Education Breakthrough
In December 1993, India hosted the Education for All summit, which was attended by nine high-population countries: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan. Together these countries account for more than half of the world's population. The summit adopted the Delhi Declaration and Framework for Action, which called for education for all children.
The then Prime Minister, Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, announced at the summit that India would redeem the pledge to spend 6 percent of the GNP on education before the end of the century.
But before the Delhi Declaration, the National Policy on Education (1986) and the Programme of Action (1992) had resolved to ensure free and compulsory education to all children up to the age of 14 years before the beginning of the next century. In 1988, the National Literacy Mission was launched by the late Mr. Rajiv Gandhi, which saw Kerala become the first state to achieve 100% literacy.
The National Policy on Education was updated in 1992 to include several key strategies, which have two aims: universal access to education by opening new schools in unserved habitations and improved school environment.
A two-pronged approach for universalisation of elementary education and universal adult literacy has been adopted to achieve the goal of total literacy. A major initiative under it is the launching of District Primary Education Programme in 1993-94. The focus of the literacy campaign is concentrated in the northern states, which have the bulk of the illiterate population. A priority area under the national policy on education is women's education.
Since education has been recognised as the centrepiece of human resource development, it is realised at the highest levels that education will play a key role in balanced socio-economic development.
The Total Literacy Campaign, which is the major component of the programme for universal adult literacy, is operational in 338 districts, either partially or fully, spread over the states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.
About five million volunteers are engaged in teaching the alphabets to about 50 million people in the 9-45 age group. It is estimated that 15 million of them have become functionally literate. Post-literacy and continuing education programmes are also being launched. The objective is to make 100 million people literate. Special attention is being paid to the four low-literacy and high-population states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which account for 48 percent of the illiterate population of the country.
Social Objectives and Welfare
More information on India
|