Cause of Slow Progress of Adult Education
The Government of India's Ministry of Human Resource
Development defines Adult
Education as that which
"aims at extending educational
options to those adults, who have lost the opportunity and have crossed the age
of formal education, but now feel a need for learning of any type, including,
basic education (literacy), skill development (vocational education) and
equivalency."
The concept of adult education in the country was initiated
by the National Fundamental Education Centre (NFEC)
set up by the government of India in 1956. Since then it has helped
several adults seek basic as well as vocational education which in turn has
helped them in the following ways:
- Education helps a person take up better paying jobs
which means it aids him in becoming more capable of taking care of his
family.
- It raises a person’s standard of living.
- Uneducated and unemployed people are more prone to turn
towards criminal activities. Education helps in eradicating such activities
to a large extent.
- An educated person has access to more information and
thus becomes a lot more aware about what is happening around him. It also
empowers him to work for the betterment of society by questioning the
wrong and supporting the right.
- Educated parents are able to raise their kids better.
- They also contribute to the overall progress of the
nation by doing their bit.
Causes
of slow progress:
Adult
Education attempts to improve the quality of life of the learner. But there are
many problems beyond its scope.
1.
Economic Related Problem: Education and the job pattern of
the individual may not coincide. If the individual has to make a choice, he
chooses the job and drops out of education. Even in the Adult Education timings
are made convenient as the individual may get physically and mentally tired
from the job. This influences the motivation of learners in a negative way.
2.
Ignorance and Poverty Related Problem : Persons who suffer from
ignorance and poverty, even if they join Adult Education courses by compulsion
are under pressure and they soon drop-out. Also Ignorance deprives them of the
benefits of education.
3.
Migration Related Problem: Learners mostly of lower
socio-economic status migrate in search of jobs or are less stable in their
occupation. They move in search of a stable job. While working they change
their residence, in fact their life are disrupted that they do not have any
time for Adult Education programme.
4.
Health Related Problems: The poor who form the majority of
adult learners suffer most from illnesses and ailments including the evil of
too many children, which affects the health of the mother and also the care of
the children. Poor housing, unhygienic toilet facilities, unsafe drinking water
and an unhealthy environment, make it still worse.
5.
Gender Related Problem: The superiority of men and the
secondary status given to women keep many women and girls away from education.
Men by and large do not approve of women going out to attend classes to educate
themselves because housekeeping and child rearing will be neglected or will
have to be shared. The customs traditions and superstitions add to the dropout
rate.
6.
Orientation Related Problem: If orientation on
Adult Education is not given to the teacher he or she is most likely to remain
less resourceful, less imaginative and less helpful. The failure of the
programme then could be due to the instructor's lack of instructional and
psychological skills. The instructor may not be able to teach and guide or to
sustain the interest of Adult Education learners.
7.
Confidence Related Problem: If the teacher has a correct
perception or opinion of his/her students the teacher will have confidence in
the student's progress and ability. The negative attitude contributes to the
failure of the programmes.
8.
Motivation Related Problem: Motivation is an important factor; lack of
motivation leads to the failure of the programme. If instructors and learners
are not motivated to learn, the programme is not going to be successful.
The Dalits of India: Education and
Development
Discrimination against Dalits in the
educational system is a widespread problem in caste-affected countries.
Alienation, social exclusion, and physical abuse transcend all levels of
education, from primary education to university. Illiteracy and drop-out rates
among Dalits are very high due to a number of social and physical factors.
Legislation on the area is limited, and measures that have been taken are often
inadequately implemented.
Etymological Meaning:
The word dalit is a
vernacular form of the Sanskrit दलित (dalita).
In Classical Sanskrit, this means "divided, split, broken,
scattered". This word was repurposed in 19th-century Sanskrit to mean
"(a person) not belonging to one of the four Brahminic
castes". It was perhaps first used in this sense by Pune-based social
reformer Jyotirao Phule, in the context of the
oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes from
other Hindus.
Historical Perspective:
·
Gopal Baba Walangkar (ca. 1840–1900)
is generally considered to be the pioneer of the Dalit movement, seeking a
society in which they were not discriminated. This is despite the work of Harichand
Thakur (ca. 1812–1878) with his Matua organisation
that involved the Namasudra (Chandala)
community in Bengal Presidency, British India.
·
The 1950 Constitution of India, introduced after
the country gained independence, included
measures to improve the socioeconomic conditions of Dalits.
·
By 1995, of all federal government jobs in India
- 10.1 per cent of Class I, 12.7 per cent of Class II, 16.2 per cent of Class
III, and 27.2 per cent of Class IV jobs were held by Dalits.
·
In 2010, Dalits received international
attention due to a portrait exhibition by Marcus
Perkins that depicted Dalits.
·
According to a 2007 report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the treatment of
Dalits has been like a "hidden apartheid" and that they "endure
segregation in housing, schools, and access to public services".
The
Dalits of India: Education and Development
Etymological
Meaning:
The
word dalit is a vernacular form of the Sanskrit दलित (dalita). In Classical Sanskrit,
this means "divided, split, broken, scattered". This word was
repurposed in 19th-century Sanskrit to mean "(a person) not belonging to
one of the four Brahminic castes". It was perhaps first used in this
sense by Pune-based
social reformer Jyotirao Phule, in the context of the
oppression faced by the erstwhile "untouchable" castes from
other Hindus.
Historical
Perspective:
·
Gopal Baba Walangkar (ca. 1840–1900)
is generally considered to be the pioneer of the Dalit movement, seeking a
society in which they were not discriminated. This is despite the work of Harichand
Thakur (ca. 1812–1878) with his Matua organisation
that involved the Namasudra (Chandala)
community in Bengal Presidency, British India.
·
The 1950 Constitution of India, introduced after
the country gained independence, included
measures to improve the socioeconomic conditions of Dalits.
Ensuring
access to education for the Dalits of India has been the greatest challenge for
the Indian government in diminishing the social effects of the caste system,
which still remain entrenched in Indian society. There have been many different
reasons proposed as to why the Dalits suffer from low rates of literacy and primary
education enrolment, but the most realistic one describes history and unequal
access as the causes. The ancient caste system of India, which has resulted in
the social and economic oppression of the Dalits, continues to play a dominant
role in India. The Dalits, also known as the scheduled caste or untouchables,
have experienced consistent denial to access to
While
some benefits of social programs and government policies designed to increase
primary education rates can be noticed, the Dalit literate population still
remains much lower than that of the rest of India.
After the introduction of the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled
tribe Prevention of Atrocities Act of 1989, the practice of the caste system
became illegal in India. Despite increased government intervention, the
discrimination and mistreatments of individuals of lower castes still
occur. Today, the Dalit population represents 16% of the country’s
population and still struggles to achieve social equality. There remains
geographic division within Indian cities and villages which exemplify the role
that the caste system plays in today’s society (Desai et al). Many Dalits have
attempted to avoid the caste system by converting from Hinduism to other
religions, although this rarely allows these individuals to escape their social
and economic hardships.
The Importance of Education:
Before beginning to examine methods of improving enrolment in
primary education and literacy rates, it is important to know why education is
such an important topic in development studies. The past century has been
characterized by a global expansion of education. Alongside this growth in
education has also been an increase in the gap between different social strata
---(Desai & Kulkarni)
i.
Education can be a way to increase the incomes of
impoverished people.
ii.
Education helps
to ensure that benefits of growth are experienced by all.
iii.
Economic perspectives see education as a means to make
individuals more productive in the workplace and at home.
iv.
It can also be seen as a means of empowering socially
and economically deprived groups into seeking political reform.
By using any of these reasons as motivation to pursue
educational development, governments are attempting to generate some form of
social or economic equality for the population.
Conclusion:
There have been many attempts over the past one hundred and
fifty years to help increase the quality of life for the Dalits of India
through development focused on enrolment in primary education. Education
provides individuals with the means to increase their income and to engage in
economic activities. In addition, it can help empower individuals to lobby for
social change through political activism. Minor increases in incentives for
Dalits to pursue primary education have been beneficial, but not sufficient in
equalizing the enrolment gap between the Dalits and members of upper castes. In
order for significant progress to be made in increasing the primary enrolment
rates of Dalit children, development organizations must continue to explore
varying levels of incentives and pursue national social equality in India.
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