3 Concept of Adult Education in India Part 1

Asha Patil

epgp books

 

 

Content Outline

 

1.  Objectives

 

2.  Introduction

 

2.1. Concept of Basic Literacy (1882-1947)

 

2.2. Concept of Social Education (1948-64)

 

 

 

1.      Objectives

 

At the end of this module the learner will be able to,

 

·             Recall the evolution of the concept of Adult education

·             Explain five phases in the evolution of the concept of Adult Education

·             Identify the objectives of five phases in the evolution of the concept of Adult Education

·             Define Social Education

·             Identify the objectives of Social Education

 

 

2.      Introduction

 

Concept of Adult Education varies from country to country. The concept of adult education in India has changed over a period of time. Broadly speaking, in pre-independence era, it mainly focused on 3R’s that is reading, writing and arithmetic.

 

After independence, the concept of adult education changed from basic literacy to lifelong learning. Let us see in detail how the concept of adult education in India has evolved.

 

To understand the evolution of concept of adult education in India, one needs to know following five phases namely:

 

·             Concept of Basic Literacy (1882-1947)

·             Concept of Social Education (1948-64)

·             Concept of Functional Literacy (1965-77)

·             Concept of Developmental Literacy (1978-2008)

·             Concept of Lifelong Learning (2009 onwards)

 

2.1. Concept of Basic Literacy (1882-1947)

 

This was a pre-independence era and Britisher’s were rulers. The basis for evolution of concept of Basic Literacy was expansion of night schools. The curriculum of basic literacy included skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. Duration of the programme was for two years. Separate curriculum was prepared specially for adult education purpose. Apart from imparting skills in 3R’s that is reading, writing and arithmetic, the curriculum also included stories of historical importance, lessons giving information on health, hygiene and first aid.

 

  • ·     Implementation

 

The duration of the actual teaching was for 100 school days in a year. Classes were held in the evenings, usually between 7.00 pm to 10.00 pm. Alphabetical method was used for teaching adults. Adults were first introduced to all alphabets followed by preparation of words and then making a full meaningful sentence. It was really a challenge for both the learner as well as the instructor/teacher to learn/teach meaningless alphabet. Most of the states who implemented this programme did not conduct examination, except Punjab. In Punjab, terminal examinations were conducted, but it was voluntary. Learners, who appeared for the examination and completed successfully, were awarded certificates. Formal school teachers were engaged in teaching in the adult education classes. They were paid Rs. 3/- per month, which was additional to their regular salary. Apart from school teachers, unemployed youth were also engaged in teaching these night schools of adult education. They were paid Rs. 5/- per month. Night schools were also received recurring grants of Rs. 11/-per month towards lighting charges.

 

There were regional variations in implementation of literacy programme.

 

The concept of basic literacy remained the same throughout the British period. In 19th and 20th century, a variety of attempts by national leaders, social reformers, etc. were made to educate illiterate people. For example, Keshub Chandra Sen, great champion of Mass Education and Devendra Nath Tagore, an eminent intellectual, set up a society namely “Sangat Sabha’ in 1859. Sangat means together and Sabha means meeting. The objective behind this establishment of Sangat Sabha was people will come together and discuss on current social problems and spiritual things. In 19th century, the Brahmo Samaj in Bengal took leadership to educate illiterate women.

 

It is noteworthy to mention here the ideas of Swami Vivekananda in the 19th century, on Adult Education. He strongly believed that education should be given in vernacular language. According to him education should build life of a person.

 

In early period of 20th century, social reformers through their organizations organized a number of literacy classes to educate masses. To sustain literacy, libraries were also set up.

 

As the freedom movement took shape, the national leaders realized the danger of handing over power to illiterate electorate. They realized the importance of literacy for political and economic reasons. Thus, various attempts were made in all parts of the country to educate illiterates. For example, night schools for illiterate people were organized by nationalists’ leaders namely Lala Lajpat Rai and B.G.Tilak. Peasant schools were established in Guntur and west Godawari districts of Andhra Pradesh. To train local young leadership many schools were opened.

 

As the freedom movement took shape, the concept of Adult Education widened. The historical review shows that during 1920, adult education included awareness components as well. As stated earlier, three R’s were given through night schools. To make adult education interesting, in addition to literacy, various awareness programmes on topics which were directly related to learners’ life were organized through public lectures and discussions, film shows, etc. They focused on health issues, economy, etc. Libraries were opened to sustain the literacy skills achieved by people. In addition to this, community development projects were implemented. Till this time, adult education was a non-official activity. Due to the increasing intensity of freedom struggle and awakening of masses, adult education became official programme by 1940’s (Shah, 1999).

 

2.2. Concept of Social Education (1948-64)

 

The concept of Social Education was conceived in 1948 and in 1952 it was integrated with Community Development Programme. Initially the concept was not clear. In 1963, a committee was appointed under the chairpersonship of Mohan Sinha Mehta. This committee developed the concept of social education. It  emphasised more on social aspects and literacy was part of it.

  •     Background

 

After independence, India adopted the welfare approach for development. This required structural reforms in various fields. The successful implementation of Mass Literacy Campaign in pre-independence period (1938-47) had already awakened the masses. This also became a ground and need to formulate separate policy for adult education. At the time of independence, India had literacy rate of 12.2 per cent. In earlier programmes which were implemented in pre-independence era, concept of adult education was too narrow. In post-independence, it was decided to widen this concept. Thus, health and hygiene, recreation, up-gradation of vocational skills, improvement in social, cultural and economic life and citizenship education were included in the concept and termed as social education (Dutta, 1986 p. 59).

 

As mentioned in First Five Year Plan, social education was a comprehensive programme of community upliftment through community action. Some of the objectives of social education were:

 

§   To instil a consciousness of the rights and duties of citizenship and foster a spirit of service to the community;

 

§   To provide training in crafts both as a hobby and as a means to economic betterment;

 

§   To provide cultural and recreational facilities by way of folk dances, drama, music poetry, recitation and other ways of spontaneous self-expression;

 

§   To give a reasonable mastery over the tools of learning-reading, writing, simple arithmetic and to create an interest in knowledge; and  To provide facilities for continuation of education through libraries, discussion groups, clubs and institutions like peoples’ Colleges.(ibid, p19)

 

  •     Definition of social education

 

A committee of seven eminent educationists of India under the chairpersonship of Mohan Lal Saxena conceptualized social education. They defined social education as a ‘course of study directed towards the production of consciousness of citizenship among the people and promotion of social solidarity among them’.

 

Curriculum of social education included lessons on

 

§   Health and hygiene,

 

§   Family and community living,

 

§   Vocations,

 

§   Literacy and cultural activities and

 

§   Recreational activities.

 

 

Thus, in short, social education tried to raise consciousness of people and promote social solidarity among them. More emphasis was given on life-oriented curriculum. It aimed to improve the life of people in all respect-work, rest and recreation.

  •    Implementation strategy

 

Duration of the programme was nine months, each day two hours of teaching. It was divided into two phases. First phase of five months in which the learners were taught language (reading and writing), arithmetic, health and hygiene, principles and practices of cooperation, local crafts and handicrafts, recreation and general knowledge.

 

In the second phase, emphasis was given on reinforcement of information given in first phase. Follow-up of abilities and skills developed during first phase included. Teaching-learning and supplementary material was ensured. A comprehensive training support was provided through the establishment of

 

Social Education Organisers’ Training Centres. Thorough and refresher training of functionaries involved in implementation of this programme, especially at the block and village level was organized. Under social education various activities such as literacy drives, setting up of libraries, cultural and recreational activities, exhibitions, etc. were organized. Social education was also imparted by organizing classes at camps, fairs, festivals and weekly market places.

 

Special efforts:

 

§   Production and distribution of suitable and relevant teaching-learning material in different Indian languages was done by agencies such as Mysore State Adult Education Council, Jamia Millia, Indian Adult Education Association etc. ( ???GOI, 1993, p25)

 

§   Special prizes for authors of best book written for adult education

§   Organization of workshops on literacy journalism

§   Production of AV-aids (many documentaries)

§   Extensive use of Radio as a medium of mass education, especially in rural areas, development of rural radio forums.

 

During this period various experiments were done, one of them is worth mentioning here. In Satara district of Maharashtra, one of the states of India, Gram Shikshan Mohim (1959) was implemented to make people literate. Mohim means a campaign. The outstanding feature of this campaign was ‘peoples’ participation’. To motivate people to become literate local traditions, historical setting and sentiments were used. Three main aspects of Gram Shikshan Mohim were:

 

  • Eradication of illiteracy among adults in the age group of 14-50 years by starting social education and home classes;
  • Retention of literacy and knowledge gained by the villagers, through circulating library scheme
  • Achieving overall development of the village through social education centres.

 

Village was the unit for implementation of literacy programmes. Administrative structure at the village level was established. Sarpanch-head of the village level local self-government-was the chairperson of this committee and local school headmaster was the secretary of this committee.

 

Literacy classes were held as per the convenience of illiterate learners, usually in the evening. Every day, before starting the actual teaching, the class used to begin with a prayer followed by discussion on important daily happenings/news. This was followed by recapitulation of the previous lessons and teaching new lesson. Story telling method was extensively used. Stories especially from Ramayan and Mahabharat, stories of great historical leaders were also narrated in the class. At the closing time of the class, the group used to sing a community song. Focus was on teaching reading and writing simple sentences, counting numbers up to 100 and simple arithmetic used by learners in their daily life. Along with literacy, information on various topics such as sanitation, child welfare, agriculture, etc. was also given in adult education classes. Classes were conducted for 3-4 months.

 

Close monitoring by concerned officials and by prominent local leaders was done. This encouraged the people to attend classes.

 

Facilities of library and reading rooms were made available to sustain the literacy. In addition, circulating library was also made available. It included a large number of newspapers and material specially prepared for neo-literates.

 

Further phases are explained in Concept of Adult Education Part-2.

 

you can view video on General Introduction to Concept of Adult Education in India Part 1 >

 

References