What is now the most commonly applied term about India used in the international community? A fast growing economy? An aspiring superpower? India shining? Certainly such terms are a relief from the constant allegations against the country that we come across every day. India a country of malnourishment, low literacy, child sexual abuse, foeticide, dowry, corruption, unemployment and the sheer numbers of people living below the poverty line. Question is, when we look at a country, do we tend to shield the underprivileged and deprived as they are embarrassing and not conducive to our ‘image’ worldwide? Suspicious indeed.
Let us isolate and take the issue of literacy in Rural Schools of India. The literacy rate is certainly one of the key indicators of the socio-economic progress of the nation and directly influences a wide range of issues such as unemployment, poverty, population growth (a higher literacy rate is linked to family planning and use of contraceptives). The statistics are quite disturbing. The census shows that the literacy rate has grown in India from 12% at the end of British era to 74.04% in 2011. The census shows a growth of 9.2% in the literacy rate between 2001-11 which is in fact, quite slow. To top it there is a wide gender difference in the literacy rate, that of men being 82.14% for men and 65.46% for women. There is also a large disparity between the rural and urban India, the census of 2001 showing 58.7% and 79.9% as the literacy rates of rural and urban India respectively.
When we look at the need of reforming the educational infrastructure in the rural areas is quite urgent for rural development The only way to cause upliftment among the rural community is to spread literacy among them. The problem is difficult to deal with since in rural areas, education is not seen as a means of subsistence. So the rural schools, where present, suffer from lack of attendance. The government is certainly making efforts to change this (introducing mid day meal in government run rural schools for instance) but its efforts alone are proving insufficient.
Thankfully, many NGOs have come to the forefront in our country to aid the government in its efforts. They are working actively and enthusiastically for spreading literacy in the rural areas. In a way they can be said to be bridging the gap between contemplation and implementation of rural development initiatives undertaken by the government. Often such NGOs earn government sponsorship which allows them more space to conduct their welfare activities. Being non-profit organizations they have to rely largely on donation India to pursue their activities and many like minded people and organizations have actively stood up in their support. The rural socio-economic scenario needs to change and change it will. NGO India consisting of people from various walks of life who have voluntarily stood up for a noble cause offer us a ray of hope.
The large population of India is seen to be the biggest deterrent in its growth and progress. But concerted efforts by the NGOs India hand in hand with the government have offered us a hope that our handicap may be transformed into our biggest strength. With the proper approach to dispensing education to the rural community that includes vocational courses, we might become the largest producer and harnesser of human resource worldwide.
Let us isolate and take the issue of literacy in Rural Schools of India. The literacy rate is certainly one of the key indicators of the socio-economic progress of the nation and directly influences a wide range of issues such as unemployment, poverty, population growth (a higher literacy rate is linked to family planning and use of contraceptives). The statistics are quite disturbing. The census shows that the literacy rate has grown in India from 12% at the end of British era to 74.04% in 2011. The census shows a growth of 9.2% in the literacy rate between 2001-11 which is in fact, quite slow. To top it there is a wide gender difference in the literacy rate, that of men being 82.14% for men and 65.46% for women. There is also a large disparity between the rural and urban India, the census of 2001 showing 58.7% and 79.9% as the literacy rates of rural and urban India respectively.
When we look at the need of reforming the educational infrastructure in the rural areas is quite urgent for rural development The only way to cause upliftment among the rural community is to spread literacy among them. The problem is difficult to deal with since in rural areas, education is not seen as a means of subsistence. So the rural schools, where present, suffer from lack of attendance. The government is certainly making efforts to change this (introducing mid day meal in government run rural schools for instance) but its efforts alone are proving insufficient.
Thankfully, many NGOs have come to the forefront in our country to aid the government in its efforts. They are working actively and enthusiastically for spreading literacy in the rural areas. In a way they can be said to be bridging the gap between contemplation and implementation of rural development initiatives undertaken by the government. Often such NGOs earn government sponsorship which allows them more space to conduct their welfare activities. Being non-profit organizations they have to rely largely on donation India to pursue their activities and many like minded people and organizations have actively stood up in their support. The rural socio-economic scenario needs to change and change it will. NGO India consisting of people from various walks of life who have voluntarily stood up for a noble cause offer us a ray of hope.
The large population of India is seen to be the biggest deterrent in its growth and progress. But concerted efforts by the NGOs India hand in hand with the government have offered us a hope that our handicap may be transformed into our biggest strength. With the proper approach to dispensing education to the rural community that includes vocational courses, we might become the largest producer and harnesser of human resource worldwide.
