Government has declared primary education compulsory for every child. New schools are being established. Government is providing free books to the children from class 1 to class 10.
India’s literacy rate continues to be below the global average, despite concentrated and prolonged efforts. Renu Sharma explores different facets of the problem, and how we can speed up the process towards a universally literate nation.
Illiteracy is poisonous for the development of any country. It can result in other bigger issues like unemployment, population burst, poverty, etc. It is one of the main issues India has had to deal with since independence. Efforts made by NGOs and the government have resulted in a slight drop in the illiteracy rate in India. But although we’re making some progress, it’s not enough. There are still so many things we can do to help eradicate illiteracy in our country.
You may think that it’s not your problem. But the bigger picture remains that a high illiteracy rate holds a nation back from making progress. It is affecting all of us in ways that we can’t even imagine. We all need to come together to help underprivileged children get better education because they are our country’s future.
With so many factors playing a role in India’s illiteracy issue, there is no single solution that can bring about immediate change. But there are some small steps that can pave the way for higher literacy rates:
Free education
The Right to Education Act, passed by Parliament in 2009, has ensured that children between the ages of 6-14 should receive free and compulsory education. As a result of this Act, there have been some improvements in the number of children within these age groups getting education.
But we need to think about children who don’t fall within this age group. Without education, children below age 6, who haven’t yet qualified for free and compulsory education, could fall into the clutches of child labour. Once they fall in, it’s immensely difficult to get them out. That’s why NGOs are already making efforts to provide necessary education to younger children.
Additionally, children over the age of 14 could still want to pursue their education. It’s upon the NGOs to provide them with the necessary facilities to learn valuable skills that could help them in getting employment.