tribals Society, concerned with basic education, have extended our curriculum for the children by also including such important aspects as awareness of social, geographical and cultural environment, development of healthy body and mind through yoga and other physical exercises; development of etiquette based on national tradition and culture.

The countries which have crossed the barrier of economic stagnation and backwardness had achieved what is known as the 'literacy threshold,' which in percentage term is around 80. This is an empirical observation based on the findings of major industrially developed and also leading developing countries of the world.

Let me now present some relevant facts on literacy in India and some of the selected developed and developing countries. Most of the figures that I shall be quoting on India are from official statistics.

Literacy in USA, China and Vietnam is over 90 per cent. In German, it is over 80 per cent. In all these countries the male-female literacy ratio is more or less the same.

In India, however, male literacy is 65 per cent and female literacy is around 40 per cent -- overrall 52 per cent. Clearly, India is far away from the critical literacy threshold required for achieving all round balanced economic growth.

In 1951, the literacy level in the country was only 18 per cent of the population. By 1991, the level increased to 52 per cent. This percentage growth in literacy loses its relevance when I find that after 50 years of Independence, there are about 40 crore (400 million) illiterates -- a number more than the total population of the country at the time of Independence.

Let us compare the growth of literate persons in India and China in four decades -- 1951 to 1991. While the total illiterate persons in India during this period increased from 30 crore (300 million) to 41 crore (410 million), in China it reduced from 33 crore (330 million) to 22.5 crore (225 million). We all know China's population is higher than that of India.

Why this failure? The subject should be viewed from the broad historical perspective. India is a country with an ancient civilisation well known for its early system of education. It had evolved an unique system of education called gurukul which meant teacher's home, as the education took place at the home of the teacher. Vanaprastha too was recognised as an institution of providing basic and primary education to the children. The vanaprastha was the stage in life when learned persons would renounce working for their family, migrate to rural area and settle down in ashrams, and spread education.

With foreign invasion and changes in the socio-political structures, indigenous educational system got increasingly marginalised. The final nail on the coffin was the decision of the British government to promote education of the European literature and science among the people of India. The objective of the foreign colonial government engaged in trade and commerce and also administration was to create middle level white collar employees, babus or clerks.

Thus, in place of gurukuls, in the first quarter of the 19th century, primarily schools on the pattern of similar schools in England were opened in the country. The government appointed the teachers in the primary schools and thus education, instead of being involvement or participation of community at large, increasingly became an exclusive function of the State. Each of the educational system during the colonial period, therefore, became limited. More persons were out of it than who had access to it.

The same old colonial system and the attitude inherited therefrom prevails even today and, as a result, effective education remains confined to a limited few despite the Article 45 of the Constitution pledging 'free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years.'

However, to fulfil the Constitutional obligation, the amount of financial resources required was not or could not be allocated and, it is in my opinion, another important season for the poor state of literacy in our country.

In 1991 in the age group of 6-11 years 1.91 crore (19.1 million) children were not attending any school. The corresponding population figures for 11-16 years age group are between 5.5 and 6.5 crore (55 and 65 million) and that in the age group of 16-18 years is around 8.5 crore (85 million).

There are about 12 crore (120 million) children in the country in the age group of 6-11 years, out of whom 10-11 crore (100-110 million) are reportedly enrolled. Personally, I am sceptical of this enrolment figure.

According to official statistics, 82 per cent of the tribal children in the age group of 5-9 years are reportedly attending primary school.

From my own experience of working in tribal areas, I can say that the official figures do not correspond to the ground reality. Moreover, 70 per cent to 80 per cent of tribal children drop out of school after 1 or 2 years.

But do we have the required learning conditions for schooling 10 crore (100 million) school-going children and the required budget provisions?

There is a vast gap between required funds and funds available

The Rediff Specials

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