Sushil Kumar Singh
Literacy is an important tool of power in India. Women who are educated can produce a generation of literate children and this generation can become the skilled workforce in the country. Clearly, literacy refers to skills and talents. When the demand for opportunities in the market increases and the standard of living improves, the per capita income will also be high and the economy of the country will leap.
It is very important for a person to be literate to lead a dignified and purposeful life. Literacy gives rise to free thinking. It is important for economic development as well as individual and community welfare. Apart from this, self-esteem and empowerment are also inherent in it. Now the question is, when literacy has so many qualitative aspects, then why is every fourth person still illiterate? Is the person himself responsible behind this or is the policies and machinery of the government accountable? Whatever be the reason, but it cannot be denied that lack of literacy is a major obstacle in the path of good governance.
Good governance is such a system with people-centred, sensitive and public welfare sentiments, in which there is only person at both ends. It is a concept from where socio-economic upliftment is passed on to the last person. In the changed times, the policies of the government and the expectations of the people have also changed. Despite this, full benefit can be taken only when the country will be free from illiteracy.
Significantly, after independence, 18.33 percent of the people were literate in 1951, which increased to forty-one percent in 1981. But in proportion to the population, it had increased from thirty crores to forty four crores respectively. In this way the idea of National Literacy Mission came into existence. The objective of this mission started on 5th May 1988 was that people should not remain illiterate.
At least be literate. This mission showed its effect, but it failed to achieve 100% literacy. Exactly three years after this, economic liberalization started on 25 July 1991 and in 1992, with a new turn, the bugle of good governance in India sounded. The journey of literacy and good governance has taken more than three decades. Obviously, both are complementary to each other, but these two are yet to be fully established in the country.
Literacy is the key to socio-economic progress in India. There is a close relationship between literacy and good governance. It is not possible to achieve the goal of good governance in any country of the world without an educated society. Awareness can be increased through literacy and awareness can lead to self-reliance and self-reliance. UNESCO started International Literacy Day in 1966 with the aim of eradicating illiteracy at the international level. The objective of its program was that till 1990 no person should remain illiterate in any country.
But the latest situation is that according to the 2011 census in India, literacy is only seventy four percent. Whereas according to the 2017-18 survey of the National Statistical Commission, the literacy rate in the country was 77.7 percent. Not only this, there is also a wide gender disparity in the literacy rate. Literacy literally means the ability of a person to read and write. In simple words, a person who has the knowledge of letters and is able to read and write, can understand things like government policies, banking system, information related to farms and barns, ups and downs related to business. Through literacy, the journey from the strength of democracy to self-reliant India can also be easy.
The Union Ministry of Education of India has recently launched ‘Read-Writing Campaign’ to promote adult education and eliminate illiteracy. The objective of this campaign is to take the literacy rate in the country to 100 percent by 2030. Obviously, this campaign can also help in fulfilling the goal of ‘Saakshar Bharat-Self-reliant India’. It is worth noting that keeping in mind the goal of total literacy, ‘Saakshar Bharat Program’ was started in the year 2009. It was implied that at the national level this rate was to reach eighty per cent.
However, according to the 2011 census, the literacy rate of the country was only seventy-four percent. Due to COVID-19, the census to be held in the year 2021 was not possible. In such a situation, there is no clear data about what is the current status of literacy. But the way the target of 100 percent literacy has been set by 2030, it can be said that the figures in the 2031 census will be towards freedom from illiteracy in the country.
The practice of good governance may have been reflected in the last decade of the twentieth century, but the concern about literacy has been there since time immemorial. The presence of literacy and awareness is centuries old. If repeated good governance is good governance, then freedom from illiteracy and repeated emphasis on literacy along these lines is also the strength of good governance. In fact, major policy decisions in India regarding skill development have either not been made, and if they have been, they have been difficult to implement to a large extent due to lack of literacy and awareness. The ‘Skill India’ program can give a favorable place to good governance, provided the awareness is increased for this.
It is worth mentioning that under the Skill India program, at least 30 crore people have to be skilled by 2022. But there are two major obstacles in its path. Firstly, there are only twenty five thousand skill development centers in the country which are insufficient. And the second barrier is about literacy, in the absence of which fulfilling the objective of the skilling program itself is a problem. This is the reason that there have been many schemes for public welfare and public interest, but its full reach has not been possible due to lack of literacy and awareness.
However, in addition to taking the national literacy rate to 100 percent, India has also been a challenge to bridge the gap between male and female literacy. The United Nations has resolved to end gender discrimination in all areas from all over the world by 2030. If seen, in the last three decades in India, the gap between male and female literacy rate has reduced by ten percent. But looking at the last census, this difference is reflected in the form of a gap. While the literacy rate for males is more than eighty-two percent, it is only sixty-five percent among women.
In fact, there are many reasons for the increasing gender disparity in the field of education. Even today a part of the society is not aware of education. From the implicit perspective of good governance, this ideology takes place that literacy is also the solution to many problems. After the liberalization of 1991, the way technological changes have taken place in the country, many dimensions of literacy have also emerged in it.
For example, apart from letter literacy, technical literacy, legal literacy, digital literacy, etc. have many such perspectives, including awareness of rights, which are necessary for the public. Therefore, good governance in itself is incomplete without complete literacy.