It was once said by a great leader that “Literacy is the bridge from misery to hope”. But, for millions of children around the world this bridge is left broken, shattered, never to be repaired, for they are uneducated. Illiteracy lives everywhere and is a challenge facing all of humanity regardless of race, religion, or ideology. A country with illiterate children faces many issues. The challenges in India are a crippling combination of cultural, economic, and social issues caused all by illiteracy. Home to the largest child population of 400 million citizens aged below eighteen, the country has one of the most rigorous and competitive schooling systems in the world. However, India also has one of the lowest literacy rates globally. Its structure of education and its societal disparities has shaped the causes, effects and the possible solutions to the illiteracy problem. As an emerging major producer and consumer nation, India must learn to clean-up and overcome the weak and ineffective educational system and seize its future so the next generation can see a literate and soaring India.
To understand illiteracy in India we have to uncover the roots of an illiterate nation. The eighty-sixth amendment of the constitution under article 21a clearly states, “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”. Nevertheless, this type of law was not implemented nationwide until the Right of Children to free and compulsory education of 2010. The delay in the enforcement of such a crucial right has allowed India to continue to have insufficient and money centered schooling systems. India’s privatized approached to education is what continues to hurt the nation. For the children who cannot attend private schools with their steep fees, there are government schools. However, studies of these government schools indicate that 59% have no drinking facilities, a further 89% have no washrooms and are often short staffed, since qualified teachers work for the highly competitive wages offered by the private schools. Furthermore, it was the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, with a pained tone addressing the issue of child literacy quoted “only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 percent”. As the resulting socio-economic effects are triggered we see that India continues to suffer under the burden of illiteracy.
As we explore the effects of illiteracy we see that a country suffers both socially and economically from child illiteracy. It is just common sense that in India the child labour issue is the most infamous social effect of child illiteracy. Child labour is proof by contradiction of a weak educational system. The wide spread poverty causes a vicious chain of both poverty and illiteracy for the next generation. If we explore this cycle many of the social effects become clear. We can start with uneducated and subsequently poor parents who lead to exploitation and child labour since the family cannot afford schooling for the child. This leads to less opportunities and a doubtful future for the child. The cycle continues. Both of the issues of poverty and illiteracy could have been eliminated if the parents of the child were literate and understood the importance of education. We could break this cycle in Indian society if we tackled just one link: illiteracy. The subsequent effects upon the country’s economy are crippling and do not even allow a progressive economy like India to advance to its full potential. According to a new report titled ‘Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy’ released at the World Literacy Summit at Oxford in association with Pearson, illiteracy costs the global economy 1.19 trillion dollars. India is expected to be the home of 50% of all illiterate people worldwide in the next 50 years. Imagine the colossal burden upon one country’s economy that half of the world’s illiterate people could pose.
To understand illiteracy in India we have to uncover the roots of an illiterate nation. The eighty-sixth amendment of the constitution under article 21a clearly states, “The State shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of six to fourteen years in such manner as the State may, by law, determine”. Nevertheless, this type of law was not implemented nationwide until the Right of Children to free and compulsory education of 2010. The delay in the enforcement of such a crucial right has allowed India to continue to have insufficient and money centered schooling systems. India’s privatized approached to education is what continues to hurt the nation. For the children who cannot attend private schools with their steep fees, there are government schools. However, studies of these government schools indicate that 59% have no drinking facilities, a further 89% have no washrooms and are often short staffed, since qualified teachers work for the highly competitive wages offered by the private schools. Furthermore, it was the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh, with a pained tone addressing the issue of child literacy quoted “only 47 out of 100 children enrolled in class I reach class VIII, putting the dropout rate at 52.78 percent”. As the resulting socio-economic effects are triggered we see that India continues to suffer under the burden of illiteracy.
As we explore the effects of illiteracy we see that a country suffers both socially and economically from child illiteracy. It is just common sense that in India the child labour issue is the most infamous social effect of child illiteracy. Child labour is proof by contradiction of a weak educational system. The wide spread poverty causes a vicious chain of both poverty and illiteracy for the next generation. If we explore this cycle many of the social effects become clear. We can start with uneducated and subsequently poor parents who lead to exploitation and child labour since the family cannot afford schooling for the child. This leads to less opportunities and a doubtful future for the child. The cycle continues. Both of the issues of poverty and illiteracy could have been eliminated if the parents of the child were literate and understood the importance of education. We could break this cycle in Indian society if we tackled just one link: illiteracy. The subsequent effects upon the country’s economy are crippling and do not even allow a progressive economy like India to advance to its full potential. According to a new report titled ‘Economic and Social Cost of Illiteracy’ released at the World Literacy Summit at Oxford in association with Pearson, illiteracy costs the global economy 1.19 trillion dollars. India is expected to be the home of 50% of all illiterate people worldwide in the next 50 years. Imagine the colossal burden upon one country’s economy that half of the world’s illiterate people could pose.
Lastly, as a concerned global citizen it becomes vital to offer possible solutions for such a problem. It is crucial to raise the awareness of how important an education is for the people, society and the country as a whole. Among the attempts to cure illiteracy there are undertaking that show that the people of India do care, they yearn to see a shining India. The most successful newspaper in India, The Times of India implemented a “Teach India” goal which calls for support from the general public volunteers to take just 2 hours a week to volunteer and assist them in educating the nation. Furthermore, the government has provided deep insight into the heart of the illiteracy and created the “Midday Meal” program. This program targets rural schools and provides a free meal to the children who study there. Many families with children cannot afford to feed them. The government picking up on this provides meals for children who come to school thus reducing the financial burden to families and educating the child in the process.
Inspired by ideas like these I decided to step up and create a small organization, “United 4 Literacy” to motivate people to take action and appreciate the education that they receive and sometimes do not value fully. Currently we provide the funds in India to educate five children every year who show potential and willingness to study. It is important to realize that change will come only through ideas, an idea by itself may be just an aspiration, but an idea when put into action becomes an inspiration.
Ultimately, literacy is a two sided coin. On one side, if a nation can manage to achieve total literacy than it will reap the benefits of a faultless society and a roaring economy. On the flip side, if literacy is not given total priority by the government and the public of a nation, then the effects can tarnish a nation itself. But, if we put in a sincere effort, and truly unite for literacy, than the dream of a literate nation that the people of India saw since independence can finally be achieved. Only literacy can help someone achieve their rights, so literacy should be made the supreme right. Change will start with building the literacy bridge and end with a shining and excelling India.
Inspired by ideas like these I decided to step up and create a small organization, “United 4 Literacy” to motivate people to take action and appreciate the education that they receive and sometimes do not value fully. Currently we provide the funds in India to educate five children every year who show potential and willingness to study. It is important to realize that change will come only through ideas, an idea by itself may be just an aspiration, but an idea when put into action becomes an inspiration.
Ultimately, literacy is a two sided coin. On one side, if a nation can manage to achieve total literacy than it will reap the benefits of a faultless society and a roaring economy. On the flip side, if literacy is not given total priority by the government and the public of a nation, then the effects can tarnish a nation itself. But, if we put in a sincere effort, and truly unite for literacy, than the dream of a literate nation that the people of India saw since independence can finally be achieved. Only literacy can help someone achieve their rights, so literacy should be made the supreme right. Change will start with building the literacy bridge and end with a shining and excelling India.
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