UPSC Essentials | Society and Social Justice — Literacy and associated issues (Part 3)

About the Expert: Pranay Aggarwal is an educator and mentor for aspirants preparing for UPSC Civil Services examination. With more than 10 years of experience guiding civil service aspirants, he is acknowledged as an expert on civil service exam preparation, especially on subjects like Social Issues and Sociology. He is the India representative on Research Committee on Education for UNESCO’s International Sociological Association and a member of Indian Sociological Society’s committee on social movements. He is also the Convenor of Indian Civil Services Association, a think tank of senior bureaucrats.

Manas: What are India’s various initiatives towards increasing the literacy rate, including education policies?

Pranay Aggarwal: India has implemented several initiatives and education policies over the years to increase its literacy rate and improve the quality of education. These initiatives have aimed to address issues such as access to education, quality of education, and the reduction of educational disparities. Here are some notable policy measures:

1. National Education Policy 2020: NEP 2020 is a transformative blueprint for educational reform. It emphasizes foundational literacy and numeracy, promotes multilingualism, integrates vocational education, and fosters technology-enabled learning. With a focus on holistic development, the policy aims to equip students with 21st-century skills. It also advocates teacher training and professional development.

By addressing challenges and introducing innovative approaches, the NEP 2020 strives to elevate India’s education system to new heights. Whether it will succeed or not, only time will tell.

2. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): Launched in 2001, SSA has been one of India’s flagship programs for universalizing elementary education. It focuses on providing free and compulsory education to children aged 6 to 14 years, with an emphasis on addressing disparities in enrollment, attendance, and learning outcomes. SSA aims to improve infrastructure, teacher quality, and curriculum content to enhance the overall educational experience.

As per the Right to Education Act 2009, 25% seats in entry-level classes in unaided (private) schools are reserved for students from disadvantaged groups or socially and economically weaker sections.

3. Right to Education (RTE) Act: Enacted in 2009, the RTE Act is a landmark legislation that makes education a fundamental right for children aged 6 to 14 years. It mandates free and compulsory education, establishes minimum standards for schools, and prohibits practices like discrimination and corporal punishment. The act aims to ensure equitable access to quality education for all children.

4. National Literacy Mission (NLM): The NLM aimed to eradicate illiteracy and promote adult education. The mission focuses on improving adult literacy rates through various programs, including the Total Literacy Campaign and the Continuing Education Program. NLM works to enhance functional literacy skills and empower adults to actively participate in socio-economic activities.

5. Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA): Launched in 2009, RMSA focuses on enhancing access to quality secondary education. It aims to increase the enrollment ratio in secondary schools, improve infrastructure, provide teacher training, and enhance the curriculum to make it more relevant and skill-oriented.

6. Digital India and E-learning Initiatives: In recent years, the Digital India campaign has aimed to leverage technology for educational transformation. Initiatives like DIKSHA (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing) provide digital content and resources to teachers and students. The move towards e-learning and digital classrooms has been accelerated to bridge gaps in access to quality education, especially in remote areas.

7. Skill India and Vocational Education: Skill India is an initiative to provide skill development and vocational training to enhance employability. This initiative recognizes the importance of practical skills alongside academic education, catering to a broader range of career opportunities and addressing the needs of the job market.

8. Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao: This initiative aims to promote the education of the girl child and address gender disparities in education. By raising awareness about the importance of girls’ education and providing incentives, it seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable educational environment.

These initiatives, among others, reflect India’s commitment to improving literacy rates and educational quality across the country. While challenges remain, these policies signify a concerted effort to provide accessible, equitable, and quality education to all citizens, thereby contributing to the nation’s socio-economic development.

Manas: How should we critically evaluate India’s educational programs? What are the hurdles?

Pranay Aggarwal: India’s educational programs have made significant strides, but they also face critical challenges that warrant attention. While there have been positive developments, it’s important to evaluate these initiatives in the context of their effectiveness and the obstacles they encounter.

Positives:

• Increase in Literacy rates and Higher enrolment: The overall literacy rate has shown an appreciable increase from a humble 18.3% in 1951 to 74.04% in 2011. Initiatives like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education Act have expanded access to education, resulting in increased enrollment rates at the primary level.

• Expansion of Educational Infrastructure: India today boasts of one of the most extensive educational infrastructures in the world; from primary level to higher education level. Today, our education system is one of the largest in the world with more than 15 lakh schools, 40,000+ colleges and over 85 lakh teachers catering to 25 crore children from varied socio-economic backgrounds.

• Technology Integration: Digital initiatives such as DIKSHA have leveraged technology to enhance learning resources and facilitate remote education, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Policy Innovations: The National Education Policy 2020 has introduced forward-thinking concepts such as multilingualism, vocational education, and skill development, aiming to create a more holistic and relevant education system.

Challenges:

• Equity and Inclusion: Disparities persist based on socio-economic status, gender, and caste. Not all social groups have equal access to the expanding educational opportunities in India. Various marginalized communities often have limited access to quality education. For instance, the literacy rate of scheduled castes is 66% and that of scheduled tribes is only 59%; compared to 74.04 per cent for the total population (2011 census). Muslims are on various yardsticks of academic marginalisation worse off than SCs and STs; with 42.7% of Indian Muslims being illiterate (2011 census). Women in India have a literacy rate of 52.9 percent, while males have a literacy rate of 71.6 percent (NFHS- 5).

• Quality Disparities: Despite increased enrollment, ensuring quality education remains a challenge. Disparities exist between urban and rural areas, private and public schools, and among states.

• Teacher Quality: The quality of education is heavily dependent on well-trained and motivated teachers. However, teacher shortages, uneven qualifications, and inadequate training persist.

• Rote Learning: The prevalent emphasis on rote learning hampers critical thinking and creativity. The system’s focus on examinations often promotes memorization over understanding.

• Linguistic Diversity: India’s linguistic diversity poses challenges for curriculum development and standardized testing. Balancing regional languages with a national curriculum is complex.

• Dropout Rates: Despite efforts, dropout rates at various educational levels remain high due to factors like poverty, child labor and lack of infrastructure.

• Skill Mismatch: The focus on traditional education sometimes results in a mismatch between the skills students acquire and the demands of the job market.

• Administrative Challenges: Bureaucratic red tape slows down policy implementation, hindering the effectiveness of educational programs.

In conclusion, India’s educational programs have made progress in expanding access and introducing innovative policies. However, challenges related to quality, equity, teacher training, and curriculum need attention. Addressing these hurdles requires a multi-faceted approach that combines policy reforms, investments in infrastructure, teacher development, and a commitment to holistic education that nurtures critical thinking and practical skills.

Manas: Let us focus on the New India Literacy Programme…

Pranay Aggarwal: New India Literacy Programme (NILP) is a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme that will be implemented in five years from 2022-23 to 2026-27. It has been launched by the central government with a financial outlay of around Rs. 1038 crore; out of which Rs. 700.00 crore is the central share and Rs. 338 crore will be made available by the state governments. The primary aim of the scheme is to target 5 crore non-literates aged 15 years and above.

Need of NILP: According to the 2011 Census, the total number of individuals aged 15 years and above who lack literacy in the country was 25.76 crores (9.08 crore males and 16.68 crore females). Considering that 7.64 crore people were certified as literate under the Saakshar Bharat initiative (2009-10 to 2017-18), it is estimated that around 18.12 crore adults in India are still without literacy skills.

Components of NILP:

The NILP scheme has five components:

(i) Foundational Literacy and Numeracy
(ii) Critical Life Skills
(iii) Vocational Skills Development
(iv) Basic Education
(v) Continuing Education

All non-literate persons above 15 years of age can avail the scheme. The beneficiaries are identified through door to door surveys. They can also register for the scheme directly through a mobile app. The scheme is mainly based on volunteerism for teaching and learning. Volunteers can also register through the mobile app.

The scheme is technology-based and implemented mainly in the online mode. The teaching and learning material and resources have been made available on the online platform of NCERT and can be accessed through mobile apps. Further; other modes like TV, radio, etc. are also to be used for the dissemination of foundational literacy and numeracy.

Manas: Can you highlight some success stories, case studies, and notable initiatives in literacy and education which aspirants can use in their answers as examples or as impactful content for their essays?

Pranay Aggarwal: Certainly, there are several important initiatives and case studies that highlight positive outcomes in literacy and education. These have been implemented in different parts of India with varying degrees of success.

Given some of the common challenges that educational administrators and policymakers face in enhancing literacy rates, reducing gaps in access to education and educational transformation in different parts of India; efforts may be made to replicate these initiatives; or at the very least, learn something from them.

1. Beti Bachao Beti Padhao, Haryana: The Beti Bachao Beti Padhao campaign in Haryana has shown commendable success in addressing gender disparities and promoting education for girls. Haryana, a state known for its skewed sex ratio and gender-based challenges, has witnessed a positive transformation through this initiative. The campaign’s multifaceted approach includes advocacy for the value of the girl child, community engagement, awareness programs and incentives for girl child education.

As a result, Haryana has seen improvements in birth ratios, increased enrollment of girls in schools, and heightened awareness about gender equality. The campaign’s success in Haryana stands as a testament to the power of targeted interventions and societal change towards creating a more inclusive and equitable environment for girls’ education.

2. Kanya Kelavani and Shala Praveshotsav Campaign, Gujarat: Gujarat government’s Kanya Kelavani (Girl Child Education) and Shala Praveshotsav (School Enrollment Drive) campaigns have significantly increased girls’ enrollment and retention rates in schools. These initiatives focus on eliminating gender disparities in education and ensuring that every child, especially girls, has access to quality education.

Historical Tidbit- JUST FYI: It is said when Savitribai served as the headmistress of their first school in Bhide Wada, Pune, several upper-caste men tried deterring her by pelting stones and throwing cow dung on her while she would be on her way to school. (Photo via Wikimedia Commons)

3. Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation: The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation operates in remote and tribal areas of India, providing one-teacher schools to ensure education reaches even the most marginalized communities. What began as a humble initiative in a remote part of Jharkhand has transformed into a pan India movement with one lakh + schools. It provides free, non-formal education to children; and runs one-teacher schools on a shoestring budget of Rs. 20,000 per annum. This initiative has positively impacted literacy rates in regions where access to education was limited.

4. Barefoot College, Rajasthan: Barefoot College in Rajasthan is a voluntary organization that focuses on providing practical skills and education to rural communities. It offers vocational training, emphasizing practical skills rather than theoretical knowledge.

Influenced by the Gandhian philosophy of village self-sufficiency, the college aims to de-mystify high technology for villagers. The College teaches its students; primarily women from the poorest of villages; skills such as installing, building and repairing solar lamps and water pumps without requiring them to read or write. It shows that with the right training, the uneducated and semi-literate can operate and manage items like solar panels and water pumps.

This approach has empowered individuals to engage in income-generating activities and contribute to their communities’ development.

5. Pratham’s Read India Campaign: Pratham, a non-governmental organization, launched the Read India campaign to improve foundational reading and math skills among primary school children. The initiative’s innovative teaching methods, community involvement, and assessment tools have led to enhanced learning outcomes in numerous locations across India.

6. Kerala’s Education Model: Kerala, often celebrated for its high literacy rates, has achieved remarkable success in education through its innovative strategies. The state’s focus on universal primary education, early childhood programs and investment in teacher training has led to significant improvements in literacy rates and educational outcomes.

7. Azim Premji Foundation’s Teacher Training Programs: The Azim Premji Foundation focuses on enhancing the quality of education by providing training and support to teachers in rural and underserved areas. The foundation’s efforts have improved teaching methodologies, leading to increased student engagement and better learning outcomes.

These success stories underscore the transformative impact of dedicated efforts, innovative approaches, and community involvement in promoting literacy and education across India. They demonstrate that with the right strategies, commitment, and collaboration, significant improvements can be achieved, even in challenging contexts.

Manas: Which sources can the students and educators refer to, to know more about literacy and education?

Paranay Aggarwal: When using any sources; ensure that they are official, reputable and up-to-date. Government websites, educational institutions and established NGOs are generally reliable sources of information for studying literacy and education in India.

If you are looking to delve deeper into the topics of literacy and education, here are some reputable sources that you can explore:

1. National Education Policy 2020: The NEP document provides a comprehensive overview of the state of education in India, its main challenges and policy recommendations. It covers nearly all aspects of education; from early childhood care and education to higher education; from adult education to integrating technology in education. Worth a read for UPSC aspirants and educators.

Read: NEP 2020

2. State of the education report for India, 2022 – This report by UNESCO provides an introduction to Artificial Intelligence (AI) to demystify a subject that has endured various misconceptions. This is supplemented by an overview of challenges and opportunities in the Indian education sector that Artificial Intelligence can address.

Read: UNESCO’s State of the education report

3. World Bank Education: The World Bank’s education page offers research, data, reports, and resources related to education and literacy in developing countries. Their “World Development Report” also includes sections on education.

Website: World Bank Education

4. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO): UNESCO’s website provides a wealth of information on global literacy efforts, education policies, reports, and statistics. They also publish the Global Education Monitoring Report, which offers insights into global education trends.

Website: UNESCO Education

5. Ministry of Education, Government of India: The official website of the Ministry of Education provides information on education policies, programs, initiatives, and statistics in India.

Website: Ministry of Education

6. Annual Status of Education Report (ASER): ASER is a nationwide survey that assesses the status of schooling and basic learning levels in rural India. It provides valuable insights into education quality and learning outcomes.

Website: ASER

Of course, civil services aspirants need to be mindful of the constraints on their time and the relative weightage of a topic in the exam syllabus; and allot time for its study accordingly. So, UPSC aspirants should look at the abovementioned resources as rich, comprehensive and reliable sources of information; but refer to them selectively.

Express Input: NEP

Three years since the launch of the National Education Policy (NEP), most states have either adopted the policy wholly or picked specific parts of it for application. The NEP, which was launched in July 2020 as an update to the previous 1986 policy, is a wide-ranging framework for education from the primary level all the way to higher education. The NEP, however, is not binding on states, and they remain free to accept or reject the policy.

An NEP is a comprehensive framework to guide the development of education in the country. The need for a policy was first felt in 1964 when Congress MP Siddheshwar Prasad criticised the then government for lacking a vision and philosophy for education. The same year, a 17-member Education Commission, headed by then UGC Chairperson D S Kothari, was constituted to draft a national and coordinated policy on education. Based on the suggestions of this Commission, Parliament passed the first education policy in 1968.

A new NEP usually comes along every few decades. India has had three to date. The first came in 1968 and the second in 1986, under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi respectively; the NEP of 1986 was revised in 1992 when P V Narasimha Rao was Prime Minister. The third is the NEP was released in 2020 under the Prime Ministership of Narendra Modi.

(Though the present article only talks about Literacy and associated issues, it will be beneficial to study briefly about NEP here itself. The following excerpt was first published as — NEP 2020: Key takeaways from National Education Policy, what it means for you in The Indian Express on July 30, 2020)

Here is a list of key policy changes that have been announced and what it means for you:

School system: The 10+2 system will be divided into 5+3+3+4 format.

The first five years of school will comprise of the foundation stage including three years of pre-primary school as well as classes 1 and 2. The next three years will be divided into a preparatory stage from classes 3 to 5 and following that, three years of middle stage (classes 6 to 8), and four years of secondary stage (classes 9 to 12). Co-curriculum and vocational subjects like sports, arts, commerce, science will be treated at the same level. Students can opt for courses as per their preference. Students will be allowed to take up coding from class 6 onward. Skills, such as analysis, critical thinking and conceptual clarity will be taught in school.

Among proposals, 10+2 school format to become 5 + 3 + 3 + 4. (Express Photo: Partha Paul)

Report cards: The report cards of students will be reviewed by peers and teachers. Artificial Intelligence-based software could be developed and used by students to help track their growth through their school years based on learning data and interactive questionnaires for parents, students, and teachers. To track progress, all students will take school examinations in grades 3, 5, and 8 which will be conducted by the appropriate authority.

Board exam: The class 10 and 12 exams — referred to as board exams — are likely to be held in two difficulty levels and students will be given a second chance at boards to improve their score. They will be free to take up courses regardless of the stream division of arts, commerce and science. “Student choice and best-of-two-attempts, assessments that primarily test core capacities must be the immediate key reforms to all board exams,” the NEP stated. A system of annual or semester or modular board exams could be developed to test far less material, and taken immediately after the corresponding course is taught in school so the pressure from exams is better distributed and less intense.

Language policy: The policy states, the medium of instruction until at least class 5 (and preferably till class 8) should be “home language or mother tongue or local/regional language”. Thereafter, the home or local language should continue to be taught as a language. Unlike the draft, the final policy gives the freedom to the state, region, and child to chose three languages to be learned. However, at least two of the three languages should be native Indian languages.

Common entrance exam for admissions: From school to colleges, it is advised that there should be a single gateway. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct a common entrance examination (CEE) for admissions to universities across the country. A common aptitude test, as well as specialised common subject exams in the sciences, humanities, languages, arts, and vocational subjects, will be held at least twice every year. It will allow “most universities to use these common entrance exams – rather than having hundreds of universities each devising their own entrance exams, thereby drastically reducing the burden on students, universities and colleges,” the NEP read. It will not be mandatory and will be left to individual universities and colleges to use NTA assessments for their admissions.

Exit point: “Graduate-level, master’s and doctoral education in large multidisciplinary universities, while providing rigorous research-based specialisation,” mentioned the NEP. The undergraduate degree will be of either three or four-year duration, with multiple exit options. Students will get a certificate after completing one year in a discipline or field including vocational and professional areas, or a diploma after two years of study, or a Bachelor’s degree after a three-year programme. The four-year programme may also lead to a degree ‘with Research‟ if the student completes a rigorous research project in their major area(s) of study.

Foreign colleges: High performing Indian universities will be encouraged to set up campuses in other countries, and similarly, selected universities, those from among the top 100 universities in the world will be facilitated to operate in India. A legislative framework facilitating such entry will be put in place, and such universities will be given special dispensation regarding regulatory, governance, and content norms on par with other autonomous institutions of India.

India will be promoted as a global study destination providing premium education at affordable costs thereby helping to restore its role as a Vishwa Guru. An International Students Office at each HEI hosting foreign students will be set up to coordinate all matters relating to welcoming and supporting students arriving from abroad, as per the NEP.

Credit bank: An Academic Bank of Credit (ABC) shall be established which would digitally store the academic credits earned from various recognised HEIs so that the degrees from an HEI can be awarded taking into account credits earned. Departments in languages, literature, music, philosophy, Indology, art, dance, theatre, education, mathematics, statistics, pure and applied sciences, etc. Credits will be given in all Bachelor’s Degree programmes for these subjects if they are done from such departments or through the ODL mode when they are not offered in-class at the HEI.

Educational technology: An autonomous body, the National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), will be created to provide a platform for the free exchange of ideas on the use of technology to enhance learning, assessment, planning, administration and so on, both for school and higher education. One of the permanent tasks of the NETF will be to categorise emergent technologies based on their potential and estimated timeframe for disruption, and to periodically present this analysis to MHRD. Based on these inputs, MHRD will formally identify those technologies whose emergence demands responses from the education system. Content will be available in regional languages also.

Express Edge

Why duration of early literacy and numeracy programmes must be increased?

Dhir Jhingran, Shailaja Menon in their Opinion piece in The Indian Express write:

More than half the children in India are unable to read fluently with comprehension or do basic mathematical operations by the end of primary schooling. To address this, the National Education Policy (NEP 2020) suggested a national mission to ensure that all children attain foundational literacy and numeracy by the end of Grade 3.

Accordingly, the National Initiative for Proficiency in Reading with Understanding and Numeracy (NIPUN Bharat) programme was started by the Centre in 2021 to improve the foundational learning of five crore students in government primary schools. NIPUN Bharat, despite certain limitations, has begun to slowly improve the learnings of children in Grades 1-3 in several states.

However, in a recent decision, the Ministry of Education has rolled back the scope of NIPUN Bharat to children in Grades 1-2, leaving out children in Grade 3. The rationale provided for this shift is to bring about the alignment between NIPUN Bharat and the curricular structure suggested by the NEP 2020 and the National Curricular Framework (NCF 2023). These latter documents envisage a “foundational stage of learning” that would include three years of preschool education and the first two years of primary schooling. Hence, the argument is that the NIPUN Bharat programme should also end at Grade 2.

Anganwadi centres catering to three to six-year-olds focus largely on health, immunisation and nutrition, and only a small proportion of centres provide pre-school education with any regularity or quality. In this context, the setting up of a three to eight-year block in which children receive well-planned, high-quality educational services is still a distant goal.

The reality is that approximately 68 per cent of children in the three to six-year age group are not able to access educational services in India. Most children come from poorly literate home contexts and encounter literacy for the first time in Grade 1. Thirty-five per cent of children spend several years of primary schooling navigating complex gaps between home and school languages. Therefore, to roll back a programme that supports the learning of children in Grade 3 is to let go of a bird in hand (support for children currently in Grade 3), for two in the bush (the hope of a unified, functional schooling block for the three to eight-year-olds).

If anything, we should be providing extra support for children through Grades 1-5 so that they have enough time to establish robust foundations for language and numeracy learning. The NCF has merely argued for appropriate pedagogical practices to be followed for children in the three to eight-year age group, for example, a focus on play-based learning, flexible pace of learning, and the like.

The foundational stage described in the NEP and NCF does not intend to target the development of the whole range of literacy and numeracy skills, attitudes and knowledge required for all future learning in school by the end of Grade 2. In fact, most research conducted across the world and especially in Indian contexts show that these understandings develop slowly during the first four or five years of schooling.

Perhaps one of the reasons for such decisions is an inadequate understanding of what it means to establish strong foundations for early literacy and numeracy. It is possible that literacy, for example, is being understood as the ability to blend letters to read words at a certain pace by a certain age. Programmes like NIPUN Bharat have also contributed to the emergence of such an imagination. But rather than cutting back on such programmes, it becomes all the more important to broaden our vision of early foundational learning to include a focus on the relevance of literacy to children’s lives, strong oral expression, deep, inferential comprehension, enjoyment and appreciation of literature, and capabilities to engage in written composition.

Can foundations for these be expected to be established by the end of Grade 2 or even Grade 3? Rather, we should be arguing for lengthening the duration of programmes designed to strengthen early literacy and numeracy learning to include children in Grades 4 and 5 and to broaden their vision in terms of educational aims and outcomes. By cutting back on existing programmes we run the risk of falling further behind in our effort to improve foundational learning.

(Jhingran is Founder & Executive Director, Language and Learning Foundation, Menon currently leads the Centre of Excellence in Early Literacy at Tata Trusts. Views are personal)

Previous topics on Society and Social Justice:

UPSC Essentials: Society & Social Justice | Population and associated issues (Part 1)

UPSC Essentials: Society & Social Justice | Population and associated issues (Part 2)

UPSC Essentials| Society & Social Justice — Urbanisation and associated issues (Part 1)

UPSC Essentials | Society & Social Justice : Urbanisation and associated issues (Part 2)

UPSC Essentials | Society & Social Justice : Urbanisation and associated issues (Part 3)

UPSC Essentials | Society & Social Justice : Literacy and associated issues (Part 1)

UPSC Essentials | Society & Social Justice : Literacy and associated issues (Part 3)

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