4 Concept of Adult Education in India Part 2

Asha Patil

epgp books

 

Content Outline

 

  1. Objectives
  2. Introduction

 

2.1. Concept of Functional Literacy (1965-77)

 

2.2. Concept of Developmental Literacy (1978-2008)

 

 

  1. Objectives

 

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

 

  • Analyze the impact of National Policy on Education
  • Identify the objectives of National Literacy Missio

 

  1. Introduction

 

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)

 

In  Previous  document  two  phases  were  explained,  now  let  us  see  the  further Phases:

 

 

2.1. Concept of functional literacy(1965-77)

 

This is the era where the government and policy makers realized that mere reading, writing and arithmetic skills are not sufficient and one need to go beyond that. Thus the concept of functional literacy emerged during the 1960s. Functional literacy was defined as “literacy integrated with the occupation of the learner and directly related to development”. The functional literacy was translated into action in 1968. It was based on work-oriented literacy.

 

  •      Background

 

A series of international and national meetings and conferences took place during late 1950’s. The First World Conference on Adult Education organized by the UNESCO in Denmark in 1949 discussed the role of adult education in the development of society, polity and economy. It focused on functional perspective of adult education. William Gray (1956) defined functional literacy as ‘a person is functionally literate when he has acquired the knowledge and skills in reading and writing which enable him to engage in all those activities in which literacy is normally assumed in his culture or group’. This definition was accepted by almost in all the countries.

 

The Second World Conference on Adult Education was held in Canada in 1960. It also emphasised on linkage in adult education and productivity, work and development. This was followed by the World Conference of Education Ministers on ‘Eradication of Illiteracy’ in Tehran in 1965. It also focused on functional literacy. All these factors had great impact on the concept of adult education in India.

 

  •   Concept of functional literacy (1965-77)

 

Literacy is a means and not an end. Its purpose is to impart such knowledge which makes a person occupationally more efficient than before. It was realized that mere ability to read and write is not sufficient for overall development of a person as well as the nation. Hence, it was decided to integrate literacy with the learners’ occupation/production. Literacy was focused on increasing the functional efficiency of the person.

 

  •    Definition

Functional literacy means a ‘literacy integrated with the occupation of the learners, which is directly related to development’.

 

 

  •   Implementation strategy

During 1968-78, Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project (FTFLP) was implemented. The target group was farmers. To increase the agricultural production, government of India decided to train farmers. This project has three components namely farmers training, functional literacy and farm broadcasting. The objectives of this project were:

 

§   To enable the famers to read and understand labels on fertilizer bags;

§   Fill up loan application forms, input cards;

§   Keep simple accounts of operations, and

§   Read and make use of simple extension bulletins, rural newspapers, etc.

 

It was a centre based programme where one instructor used to teach 30 learners. It was one year programme, implemented in two phases-each phase was for six months. In each phase, 150 hours were allocated for actual teaching. Learning materials were problem oriented. Special primer for adult learners namely Kisan Saksharata Pehli Pustak was prepared by Directorate of Adult education, New Delhi. A guide book for teachers who were involved in teaching farmers was also prepared. Various activities such as organizing charcha mandals (discussion groups), conducted tours and periodic field demonstrations were organized for selected farmers. All India Radio broadcasted daily half an hour special programme for farmers.

 

The evaluation reports show that farmers’ skills were developed. Knowledge disseminated through literacy classes had resulted in improving agricultural practices which has resulted in increasing agricultural production.

 

Looking at the success of FTFLP, another programme of functional literacy for women was introduced in 1970’s. The name of the programme was ‘Functional Literacy for Adult Women’. It was introduced through Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). Anganwadi workers used to act as an instructor for the functional literacy classes, for which they were paid an additional honorarium of Rs. 50/ per month. It aimed to impart functional literacy to women to accelerate their participation in development process. Topics such as health and hygiene, food and nutrition, child care, civic and vocational education were covered.

 

Thus the functional literacy mostly focused on development aspects.

 

2.2. Concept of Developmental Literacy (1978-2008)

 

Early 1970’s was the era of Paulo Freire’s philosophy of conscientiation. It had a great influence on adult education. He emphasised on critical thinking and action which leads to change. He believed in active participation of learners in learning process. According to him, instructors of adult education class should become an instrument to carry the discussion and learners can learn themselves. With this philosophy, the horizons of functionality widened. The concept of development literacy evolved during this period. It was realized that literacy should not be confined as just a process of learning the skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. It should go beyond that and contribute to the liberation and full development of human being. Importance of awareness about social reality was focused. During this transition period, National Adult Education Programme (NAEP) was conceived in India.

 

  •    National Adult Education Programme (NAEP)

 

On 2nd October, 1978, GOI announced National Adult Education Programme (NAEP). This was first adult education programme implemented by the government throughout the country. Actual implementation of literacy classes started in the year 1979. Objectives of this programme were literacy, awareness and functionality. It was centre based approach, where 30 learners were taught by one instructor. Age group of adult illiterates was 15-35 years. Initially, the duration of the programme was for 10 months (300-500hours), which was extended to three years. Later again it was reduced to two years. During the first year of the programme, basic literacy was given for 300-500 hours. In this period basic literacy skills were given to learners. In addition to that other awareness components such as information on health, family life, and vocational education were also included in the curriculum. This was followed by post literacy of 150 hours and 100 hours. Reinforcement of literacy was done in the second phase. A large number of poor illiterates, school dropouts attended this programme. Along with government department of adult education, other institutions such as universities and colleges, voluntary organizations, Nehru Yuvak Kendras were also involved in implementation of NAEP. Thus, students and non-student youth participated in this nation building activity.

 

Importance of literacy was again reinforced in National Policy on Education in 1986. It mentions that adult education would become a means for reducing economic, social and gender disparities. The Programme of Action (1992) states that ‘…emphasis in adult education programme should be on skill development and creation of awareness among the learners of the national goals, of development programmes, and for liberation from oppression’.

 

Till this time, the concept of functional literacy was not clear. Though it was one of the objectives of NAEP, various evaluation reports revealed that this component was neglected and mostly literacy component was covered.

 

  • National Literacy Mission

 

The concept of Functional Literacy included achieving not only mechanical literacy skills but also a dynamic grip on implementation of these skills in day-to-day life for smooth adjustment in a changing society. Such an integration between knowledge and its implementation was almost absent in the earlier approaches of Adult Education programmes.

 

To overcome these lacunas of earlier programmes, National Literacy Mission (NLM) was established in 1988. It aimed to impart functional literacy to 80 million illiterates in the age group of 15-35 years by 1995. It was realized that achievement of self-reliance in literacy and numeracy is not sufficient. Thus, the earlier concept of functional literacy was redefined. According to NLM, the achievement of functional literacy included:

 

  • Achieving self-reliance 3 R’s
  • Becoming aware of the cause of one’s deprivation and moving towards amelioration of conditions through organization and participation in the process of development,
  • Acquiring skills to improve the economic status and general wellbeing and,
  • Imbibing the values of national integration, conservation of the environment, women’s equality, observance of small family norms, etc.

This all aspect inclusive concept of functional literacy was termed as developmental literacy.

 

Thus, functional literacy includes creation of right attitudes, promotion of rationality and denial of superstition and awareness of social obligations.

 

  • Definition of Developmental literacy

 

Developmental literacy can be defined as literacy for all round development of human beings and nation (Shah, 1999, p28). It covers all the aspects of human life. The acquisition of developmental literacy results in empowerment. It also helps to improve the quality of life. It helps to ensure the participation of the masses in sharing the benefits of the information era.

 

Developmental literacy helps the person to learn reading and writing to gain general knowledge, helps to improve and increase productivity, increases participation in civic life. Person gets a better understanding of the surrounding world which ultimately helps to improve the quality of life.

 

 

Further phases are explained in Concept of Adult Education in India Part 3.

 

you can view video on General Introduction to Concept of Adult Education in India Part 2

 

References

 

  • Ø Dutta, S.C. (1986). History of Adult Education in India New Delhi: Indian Adult Education Association
  • Ø Government of India. (1978). National Adult Education Programme: An Outline, New Delhi: Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, pp 4-5