The Indian economy is a developing economy, thus, the educated as well as educating population is the future of the nation. However, the future of the nation stays in blue when the citizens are not provided with the facility to educate themselves. The different nations are building themselves under the supervision and employment of the educated and skilled workforce. Whereas, India is facing a serious problem of illiteracy amongst its citizens. The large population of the country doesn’t posses enough knowledge about certain subjects, at times, people are just enjoying incomplete knowledge on something in particular.
Some facts about illiteracy in India
A report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) highlights that India has the highest population of illiterate adults, i.e., 287 million. It shows that the number is huge and around 37% of the world’s illiterate people are from India.
The literacy rate in India is calculated with regards to the people aged between 15-24 years.
The literacy level of any nation is a determinant of its socio-economic status, and the level of literacy in India has been increasing at a very slow pace.
The 2011 census depicts that the literacy growth in the decade 2001-2011 has been as low as 9.2%. Thus, the problem of illiteracy continues to prevail in the country at a very large level.
Illiteracy definition
Illiteracy is basically defined as the inability to read or write, that means the individual has lack of knowledge in a particular subject.
It is a wider concept and includes the individual ability to adapt to the subject and visualizes the content matter.
However, the extent of illiteracy in India is different. The villagers have remained familiar with their native language, but they are ignorant towards the other languages or subjects. These people are mostly the adults, including women who are now unwilling to learn something new.
The illiteracy affected the women community around the nations. Data shows that the aggregate percentage of girls enrolling in schools is just 47.78%. Overall, 60 lakhs children in India are still not able to prevail the facilities of education. The state of Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are at the bottom in the terms of Dalit Literacy level.
Literacy is not just the ability to read or write, but also includes the capacity to comprehend information and further communicate it with others effectively.
Constitutional support to get rid of iliteracy in India
It serves as the foundation of the basic education for all the individuals in the nation.
Thus, provision of basic education to all the citizens of the nation becomes a necessity.
There are following articles and laws that support the education in India;
- The Article 30 of the Indian Constitution gives right to the minorities to establish their own educational as well as administrative institutions. Also, these are fundamental rights.
- The Directive Principles of State policy also instructs the state to ensure free education to all the citizens under sections 41, 45 and 46.
- Article 21 (A) amended to include the provision of free and compulsory education to all the children between the age group of 6-14 years, as a fundamental right.
- The weaker section of the nation has educational rights through the Article 15, 17 and 46 of the Indian Constitution.
Schemes for educational awareness in India
Along with these constitutional provisions, there are other schemes and programs to promote educational awareness among citizens.
- The government launched mid day meal scheme in 1995 with the aim to improve the enrolment and attendance rate of the students.
- There are regular updates on the scholarship programs in order to provide fee concession as well as other necessary items. Also, the aim is that every potential and deserving student should attend school regularly.
- Government launched Samagra Shiksha Programme with the broader goal of improving school effectiveness. The effectiveness means equal opportunities for schooling and equitable learning outcomes.
- Awareness campaigns were launched in rural areas to create awareness among people about the importance of education. They were encouraged to attend or send their children to schools.
Government is trying to improve the condition of educational sector and promote the level of literacy in india. However, the efforts cannot bear results without the support and coordination of the citizens of the country.
At the individual level, the people are responsible to make efforts to educate themselves.