13 Types of Literacy Part 2

Rohini Sudhakar

Content Outline:

1.    Objectives

2.    Introduction

3.    Three categories of literacy namely :

i.     Social Concerns (Health literacy, electoral, gender, water, Financial literacy)

ii.     Rights (Critical literacy, Legal literacy)

iii.    Organizational aspects (Mass literacy, Residual literacy/ Mopping up operation)

4.    Summary

1.      Objectives:

At the end of the session learners will be able to:

·         Identify three categories of literacy namely :

Ø  Social Concerns (Health literacy, electoral, gender, water, Financial literacy)

Ø  Rights (Critical literacy, Legal literacy)

Ø  Organizational aspects (Mass literacy, Residual literacy/ Mopping up operation)

·         Differentiate above mentioned types of literacy

·         Suggest measures to ensure that everyone becomes literate

2.      Introduction

In part I part of types of literacy module we discussed various categories of literacy and discussed in detail three types of categories and types of literacy falling in each of the categories namely:

a)        Content (basic, functional)

b)        Learners (farmers, women, workplace, family/intergenerational, community)

c)        Purpose (Scientific literacy, civic literacy, Political literacy, Developmental literacy)

3.     Three types of categories of literacy

In this module on ‘Types of Literacy Part II’ we will discuss three types of categories of literacy and type of literacy following in those categories:

a.    Social Concerns

(Health literacy, electoral, gender, water,financial literacy)

i.         Health literacy:

Health literacy is defined by Rootman, I (2006) as, “ The degree to which people are able to access, understand, apprise and communicate information to engage with the demands of different health context in order to promote and maintain good health across the life course”.

Health literacy is an emerging concept that requires skills in health and literacy. Health literacy builds on the idea that both health and literacy are critical resources for everyday living. Health literacy will make empower human beings to control health as individuals, families and communities. The scope of health literacy can be at three levels:

Functional health literacy: that is ability to understand the consent forms. Conceptual health literacy: the skills and competency to seek comprehend and use health information to make informed choices, reduce health risks and increase quality of life.

Health literacy as empowerment: As informed consumers the ability to promote health, prevent disease, act collectively to improve the health through political system by exercising voting rights, advocacy or engage in social movements.

Why health literacy is important:

1)    A large number of people are affected with morbidity and mortality. In most of the developing countries with low health literacy rates all the mortality and morbidity rates are very high.

2)    Poor health outcomes: there is a clear co relation between inadequate health literacy and high mortality rates.

  3)    Increased rate of chronic disease: In developed countries with high health literacy rates communicable disease burden has come down to a large extent. Whereas developing countries are saddled with high communicable disease burden and lifestyle disease burden.

4)    Health care cost: In a developing country like India 60 to 70% household income is spent on treatment of major illnesses.

5)    Health information demand: In developing countries the health related material jargon and technical language is very difficult to understand for people with low health literacy rates

6)    Equity: In countries with low health literacy rates the demand and distribution of health resources is inequitable.

ii.         Electoral literacy

India is the largest democracy in the world. In democracy each eligible individual is expected to exercise voting right. Electoral literacy describes the importance of voting rights and need of enrolling them as voters and casting vote properly. Through electoral literacy the voters are made aware that about the persons above 18 years is eligible to vote and that each voter has to ensure that his/her name is enrolled in the list of voters.

From  2013  onwards  National  Literacy  Mission  Authority  along  with  Election

Commission of India created awareness on ‘Right to Vote’ through electoral literacy. The aim of creating such awareness was to sensitize adult learners specially the vulnerable, disadvantaged including women, SC, ST and minorities about their electoral rights. Further, the voters are informed as to how to use Electronic voting Machine through Systematic Voters Education and electoral participation (SVEEP) programme introduced by Election commission of India.

iii.         Gender literacy:

Even though constitution has given right to education to both males and females, the census data shows that illiteracy is more among women than men. Sex discrimination exists in India from medieval period.

The male-female differential in literacy in India is 28.59 in 2001 and 16.25 in

2011. The reasons of low female literacy are prejudice against females’ education and mobility, tradition of early marriage, practice of keeping women confined to household and widespread poverty.

On the other hand low literacy differentials are found in along the western cost, deltas of Krishna and Godavari rivers, coastal areas of Tamil Nadu, north eastern states and Punjab plains which are associated with contact with overseas people early start up education, high proportion of Christian population, more education facilities and developed transportation. Considering these facts India’s present literacy programme Saakshar Bharat (Saakshar Bharat; 2011) focuses on women’s literacy.

iv.         Water literacy

Water literacy is related to improving peoples’ awareness on water conversation and to ensure effective use of water for household, agricultural and industrial purposes, etc. Water literacy improves learners’ skills in using available water by using techniques of water harvesting, bore well-recharging and irrigation.

v.         Financial literacy:

Finance or money plays an important role in the lives of human beings. Finance is the major reason for various social problems like un-employment, divorce, suicide, etc. Quality of life depends on financial wellbeing. Financial literacy refers to the knowledge and understanding of financial concepts thereby resulting in the ability to make informed, confident and effective decisions regarding money. In a broader perspective, financial literacy can be stated as “understanding of economics and how economic conditions and circumstances affect household decisions” (Worthington, 2006). A narrow definition of financial literacy focuses on “basic money management tools such as budgeting, saving, investing and insurance”

(Natalie, Newton and Chrisann, 2010). It is the narrow view of financial literacy that is particularly relevant to individual decisions concerning financial matters.

Financial literacy is regarding budgeting and planning of household, need of saving and importance of taking credit from formal financial institutions inclusive of the following issues related to financial literacy:

Budgeting and Planning

·          Household income and expenditure planning

·          Small savings

·          Avoidable expenses reduction

·          Smart spending

·          Savings

·          Schemes of the banks

·          Types and modes of accounts

·          Bank accounts operations

·          Enhancing savings

·          Use of savings for productive purposes

·          Investment of savings

Credit

·          Importance of taking credit from formal financial institutions

·          Source of loan for BPL, SC, ST, families, types of loans and repayment methods, types of insurance schemes, Institutions providing insurance.

b. Literacy for Knowledge of the citizens’ Rights

vi.         Critical literacy

Critical literacy is also called emancipatory or transformational literacy. It is radical literacy. Critical literacy enables individuals to become critical of what they see of what they hear and what they get and of what they are asked to give. In other words they become critically aware of social, political and economic relationships in which they are caught. Critical literacy comes close to political education. Critical literacy expects people to do something with their newly acquired skills. It aids people to organize political action for transforming the world around them. Paulo Freire catches the relationship between reading and doing and between literacy work and empowering work. Thus, reading world always precede reading the word.

vii.         Legal literacy:

When citizens of particularly marginalized or under- privileged groups, know what the law has to offer them, they can recognize and challenge injustices much more forcefully. The first step towards that knowledge of law, which can transform people’s lives, is legal literacy.

Legal literacy describes certain legal rights and entitlements especially for women and girls. Through large group discussion the learners are made to identify through the problems in exercising legal rights, the services provided by the Government to the low income group to exercise the legal right. Further, the learners are informed as to how to ascertain help of legal expert to address the identified legal problems.

c. Organizational aspects (Mass literacy, Residual literacy/ Mopping up operation)

viii.         Mass literacy

India realized the importance of mass literacy for economic development rather late. The initial inspiration for a mass approach to illiteracy emerged from the voluntary, non-government experiences of people’s science movements (PSM) and in particular that of Kerala Shastra SahityaParishad(Saldhana; 1999).

Till 1988 it was assumed that expansion of formal education would ensure mass literacy. Establishment of the National Literacy Mission was the first step towards making a 100 million literate.

In 1989, Kerala Shastra SahityaParishad spearheaded the Ernakulum experiment of making the whole district literate. The campaign approach needed to have, social grass roots basis of organized social transformation, social action that was wider than and inclusive. It set an example of making the whole district literate by using the campaign approach. National Literacy Mission Authority (NLMA) was set up in India in 1988 to make Indians literate.

The NLMA’s literacy programme ran through three phase’s Total Literacy Campaign, post literacy and continuing education programs. The entire programme was based on voluntarism with no honorarium. The details of this programme are given below:

i.            Total Literacy Campaign:

Literacy programme was implemented in campaign mode viz., TLC based on the experiment of Ernakulum. Area based, participative, time bound, cost effective and outcome oriented approach was the major strategy of TLC. District was the unit of operation of TLC. Duration of the programme was of 200 hours of teaching adult learner by the volunteer/s with the help of adult education primer followed by post literacy and continuing education programme. Literacy material for Total Literacy Campaign inclusive of literacy standard primers was provided by the government. The adult education classes were expected to be held at the Panchayat’s place or the classes were housed at either volunteer’s house or at the house of adult learners. According to the statistics available 60% of the learners were females (Saakshr Bharat; 2011). TLC was followed by Post Literacy Programme (PLP).

ii.           Post Literacy Programs :

Learnt literacy need to be maintained, else the person relapses into illiteracy again.

Post Literacy programme classes were held to enhance adult learning and the adult learners were encouraged to form collective relationships to enhance individual empowerment and strengthen community development. Bridge primer was provided to learners by government for PLP.

iii.   Continuing Education:

Data on continuing education by various countries revealed that the countries organized continuing education programs in different names such as post literacy, adult education, non-formal education, etc.

At the national level National Literacy Mission supports learning needs of adult learners and neo-literates. And at the State level State Resource Centres (SRCs) provide techno-pedagogic support to adult education programmes. Over the years SRCs have produced rich and varied learning material for adult learners.

Mopping up operation was done after the literacy campaign was implemented. It was a short term rapid programme aimed to cover those who were left over from the total literacy campaign. Through mopping up operation the residual illiterates were given a chance to enter the world of literates. And that the learners were made to complete prescribed levels of literacy as per NLM norms.

Accelerated Female Literacy Programme was one of such programs but it could not cover the desired number of illiterates within the allotted time.

Further, at the Continuing Education, Centre both Prerak and Assistant Prerak were appointed for teaching basic literacy and to carry out mopping up operation and other continuing education programs.

ix.         Residual literacy/ Mopping up operation

In the mopping up operation all the illiterates who could not become literate during the Total Literacy Campaign phase were enrolled as learners in the Continuing Education Centre. DenzilSaldhana (1995) studied the literacy campaigns of India. He analyzed literacy data and mentioned that literacy campaigns in India have found resistance from two regions- the urban areas of relatively high literacy and the rural areas within underdeveloped regions. He tried to understand residual illiteracy in the context of uneven development. According to Saldhana (1995) access to literacy will remain a monopoly of a few, non-literate persons living in the area wherein it is difficult for them to access literacy experience specific-problems in their access to education and require literacy interventions that are suited to the contexts of relative development of these regions.

4. Summary

We discussed about what did we cover in part I of types of literacy and that in the part II of types of literacy we discussed in detail about three categories of literacy namely 1.Social Concerns (Health literacy, electoral, gender, water, Financial literacy)s.2. Rights (Critical literacy, Legal literacy) and 3.Organizational aspects (Mass literacy, Residual literacy/ Mopping up operation). After gaining knowledge about various categories of literacy it is expected that one will be able to relate to kind of literacy present in the society and what needs to be done to impart other types of literacy to people. As literacy is a key to lifelong learning.

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