16 Era of Functional Literacy

Vandana Chakrabarti and S.Y. Shah

epgp books

 

Content Outline:

 

1.            Learning Objectives

 

2.            Introduction

 

3.            Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project (FTFLP)

 

4.            Organization of the programme

 

5.            Programme duration

 

6.            Programme content and pedagogy

 

7.            The Integrated Child Development Services project

 

8.            Conclusion

 

 

1.           Learning Objectives

 

The objectives of this module are:

 

  •  To interpret the concept of Functional Literacy
  •   To identify the objectives of integrating literacy in Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Project
  •   To examine the organization of the project
  •   To compare the strengths and limitations of Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Project
  •  To list the developmental schemes and projects of Government of India where literacy was integrated

 

2.           Introduction

 

Attainment of adult literacy is not an end in itself. It goes beyond the rudimentary 3Rs, encapsulated in reading, writing and arithmetic. Literacy is a vital component of development. It is linked to the economic and social priorities of the individuals and the community of which they are a part. It is connected with present and future need for labour. It was in response to this realization that the concept of functional literacyemerged.  The link between productive activity and literacy was emphasized by UNESCO’s Second World Conference on Adult Education held in Canada in 1960.The World Conference of Education Ministers on ‘Eradication of illiteracy’was held in Tehran in 1965. It emphasized the link between work and economic progress.  .  The conference observed that,”……. The very process of learning to read and  write should be made an opportunity for acquiring information that can immediately be used to improve living standards; reading and writing should lead not only to elementary general knowledge but to training for work, increased productivity, a greater participation in civic life and a better understanding of the surrounding world, and should ultimately open the way to basic human culture.”

 

 

The international thinking on adult education had its impact on Indian policy planners. Dr. V. K. R.V. Rao, an economist and a member of the Planning Commission in 1965, ardently supported the idea of functional literacy. The Conference of State Education Ministers organized by the Planning Commission in June 1965, noted that lack of functional literacy amongst the rural population was an important reason for restricting the success of several schemes in the areas of agricultural production, family planning, cooperatives, panchayat raj institutions and so on.

 

Viewing literacy as a force that improves productive activity by linking it with training for work, was a new way of looking at literacy in those times. This module throws light on how this idea was implemented through integrating literacy activity with other development programmes and schemes, particularly the Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Programmes.

 

UNESCO defined functional literacy as “literacy integrated with the occupation of the

 

learner and directly related to development”. Pursuant to the World Conference of Education Ministers in 1965, UNESCO designed the Experimental World Literacy Programme (EWLP).UNDP – UNESCO supported several projects in the developing world to eventually pave the way for a World Literacy programme. The main objective of the experimental programme was to “test and demonstrate the economic and social returns of literacy” and more generally to study the mutual relations and influences which exist or which may be established or strengthened between literacy training, particularly among working population, and development (UNESCO, 1974).

 

Under the Experimental World Literacy project, India received financial assistance from UNDP where functional literacy was organically and administratively integrated as a component of development projects which are the responsibility of another department particularly the Department of Food and Agriculture, Information and Broadcasting, Social Welfare and others.

 

 

3. Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project (FTFLP)

 

Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Project was a very important project that received funding at that time. Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project was started as an inter-ministerial project in1967-68. Functional literacy was included as a vital component of this Project. The reason for this is that literacy is a force multiplier that gives a push to other developmental efforts. It enhanced the gains of other activities carried out to improve the competence of farmers in implementing the special programme of High Yielding Varieties of Wheat that was selected by the Government of India for increasing agricultural production and boosting development in the framework of Green Revolution.

 

The objectives for building in literacy as key component of the project were as follows:

v       To read and understand labels on fertilizer bags

v        Fill up loan application forms, input cards

v        Keep simple account of operations, and

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

 

These skills were expected to help the farmers in improving productivity. The Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Project was jointly undertaken by the three Ministries – Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Information and Broadcasting, and Education and Culture. It aimed at training about 5 million farm families in 100 Selected H.Y.P-districts and imparting functional literacy to one million adults at the cost of ninety million rupees. Apart from Govt. of India funds, the project also received the UNDP and UNESCO assistance. During the Fourth Plan Rs.60 million by the Ministry of Agriculture for the farmers training, Rs.20 million by the Ministry of Education for functional literacy and Rs.10 million by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting for farm broadcasting were provided for this project.

 

 

4.  Organization of the programme

 

A large scale programme like Farmers’ Training and Functional Literacy Project needed a well thought out organisational structure in each State. The organizational structure and programme components of FTFL project which was confined to 3 H.Y.P. districts in a State were as follows.

   v  In each centre, there was one instructor for 30 learners

v   Maximum number of centres per district was limited to 60.

v   The centres in each district were under the charge of a Project Officer.

v  The Project Officer was assisted by six part-time supervisors (each with 10 centres) or 2 full time supervisors (each with 30 centres).

 

5.           Programme duration

v  The duration of functional literacy programme was one year

v   It was organized in two phases of six months each.

v   The programme was implemented on all working days

v   Learners were taught on an average of one and half hours daily.

v   Each phase had 150 hours of effective teaching.

 

6.           Programme content and pedagogy

 

The learning materials were region specific and problem oriented.

The Directorate of Adult Education (New Delhi) prepared the first book entitled Kisan Saksharata Pehli Pustak, Teacher’s guide and supplementary readers as prototypes for easy adaptation to different situations.

 

Thereafter, more than 70 titles were brought out in India.

A combination of methods was used in curriculum transaction – viz., demonstration, practical training, oral instruction, audio-visual communication and discussions.

 

The detailed guidelines for the implementation of the project were prepared by the Government of India and the states were requested to follow the directives of the Centre.

 

The Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project was initiated in 1968 as a pilot project in three districts. In the decade following its inception (up to 1977) the programme expanded to cover 144 districts out of 397. On an average 50,000 farm families attended the functional literacy classes each year. During the Fourth Plan (1969-74) nearly 30 lakh farmers joined the functional literacy classes. Evaluation of the pilot project carried out by the DAE, New Delhi revealed that the functional literacy programme did contribute to increase in agricultural production. The learner drop-out rate was only 17.5%. The programme implemented exclusively through official channels succeeded in developing skills and disseminating knowledge of improved agricultural practices, among farmers who attended the programme.

 

The target of providing functional literacy to 100 lakh farmers was not fulfilled. An expenditure of Rs.80 lakh was incurred as against the proposed outlay of Rs.200 lakh. They could not consume the amount allotted to them. The subsequent evaluation conducted by a committee in 1977 noted that there were inadequacies at the implementation of the scheme at the district level. Inter-departmental coordination was found to be deficient. Supervisory system was not good enough. It was observed that a substantial proportion of the grass-root level workers had no training and in many districts, the follow-up programmes for the neo-literates were found to be weak.

 

A more serious lacuna was that the beneficiaries were mainly from relatively well-off and enterprising farmers who were desirous of introducing new agricultural practices. The mass of illiterates – exploited marginal farmers and landless agricultural workers were left outside its scope.

 

Implementation of the Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project gave the Indian literacy educators experience in carrying out functional literacy programmes that required inter-departmental coordination. The concept of functionality found a place in several programmes during 1970’s. Functional Literacy for Adult Women was an important project introduced during 1975-76.

 

 

7.    The Integrated Child Development Services project

 

Yet another important programme was Integrated Child Development Services Project popularly known as ICDS project. The scheme of Functional Literacy for Adult Women was conceived as a package of services to adult women in 15-45 age groups and was implemented jointly by the Department of Education and the Department of Social Welfare in the experimental ICDS project areas.

 

Launched in the year 1975, the programme started in 33 blocks (projects) with 4,891 Anganwadi Centres (AWCs) in the country. The annual report (2014-15) of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, GOI states that on December 31, 2014, 7067 projects were operational 1,342,285 AWCs were functioning with 349.82 lakh pre-school education beneficiaries and 1041 supplementary nutrition beneficiaries.

 

Today it is one of the world’s largest programmes for early childhood development.

The objectives of the ICDS programme are as follows:

v  To improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age group of 0-6 years

   v   To lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child

v   To reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout

v  To achieve effective co-ordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development, and

 

v  To enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education

 

Adult Literacy was added to this programme with a view to make the women beneficiaries literate as it would facilitate attainment of the above objectives.

 

The functional literacy classes were organized by the Anganwadi workers of Integrated Child Development Services, who were given an additional honorarium of Rs.50 per month. The programme contents included the elements of health and hygiene, food and nutrition, home management and child care, civic and vocational education.

 

During the Era of Functional Literacy, the National Board of Adult Education (1969), and Directorate of Adult Education (1971) were established. In consonance with the emphasis laid during that era, the Central Advisory Board of Education recommended that functional literacy programme should be planned in relation to various developmental schemes appropriate to rural and urban situations. Krishi Vigyan Kendras concerned themselves with technical literacy and aimed at imparting education through work experience to rural youth in agriculture and allied subjects. Shramik Vidyapeeth provided training to improve vocational competencies of urban youth while enriching their lives.

 

Apart from Krishi Vigyan Kendras and Shramik Vidyapeeth there were many schemes and projects where adult literacy component could be integrated, such as Nehru Yuvak Kendra, Satellite Instructional Television Experiment, Rural Welfare Extension, and Family and Child Welfare project and so on. Directorate of Adult Education identified 65 Schemes/Programmes in different departments of the Government of India which had substantial component of non-formal education. Thus in the era of functional literacy all out efforts were made to link literacy to the economic and social priorities of the individuals and the community and connect it with productivity and labour.

 

 

 

8.           Conclusion

 

The module has interpreted the concept of Functional Literacy as going beyond the rudimentary 3Rs, encapsulated in reading, writing and arithmetic. It has explained literacy’s linkages with the economic and social priorities of the individuals and the community of which they are a part. It has pointed at the direct relationship of literacy with productive activity and development. Functional Literacy was the dominant activity during the decade of Third and Fourth Five Year Plan period in India. So important was this activity that the authors prefer to call it the ‘Era of Functional Literacy’.

 

The module has described in detail Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Projectwhich started as an inter-ministerial project in1967-68. It has also elucidated FTFLP’s organization, duration, programme content and pedagogy and its strengths and weaknesses.

 

The module has further discussed the connection of literacy with Integrated Child Development Services Project which was another important project started in the same era. It has emphasized the linkages of literacy with other schemes and programmes of the Government, especially with economic and social priorities of the individuals and the community and connect it with productivity and labour.

 

 

you can view video on General Introduction to Era of Functional Literacy

 

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