UNIT 3 GLOBAL, REGIONALAND NATIONAL !

SCENARIOS ON LITERACY
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Objectives
3.2 Global Scenario
3.2.1 Need for Literacy
3.2.2 Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)
3.3 Regional Scenario
3.3.1 Differences in Regional Literacy Rates
3.3.2
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Narrowing of Gender Gap in Literacy Rates

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3.3.3 Numbers of Illiterates High in Some Regions

3.4 National Scenario
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3,4.1 Literacy Practices in India
3.4.2 Long-term Objectives and Commitments for Literacy
3.4.3 Issues of Language and Gender
3.5 Let Us Sum Up
3.6 Answers to Check Your Progress
3.7 References

3.0 INTRODUCTION
Unit 3 PI-ovideslearners with an overview of the state of literacy world wide. It a
discusses the cision and need for literacy especially in contemporary knowledge
societies, and the necessity of working for literacy for one's well-being. It guides
you to develop your own definition of literacy, describe different forms of literacy, i
and to apply your understanding of adult literacy learning to global, regional and
national scenarios. It is assumed that as an adult educator you are already aware
of the national scenario on literacy in India. For example, you are of course
familiar with the facts that starting from Mahatma Gandhi's basic education in
1937 (when he called for a coordinated teaching-learning process of hand, body
and soul and learning by doing) and the Kothari Commission Report in 1966, to
the Education for All (EFA) Declaration of Government of India in 2005 - all
a
emphasized the importance of literacy. This is why Unit 3 attempts to lead you
to build your own perspective of literacy in the light of global, regional and
national developments to achieve universal literacy.

You may already know that various stages of evolution in explaining and defining
literacy as per the needs and demands of the period, have taken place and they
have been influenced by academic research, international policy agendas and
national priorities from time to time. You also know that a commonly held
viewpoint is that literacy means developing or acquisition of reading and writing
skills and numeric skill. Unit 3 provides more value addition to your perspective
of literacy.
After studying this unit, you are expected to be able to: Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
Explain the concept of literacy and its importance at the global, regional Literacy
and national levels;
Explain the need for literacy;
Identify the various forms and types of literacy;
Apply various approaches to implement adult literacy programmes; and
Develop your own understanding of issues related to literacy.

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GLOBAL SCENARIO - - - - - - -

Before we start our overvlew of global scenario on literacy, it is essential to

build a perspective on literacy discourse. In the field of literacy, we are much
used to dividing the world into illiterates and literates. Generally we tend to
follow the global pattern of perceiving in society such binary oppositions as
between underdeveloped and developed, between primitive and modem. Just as
there are worldwide programmes to remove underdevelopment and thereby usher
in modem development so are there many plans to end illiteracy. In this sense
for most of us the distinction between illiteracy and literacy is the same as between
primitive and modem or between underdeveloped and developed. This perception
makes universal literacy as a first condition for development. Such a view of
literacy begs questions like: 'How does one define literacy? Do underdeveloped
countries wait till they achieve universal literacy before they can engage in
development activities? Why have traditional adult literacy learning initiatives
not brought in any significant way either universal literacy or enabled participants
to acquire new skills to improve their well-being? These are some difficult
questions that we need to consider as we construct our perspective on literacy.
For academic debate on this subject you may like to go through Box 3.1.

Box 3.1 Debate on Literacy

In academia, social scientists like Goody (1977) and Olson (1977) found a
link between cognitive abilities and learning to be literate and then they
pointed out how through times immemorial literacy has been important for
the way a society works. Global concerns with literacy campaigns also
.reflect the popular assumption about utmost importance of literacy for
functioning of a society. Such ideas as promoted by Goody, Olson and
Farrell were in the past a basis for planning literacy programs but in
contemporary conditions, differences between literates and non-literates
do not follow the assumptions of the metaphor of the "great divide" between
literates and illiterates.
The results of the tests Scribner and Cole (198 1: 13-17)carried out in three
areas of communicative skills, memory and language analysis during their
study of Vai peoples of Liberia made clear that 'specific practices promote
specific skills' and that is why the claims of literacy thesis are not tenable.
In the light of the hold of cognition thesis of literacy and its sway over
policy makers, the doubt arose in the mind about literacy being over-rated.
Findings of Scribner and Cole (198 1: 13-17) that the distinction between
illiteracy and literacy may not be appropriate under conditions when reading
and writing of a text is not the sole source of information and knowledge,
are tenable because today people receive information and knowledge from
73
Development of Adult
Education innumerable sources, including those that do not require the ability to read
and write. In view of the sophistication of "oral" culture in India (also see
Finnegan 1999), it is not surprising to find the entire corpus of Vedic
literature surviving for centuries without being written up by its creators.
Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Illiteracy is a curse in our country." At the
same time he went on to proclaim, "Literacy in itself is no education." For
Gandhi, "Literacy is not the end of education or even the beginning." He
elaborated that "Literacy must be one of the many means for intellectual
development, but we have had in the past the intellectual giants who were
illiterate." Gandhi espoused a well-integrated concept of cultural literacy.
It is important that we do not ignore the findings of new researches while
re-formulating our plans for literacy on the ground that these are simply
academic discussions and have nothing to do with actual practical work of
achieving the goal of universal literacy. In fact so called academic
discussions of assumptions underlying literacy programs help us to escape
the route of unproductive activities and gain control and knowledge of
what we plan to do.
An international perspective on adult literacy and post-literacy is indeed a guide
for developing one's own ideas on how to go about your professional work as an
adult educator. Reading through UNESCO documents gives a feeling of
satisfaction that the international organization has elaborate plans of large-scale
collaboration to bring about universal literacy by 2015. However, in the light of
utter hopelessness of the situation on the ground, UNESCO documents appear
to be full of false hopes. Adult educators have begun to raise basic questions and
articulate their views in the context of literacy that can pull people out of poverty.

You are an adult educator. As you know, Professor Amartya Sen, the 1998 Nobel
laureate in Economics, recalled in his message at the celebrations for 2002
International Literacy Day, "There is an old Bengali saying that knowledge is a
very special commodity: the more you give away, the more you have left.
Imparting education not only enlightens the receiver, but also broadens the giver
- the teachers, the parents, the friends."

Some questions arise in the mind. Is Amartya Sen referring to adult educators?
Do you have confidence in the role of adult education as it exists today? Or, is it
necessary to go beyond its current status? With a co-learner, discuss the following
quotation from the speech by John Daniel (2003). What does he mean by these
statements?

". .. adult educators have a reputation for being boring, sanctimonious,

backward looking and paternalist. They have a propensity to miss the
boat when new developments of importance in adult education appear on
the scene. This is not a good reputation to have, especially if we want to
influence governments and the wider society."

You may not agree with what John Daniel has to say about adult educators. In
fact, I too do not agree with him. All the same let us try and make out what he
meant when he spoke the above words about adult educators. Do they ring a bell
in our minds? Is there some truth lurking behind them? About twenty Delhi-
based adult educators participated in a workshop, held in January 2006 at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. Well, some participants looked bored
7A
if not boring, while some were making a show of being keen, serious and Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
committed. In their responses to questions about contemporary social reality, Literacy
many of them were backward-looking and paternalistic. Adult educators have
been described to me as a 'lazy lot' who would not be up to 'reflecting' and
answering the 'check your progress' questions. So may be John Daniel was just
being blunt and calling a spade a spade. Or, he may be simply trying to shake us
up and exhort us to take up the challenge of universal literacy. Whichever way it
is, I suppose the test is right here. Let us find out how many learners of Unit 3
actually work on defining literacy.
You can also compare John Daniel's statements with those of H. S. Bhola (2005:
67). He is well known among adult educators in India and abroad and he said,
Adult educators in India have to understand Globalization in general and
how it has influenced Indian politics, economy and health services,
education-and adult education-in particular. ... As activists, Indian
adult educators must work to ensure that the position regarding its political
economy India is indeed protected; and that the state is not allowed to
withdraw from its functions that have traditionally become a part of the
social contract between the state and its citizens. They must re-commit
themselves to adult education and lifelong education and press on the
state to allocate enough resources to revive the objectives and operations
of the National Literacy Mission and design and launch new programmes
and projects of adult education for poverty alleviation and sustainable
development.
Do Bhola's words inspire you to carry forward your professional pursuits with
new ideas about adult literacy learning? Alternatively, would you like to form
your own perspective on global, regional and national scenario on literacy? Let
us proceed to initiate the process whereby you construct your own perspective.
It is well known that in the international arena UNESCO started supporting the
spread of adult education as part of a concerted effort to advance basic education
after the Second World War. The first global survey of adult literacy, covering
over sixty countries, was published in 1957. By then the world leaders and policy
makers realizkd that education and literacy could better enable individuals to
participate in and benefit from a modernizing economy. The second-half of the
twentieth century witnessed international policy community stressing on the role
of literacy in economic growth and national development especially in newly
independent countries. In the mid-1960s, in trying to cope with the development
hopes of Third World nations, economic functionality came to be the focus,
though mention was also made of social, and,-cultural needs of human beings.
The Teheran Conference of 1965 asked that functional literacy - now defined as
economic functionality - be in the centre of global efforts. The Teheran Conference
Report (1965) accepted functional literacy "as an essential element in overall
development ... closely linked to economic and social priorities and to present
and future manpower needs".
In 1978, the General Conference of UNESCO adopted a definition of functional
literacy which is still in use as 'A person is functionally literate who can engage
in all those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his
(or her) group, community and also for enabling him (or her) to continue to use
reading, writing and calculation for his (or her) own and the community's
development.' 75
Development of Adult In 1958 at the General Conference of UNESCO the standard definition of literacy
Education
emerged which is: 'A person is literate who can with understanding both read
and write a short simple statement on his (or her) everyday life.' The definition
of literacy sometimes extends to basic arithmetic and other life skills. This
definition became a yardstick for measuring literacy in national censuses. As
you are well aware, this understanding of literacy which emphasized on an
exclusively skills-based view captured the attention of researchers during 1960s
and 1970s. Further elaborated to use and apply skills in meaningful ways, the
notion of functional literacy gained ground on the basis of linking literacy to
productivity and overall socio-economic development. To use literacy in social
and cultural context has also been a perspective among recent developments.
Literacy has also been viewed by many educators as an active process of learning
involving social awareness and critical reflection which in turn would promote
social change. The Brazilian educator Paulo Freire advocated integrated notions
of active learning within a particular socio-cultural set up, as he wrote: 'Every
reading of the word is preceded by a reading of the world'.
But, some of you may say that in order to cope with the Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) age of the twenty-first century we need to
have something more than the basic skills for survival. Isn't that so? The answer
to this question will depend on how you wish to define literacy. Some of you
may have come across the concept of 'multiple literacy' which is related to
technological, health, information, media, visual, scientific and other contexts
and more suited for life in the twenty-first century. Emphasis is placed not only
on reading and writing, but also on skills and practices relevant to the changing
demands of community life. With the emphasis on adult literacy skills in evolving
labor markets and knowledge-based societies during the 1980s and 1990s, the
Jometian Conference at Thailand in 1990 for Education for All (EFA) placed
literacy within the broader context of meeting the basic learning needs of every
child, youth and adult. It stated that these needs comprise both essential learning
tools (such as literacy, oral expression, numeric, and problem solving) and the
basic learning content (such as knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes) required
by human beings to be able to survive, to develop their full capacities, to live
and work in dignity, to participate fully in development, to improve the quality
of their lives, to make informed decisions, and to continue learning.' This concept
of basic learning needs in terms of learning tools and learning content is invariably
subject to interpretationby implementing agencies. In this sense, no one definition
of literacy can reflect all its aspects. Even the EFA Global Monitoring Report's
matter-of-fact definition of literacy does not lend itself to a universal and standard
measurement of literacy. Also in normal process of learning one measures
achievement by carrying out and Completing a task, while in formal system of
adult literacy learning there are formal tests to measure success. In a way we
may speak of the need to enlarge the scope of externally planned and assisted
adult literacy learning to include informal learning whereby literacy learning
becomes a part of our social skills learning.
The above approach to learning alludes to theconcept of lifelong learning that
has now become the buzz word in discourse on education. As a result many
adult education departments in educational institutions of higher education have
even converted themselves into departments of lifelong learning. So you have
now 'lifelong learning discourse' (See Rogers, 2002 and 2003) in which adult
literacy learning has to be contextualized in terms of adult learners' perception
76 of themselves and their self-created goals.
 Global, Regional and
Check Your Progress National Scenarios on
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer. Literacy

b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to Check Your Progress".
1) With the above background information that many of you may already
possess, systematize your ideas on literacy and write down your definition
of literacy in one page.
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L

In sub-section 3.2.1, let us now look at the global scenario on literacy in the
perspective that you may have begun to form about the need for literacy.

3.2.1 Need for Literacy

UNESCO holds that education is a human right, but 771 million adults are
illiterate (UNESCO, 2005) and approximately 100 million children (UNESCO,
2004) are out of school today. Many of those who enroll in primary schools drop
out before acquiring adequate literacy skills. Here literacy refers to basic skills
in reading, writing and numeric to have access to information about health,
environment, education and the world of work. Does it mean that 771 million
adults have no knowledge and skills about health and environment? What happens
to skills that people without the so-called literacy possess to survive and earn a
living despite many odds against them? Do they not learn from each other? Have
they not preserved environment for thousands of years? Asking these questions
does not mean that those asking them are against literacy for all. What in fact is
questioned here is the premise that illiterates have to somehow become literate
in the sense of being able to read, write and count. Questioning this premise
opens a window for us to understand the context for the need for literacy.

At present, 85 per cent of populations with insufficient literacy competencies

live in thirty-five countries (see Annex 1 of LIFE,2006). Planners and policy
makers consider that relevant policy measures, well-planned programs and
Development of ~ d u l t sustained allocation of sufficient resources are needed to ensure that effective
Education
learning opportunities are provided to those without literacy competencies. They
do not as such mention the actual use of new skills. It is recognized that women
and girls are the largest group without access to education and they need focused
attention, for their personal development and for their role as mothers, and as
citizens. But we do not find any mention of women and girls encumbered with
the responsibilities of collecting firewood, water for sheer survival. Will reading,
writing and numeric help them getting firewood and water with less exertion?
Of course, we need to also give priority to other excluded and disadvantaged
groups, such as ethnic minorities, rural populations, indigenous people, people
living with HIViAIDS and disabilities. Conventional literacy programs with their
focus on reading, writing and numeric can help only a few while focus on effective
developmental activities can address most of those mentioned above. In a way,
if we were to give the need for just literacy a back seat and concentrate on effective
developmental activities, it would be easier to promote the cause of universal
literacy.

Given the fact that literacy is a low priority on the development and the education
agendas in many countries and consequently is a weak link in the global movement
towards achieving Education for All (EFA), we may rather consider a model of
multiple adult literacies whereby participants engage primarily in different
activities and learn reading, writing and numeric in the context of those activities.
The following statements reflect a similar view.

"Literacy is not a pre-condition for the spread of some form of basic knowledge
however much it would be facilitated by literacy." (UNICEF, 1990: 53-54).

"Literacy is neither an entry requirement, nor necessary for the clientele to learn.
... the facilitation of adult and continuing learning can be provided without first
teaching learners to read and write." (Bas, 1991, cited in Lynch, 1997: 90).

"While literacy is a pre-requisite to 'schoolability', it is not crucial to either the

ability or the need of non-literates to learn." (Grandstaff, 1976: 300).

In view of the idea of multiple literacies, let us have a critical look at Literacy
Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) which is a global strategic framework for
the implementation of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD 2003-201 2).
It is supported and led by UNESCO. As an integral component of EFA, UNLD
provides both a platform and an impetus for achieving all six goals of the Dakar
Framework for Action, promoting literacy under the banner 'Literacy as Freedom'.
The UNLD reaffirms 'that literacy for all is at the heart of basic education for all
and that creating literate environments and societies is essential for achieving
the goals of eradicating poverty, reducing child mortality, curbing population
growth, achieving gender equality and ensuring sustainable development, peace
and democracy' (United Nations, 2002).

3.2.2 Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)

Let us recognize the fact that despite the importance of literacy for the
achievement of global development objectives, many countries do not have
enough resources and capacity to address the challenge. LIFE will be supported
over ten years to implement some of the recommendations highlighted in the
UNLD framework.
78
LIFE specifically aims to contribute to the empowerment of women, out of- Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
school girls and their families, especially in rural areas, and of those with Literacy
insufficient or no literacy skills - often the poorest and most marginalized
members of society. Their empowerment in turn can have a positive impact on
the quality of the lives of their families, poverty reduction, socio-economic
development. and school enrolment of their children. Taking into account the
principles put forward by the Delors Commission, LIFE will promote literacy
throughout life so that women and men can engage in 'learning to be', 'learning
to live together', 'learning to do' and 'learning to know'(UNESC0, 1996). LIFE
will be planned and operationalized alongside other EFA initiatives, especially
the Teacher Training Initiative in Sub-Saharan Africa and EDUCAIDS, the Global
Initiative on HIVIAIDS and Education.
The map given below shows the world adult literacy rates in 2000. You can see
at a glance your country's adult literacy status. Obviously, we begin to feel a
little uncomfortable when we look in global terms at the current status of adult
literacy in India.

-J
50% and more
1 30% to <50%
@ lO%to<30%
Less than 10%
_) Data not available
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics estimate. July 2002

This situation brings home the important concern of training adult educators so
that they can improve the current growth of literacy in our country. In order to
operationalize plans for creating a literate society, the initiative of training adult
educators is as important in India as it is in Sub-Saharan Africa. It is so because
new developments of importance in adult education have appeared and it is time
to make sure that we do not miss them. Adult educators cannot afford to project
the image of 'being boring, sanctimonious, backward looking abd paternalist'
(Daniel, 2003) and not notice new developments occurring in their field of
activities.
Literacy meets a wide spectrum of individual needs and development goals.
Your definition of literacy (hopefully already worked out by you in Activity 1.2)
most likely reflects a much broader understanding of literacy where literacy stands
for several types of skills. The concept of 'multiple literacies' can be used if you
think it fits your description of literacy.
The term 'literacy' is often used as a metaphor, as we say computer literacy or
environmental literacy or legal literacy or gender literacy, etc. Here, literacy is
Development of Adult used more in the sense of skill. Is literacy something different for adult educators?
Education
Does it mean only the ability to read and write texts? Is literacy the same as
'awareness'? Is it not that one can be aware but not literate or one can be literate
and not aware? To answer these questions we need to consider and be clear
about the discourse on various approaches to literacy. FOPthis purpose you may
put your thinking antennae up and look into the current and previous practices of
operationalizing the concept of literacy. For achieving tangible results, you would
need to look into objectives of adult literacy learning programmes and the
measures for deciding on their success.
The following examples show that literacy is important but not a pre-requisite. It
can take place as and when required.

In Nirantar a group of women have learnt about maintaining water pumps

and in the process they learnt literacy skills as well.
In Bangladesh, a group of men organized and operated a tempo service and
as they made profits, they learnt also how to read and write so they could
sustain their operations.
In Nepal, a group of women wanted to learn to sew but they could not read
the sewing manual so they were told to first learn to read and write. They
lost their interest in sewing and their efforts to acquire literacy skills did not
also proceed well.
Lalita Ramdas found that literacy classes could continue only as long as the
activity helped to find work. If no remuneration was found, adult educators
were told to go away and teach children only. As a result Ramdas had to re-
think her approach to literacy.
Let us now turn to the regional scenario on literacy.

3.3 REGIONAL SCENARIO

It is well known that the overall world adult literacy rates do not reflect regional
variations and we need to separately discuss the regional scenario on literacy.

3.3.1 Differences in Regional Literacy Rates

The EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002 estimates that the overall world adult
literacy rate in 2000 was 79.7% - women 74.2% and men 85.2%. Past and
projected improvements in world literacy rates are shown below:
As indicated above, the figures mask large regional differences, with the lowest Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
overall rate in South and West Asia (55.3%), and the highest in Central Asia Literacy
(99.6%). Sub-Saharan Africa showed the biggest increase over two decades.
The following chart projects trends to 2015 on the basis of past experience:
Figure 3 2 Adtrk I e w P
~IS-bf -at Il@SO-LfOlSf

3.3.2 Narrowing of Gender Gap in Literacy Rates

It is noteworthy that the gender gap in literacy has narrowed in all regions, and it
is expected that the trend will continue to 2015:
Flyure 3 3 Grrbrln r)np s~IWr.rua mtcs. by rotJton(WCK)&41d 20151

These trends and proiections give us reason for hope and optimism regarding
progress In literacy. Though gentlet dill'erence\ in literacy rates are more nurked
among adults, there is now almost no gender difference in literacy rates of 15-24
year olds in many regions of the world. I-Iowcver, the absolute numbers \ ~ f
illiterates remain obstinately high. Of an estimated figure of 875 million illiterate
adults in the world in the year 2000, nearly two-thirds were women. It has been
projected that the fastest increases in literacy rates among adult women will take
place in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Arab States.

Interestingly, in the Indian state of Rajasthan it is found that there is no positive

correlation between high literacy and low gender gap. The situation of higher
gender gap that prevailed in 1991 11ah changed and some of the high-literacy
districts now show a lower gender gap. A-stage has been reached where overall
literacy cannot increase without a significant increase in female literacy. The
emphasis therefore has to shift to women's education.
Development of Adult
Education Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to Check Your Progress".
2) Which one of the four so-called 'bimaru' states of India made a steady
progress in rates of female literacy and reflected a relatively lower degree
of gender gap?
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3.3.3 Numbers of llliterates High in Some Regions
Literacy efforts have not kept pace with population growth -in South and West
Asia and in Sub-Saharan Africa numbers of illiterates have increased since 1990.
The following table compares numbers of male and female illiterates by region
for 1990 and 2000.
Numbers of adult illiterates - 000's
1990 2000
Total Male Female Total Male Female
World 879130 324914 554216 861966 3133231 548643
Developed 21970 6660 15311 14895 4862 10033
countries/countries ,
in transition
Developing 857159 318254 538905 847071 308461 5 3 86 10
countries
Arab States 62400 23118 39282 67473 24310 43162
Central and 16519 3833 12686 12518 2857 9661
Eastern Europe
Central Asia 480 98 383 222 73 149
East Asia and 232904 71924 160979 186404 53412 132992
the Pacific
Latin America and 41932 18243 23689 39254 17436 21819
the Caribbean w

North America and 11363 4024 7339 -. 7873 2935 4938

Western Europe
South and West Asia 38215 1 151980 230171 412242 159705 252538
Sub-Saharan Africa 131380 5 1693 79687 135980 52595 83385
For the sake of gaining a comparative perspective, the statistics quoted above Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
from various sources speak for themselves. We need to form a comparative Literacy
perspective for locating our country's status in the regional scenario. This
exercise is useful for looking beyond our noses and spotting where and what is
happening and if there is something for us to learn from others' experiences. In
this context we may also glance at figures on youth literacy in our neighboring
countries (see the Table below). Adult literacy rate in this table is for the age
group 15 years and above. Youth literacy rate is for the age group 15-24 years.
The youth literacy rate for lndia relates to 200 1. The table has been taken from
UNESCO in the National Literacy Mission Website.
1
Country Adult Literacy Rate Youth Literacy Rate
China 90.9 98.9
India 61.3 73.3
Nepal 44.0 62.7
Paki stan 4 1.5 53.9
Sri Lanka 92.1 97 .O
Bangladesh 41.1 49.7

3.4 NATIONAL SCENARIO

We will now turn to the national scenario. Your task here is basically to discover
the links between global, regional and national scenarios on literacy and then
generate a profile of the local scenario on practical dimension of adult literacy
learning in India.

Practicing literacy or its practical aspects have to be understood in terms of what

we consider to be the ways of learning or in other words theories of learning.
With respect to the practice of adult learning and practical activities for spreading
literacy, we need to have a clear understanding of theories of learning, which are
subject to varying points of view, including 'collaborative learning', 'distributed
learning' and 'communities of practice'. Some of these ways of looking at learning
do not focus on individual learner, rather they emphasize group learning and
social practices around which communities build their knowledge structures.
Making a paradigmatic shift from cognitive approach to understanding literacy
practices in their socio-cultural contexts, we need to go into what is known as
New Literacy Studies (see Barton and Hamilton 1999, Collins 1995, Gee 1999,
Street 1991) and think about the everyday meanings and uses of literacy in their
cultural contexts. We can also critically assess the claims of cognitive approaches
to literacy and explore the potential of findings made available in New Literacy
Studies.

Street's (1984) draws distinction between an 'autonomous' model and an

'ideological' model of literacy. Autonomous model of literacy deals with practices
that impose western conceptions of literacy on other cultures (see Street 2001).
The autonomous model of literacy assumes that literacy in itself, autonomous~y,
will influence other social and cognitive practices. This model of literacy hides
its cultural and ideological assumptions and presents them as though they are
neutral and objective. Research in the social practice approach has challenged
this view and shows that in practice dominant approaches relying on autonomous
83
De~elopmentof Adult model impose western notions of literacy on other cultures. Instead of imposing
Education
an alien conception of literacy on your society, you may like to look at an
alternative model for planning literacy programs in your area. You may like to
first give a critique of the cultural and ideological assumptions of autonomous
model of literacy and then look at literacy as a social practice that is embedded
In socially constructed principles of knowledge. The ideological model of literacy
provides a more culturally sensitive perspective of literacy practices as these
practices differ from one culture to another and from one context to another and
therefore each particular version of literacy would be always ideologically rooted
in a particular worldview. The ideological model of literacy has premises different
from autonomous model and posits that literacy is a social practice and not just
a technical and neutral skill and that it is basically rooted in socially constructed
ways of how one knows something. Clearly, literacy in this sense is always
contested with regard to its meanings and practices. \?'orking in the field of literacy
is always a social act that influences the nature of the literacy being learnt and
the learners already hold some idea\ about literacy and about their position in
relations of power.

In the light of above discussion, it is not tenable to hold the view that 'literacy'
can be 'given' neutrally and its social in~pactcan be measured afterwards.
Traditional literacy programmes, based on autonomous model of literacy, have
largely failed because they did not use appropriate intellectual tools to understand
the diversity of literacy practices around the world and did not design literacy
programmes to suit the particular needs of adult learners. You can argue that
organizing a literacy programme is to be a part of a power relationship and how
adult learners take hold of such a programme depends on socio-cultural practices
and not just on pedagogic and cognitive factors.

Adult educators need to address, in a literacy programme. all the questions about
power relation among the participants. about the resources and their sources,
about choices available to learners for learning one literacy rather than another
. type of literacy, about how learners challenge the dorninal~tpoints of view of
literacy. It is worth asking about what literacy means to the concerned adults and
which social contexts the use to drive meanings of literacy. Often. one has come
across the fact that even non-literate persons engage in literacy activities ant1
therefore the dividing line bet~veenliteratei non-literate i~ not all that obvlous
(see Doronilla. 1 996).

'r11e new concept5 of 'literacy events' and 'literacy practices' have been commonly
wed in New Literacy Studiel. Heath (1982: 50) has explained the concept of
'literacy event' as 'any occasion in which a piece of writing is integral to the
nature of the participants' interactions and their interpretive processes'. Street
(1984: 1) has elaborated the term 'literacy practices' as a means of focusing
upon 'the social practices and conceptions of reading and writing' and also that
the term includes the social models of literacy that participants bring to bear
upon those events and that give meaning to them.

The questions posed about literacy practices make one feel like going further
into the complex nature of debates around literacy issues. Bringing enlightened
perspective5 to what an adult educator can do for achieving universal litera~yi \
possible by questioning one's own understanding of the nature arid meaning ot
literacy.
84
3.4.1 Literacy Practices in India Global, Regional and
National Scenarios on
If we put the official view of managing and funding literacy programmes vis-A- Literacy
vis the perspective of our discussion on different approaches to literacy, we need
to reflect on the nature of literacy programmes and their objectives. This reflection
enables us to make our own choices 011 literacy practices initiatives in adult
learning activities. We need to think about implicati.c,nsof adopting the approach
that treats literacy as the ability to read and write. Will it lead to adult literacy
programmes with text books and adults being taught to read and write in ways
similar to those in which children are taught in schools?
Check Your Progress
Notes: a) Space given below the question is for writing your answer.
b) Check your answer with the one given at the end of this unit under
"Answers to Check Your Progress".
3) Is it possible to take another approach to literacy practice in which there
is no 'task-conscious learning', instead we have 'learning-conscious
learning'? What is the implication of this approach'! Will it start from
what adults know and what they can add to learning sessions?
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Being a signatory to World Declaration. India's commitment for EFA, and
particularly for primary education and adult literacy became evident from Ccntral
Advisory Board of Education (CABE), the national policy making body's (a)
endorgement of EFA goals. as underlined in India's National Policy on Education
(NPE) 1986 and its Programme of Action (as revised in 1992); and (b) approval
for accepting external funding for primary and elementary education programmes
(MHRD-NIEPA, 2000). Kerala with the highest literacy rate (90.86 per cent)
and Bihar the lowest (47.00 per cent) represent two extremes of the Indian scenario
on literacy. Social indicator like life expectancy at birth (2001-2006) is 71.61 for
males and 75 for females in Kerala while in Bihar, it is 65.66 for males and
64.79 for females. Similarly another social indicator, infant mortality per 1,000
85
Development of Adult live births is only 10 in Kerala against 61 in Bihar. Also birth rate (per 1,000) is
Education
16.9 in Kerala against 30.9 in Bihar and death rate (per 1.000) is 6.4 in Kerala
against 7.9 in Bihar. All these indicators highlight the social differences in the 4

two states and the differences show that literacy is the key to improving the
quality of life (see Sen,2005 ). The literacy rates in different states for 1981 and 1
!
2001 reflect considerable variance throughout the country. Leaving aside a few 1
states at the top and bottom, most of the states are either a little above or below
the national average.

With this national scenario, adult educators in India would certainly wish to re-
think the current practices in the field of adult literacy in order to achieve better
results. Should we continue to borrow the formal learning methods of school? If .
we were to focus on informal learning methods, surely we would then need to
alter our use of curricula and text book and also the way of formative and/ or
summative assessment of literacy programs. For making a shift from formal
learning methods to informal learning methods, or combining the formal and
informal methods, we need to examine our assumptions about how one knows.
Secondly, we would need to consider the cognitive consequences of learning
literacy and talk about cognitive approaches to literacy.

As has been pointed out by Street (2005) both meaning of literacy and its mode
of operation for research and action are highly contested issues. In order to run
an adult literacy programme for attaining long-term success, we need to probe
into these contested domains. Adult educators need to seek and become aware of
alternative approaches to literacy work. It is only then it would become possible
for them to tell their adult learners to acquire literacy for becoming aware, more
critical and in control of their own development. We may also consider what
Levi-Strauss (1961: 291-292) argued about literacy that it is not the royal route
to liberation and it is many times a means of enslavement.This may be a polemical
view but coming from a great thinker of our times it needs to be seriously
considered by adult educators of the twenty-first century.

3.4.2 Long-term Objectives and Commitments for Literacy

In the light of EFA goals and targets set up in Dakar Framework for Action and
clearly aligned to social and gender equity thrusts, NLM felt the necessity to
effect a certain re-focusing of its strategies pursued since 1999. The EFA-NPA's
new "thrust areas" in literacy include (MHRD, 2003: 85):
Achievement of 75 per cent literacy level by 2007.
A multi-pronged strategy to address regional, social and gender disparities
in literacy.
Refocusing literacy, post-literacy and CE programmes to increase and
strengthen women's participation, so as to bridge the gender gap in literacy.
Encouraging PL and CE districts to pay special attention on mobilization
and organization of women into neo-literate and self-help groups (SHGs).
Special attention to socially disadvantaged groups like SCsISTs and women. 1
45 districts with <30% female literacy rate selected for a multi-pronged
strategy to raise female 1i teracy.
Special stress with ZSS to specifically highlight strategies to take up literacy
86 and skill upgradation programmes for SCsISTs and women in particular.
Achievement of 75 per cent literacy seemed a doable pursuit in 2003 but in Global, Regional and
December 2006, does it appear to be an achievable goal? National Scenarios on
Literacy
Let us remind you that it is important to be aware of what is real and what is
rhetorical in the field of literacy. Only then one is able to realistically plan for
achieving sorne tangible results. Do you really believe some of the following
claims made by various agencies on behalf of literacy drives?

1) Literacy changes the way human beings think.

2) Literacy leads to human modernization and to the changing attitude about
development.
3) Literacy fosters democratic ideals and increases national productivity.
4) Literacy will be eradicated by fifty-per cent by the year 201 5.
5 ) It is possible to initiate an innovative literacy programme in a modest way
and sustain it through local efforts.

3.4.3 Issues of Language and Gender

If we are to be more culturally sensitive and in line with specific literacy practices
required for specific cognitive skills being targeted, we need to reflect on issues
of both language and gender. Explicit language policy guides the use of mother
tongue in adult learning and this remains a topic of debate because access to the
economic market place may require learning to take place in a language that is
not one's mother tongue.
Often general views on literacy rates hide large inequalities with higher illiteracy
rates among girls and women because literacy varies dramatically by gender,
ethnicity and urban-rural living. However, it is worth reflecting on the fact that
whether mere increase in number of women and girls can make any noticeable
impact on achieving the ideal of a self-directed adult learner who is able to define
her learning needs and to face the challenges of new ways of doing things with
fast shifting epistemologies of workplaces. Do we not need to plan for some
kind of revolution in our cultural and political settings? .

The language of teaching-learning (or medium of instruction) in adult literacy

programs has, as a conscious policy, been the mother tongue from the beginning.
After TLC became the dominant approach and strategy, NLM adopted the
approach of leaving the issue of language of instruction, to ZSS - the reason
being the language preference of learners, their numbers and feasibility of literacy
primers development and transaction as the main considerations. Within a State
there are many languages and dialects with or without a written script, spoken
by sizeable number of people. There are cases of TLCs that used primers in 6-7
languages, as per their demographic composition and language preference of the
learners. In some cases, learners not knowing regional language - language of
administration - may like to become literate in that language. There are also
districts with large tribal population, speaking a dialect that may or may not
have a written script. In such cases, learners are initiated into literacy by using
the first primer in the local dialect and switching over to regional language in
second and third primers used in TLC. The reading materials in PL and CE
stages are generally in regional languages.
The gender focus (to reduce gender gaps in accesslprovision, participation,
achievement, etc., that have a more quantitative dimension) and addressing the
Development of Adult gender bias i.e., age-old socio-economic and culturally ernbedded gender
Education
iniquities, have been the two distinct. but inter-related dimensions of India's
literacy movement since early 1990s. Gender focus was obviou\ly warranted by
their two-thirds share in illiteracy. The gender focus of TLCs (viz., paying greater
attention in proportion to their number), however. did not come by a pre-design.
It emerged from actual experience seen in the massive response of women who
perceived the social sanction for their participatiotl as an opportunity to realize
their aspirations for literacy, empowerment and improvement. But the hurdles
of gender inequities were pervasive, in the socio-cultural outlook, in the content
of literacy primers about the role of women in society. in development, pokilion
within family, solidarity and collective assertion for their equality. and ko on.
The literacy movement was the first to address these issues of gender in early
1990s which lent an effective model for the gender focused primary education
programmes later.

3.5 LET US SUM UP

You have in this unit developed your skill of working out an explanation of the
concept of literacy by defining it from the input given in various sections of this
unit. You had an opportunity of also checking if your effort was along the right
lines and that is how you could also improve your effort in case you felt that your
definition missed out on any relevant aspect of literacy.

Secondly, you discussed various forms of literacy. Prevalence of ever-widening

types of literacy makes each one of us illiterate in one sense or the other and we
all try to learn new skills, making literacy a lifelong endeavor.

Thirdly, you tried to work out the importance of llteracy in various ways by
looking at the global, regional and national scenario on literacy and thereby you
were able to derive lessons for applying better literacy practices in your region.

3.6 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

I) The definition of literacy is dynamic, evolving, and reflects the conti~lual
changes in our society. Literacy has, for instance, expanded to include literacy
in information and communication technologies and critical literacy. Literacy
is a complex set of abilities needed to understand and use the dominant
synlbol systems of a culture - alphabets, numbers, visual icons - for personal
and community development. The nature of these abilities, and the demand
for them, vary from one context to another. In a technological society, literacy
extends beyond the functional skills of reading, writing, speaking and
listening to include multiple literacies such as visual, media and information
literacy. These new literacies focus on an individual's capacity to use and
make critical judgements about the information they encounter on a daily
basis.
Sotne examples of definitions of literacy (taken from the internet) are given
below for you to compare your own definition of literacy.
The condition or quality of being literate, especially the ability to read and
write. In the international arena UNESCO started supporting the spread of
adult education as part of a concerted effort to advance basic education
after the Second World War. The first global survey of adult literacy, covering
88
over sixty countries, was published in 1957. By then it was realised by Global, Regional and
world leaders and policy-makers that education and literacy could better National Scenarios on
Literacy
enable indi\liduals to participate in and benefit from a modernizing economy.
In 1958 at the General Conference of UNESCO the standard definition of
literacy emerged which is: 'A person is literate who can with understanding
both read and write a short simple statement on his (or her) everyday life.'
The definition of literacy sometimes extends to basic arithmetic and other
life skills. This definition became a yardstick for measuring literacy in
national censuses.
The condition or quality of being knowledgeable in a particular subject or
field: cult~trulliteracy; biblical literacy.
The second-half of the twentieth century witnessed international poljcy
community stressing on the role of literacy in econornic growth and national
development especially in newly independent countries. In 1 978, the General
Conference of UNESCO adopted a definition of functional literacy which
is still in use as 'A person is functionally literate who can engage in all
those activities in which literacy is required for effective functioning of his
(or her) group, community and also for enabling him (or her) to continue to
use reading, writing and calculation for his (or her) own and the community's
development. '
The Dakar Framework for Action 2002 on the eve of the United Nations
Literacy Decade, 2003-2012 recognized literacy as the heart of life-long
learning. It says: 'Literacy is crucial to the acquisition, by every child, youth
and adult, of essential life skills that enable them to address the challenges
they can face in life, and represents an essential step in basic education,
which is an indispensable means for effective participation in the societies
and economics of the twenty-first century'. It further added that ' literacy is
the heart of basic education for all and creating literate environments and
societies is essential for achieving the goals of eradicating poverty, reducing
child mortality, curbing population growth, achieving gender equality and
ensuring sustainable development, peace and democracy.'
Most dictionaries define literacy as the ability to read and write. Today the
definition has been expanded. Many now consider literacy to be the ability
to locate, evaluate,' use, and communicate using a wide range of resources
including text. visual, audio, and video sources.
The traditional definition of Literacy is the ability to read and write. In
modern context, the word means reading and writing at a level adequate for
written communication and generally a level that enables one to successfully
function at certain levels of a society if that society is one in which literacy
plays a role in providing access to power.
The standards fur what level constitutes "literacy" vary among societies.
Other skills such as computer skills or basic numeracy may also be included,
as there are many people who cannot read letters but can read numbers, and
even learn to use a computer (in a limited way) while remaining unable to
read text. These and the increasing inclusion of sound, still and moving
images and graphical elements in digitally based communication call for an
even broader concept of literacy. (See: Literacy in the Information Age:
Final Report of the lnternational Adult Literacy Survey, OECD,2000. PDF).
Recently the National Council of Teachers of English and the International
Development of ~ d u ~ t Reading Association have added "visually representing" to the list of
Education communicative compctences that are considered to constitute literacy.
Many policy analysts consider literacy rates a crucial measure of a region's
human capital. This claim is made on the grounds that literate people can be
trained less expensively than illiterate people. Policy makers also argue that
literacy increasesjob opportunities and access to higher education. In Kerala,
India, for example, female and child mortality rates child rates declined
dramatically in the 1960s, when girls schooled to literacy in the education
reforms after 1948 began to raise families. Recent researchers, however,
argue that correlations such as the one listed above may have more to do
with the effects of schooling rather than literacy in general.
In broad terms, literacy is the ability to make and communicate meaning
from and by the use of a variety of socially contextual symbols. Within
various levels of developmental ability, a literate person can derive and
convey meaning, and use their knowledge to achieve a desired purpose or
goal that requires the use of language skills, be they spoken or written. A
literate person can mediate their world by deliberately and flexibly
orchestrating meaning from one linguistic knowledge base and apply or
connect it to another knowledge base. For example, knowing that letters
symbolize sounds, and that those sounds form words to which the reader
can attach meaning, is an example of the cognitive orchestration of
knowledge, a literate person conducts. Literacy is "not in isolated bits of
knowledge but in students' growing ability to use language and literacy in
more and broader activities" (Moll, 1994: 202).
However a culture defines it, literacy touches every aspect of individual
and community life. It is an essential foundation for learning through life.
and must be valued as a human right.
During the 1990s the problem of illiteracy was quite acute in the four States
of the Hindi heartland - Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
- which have the derisive adjective of Bimaru. But, the statistics provided
by the Census of India 2001 show that the rate of improvement has been
faster in each of these States than in India as a whole. In 1991. the gender
gap in Rajasthan increased in 24 of the 27 districts but in 200 1 it increased
only in 13 of the 32 districts. In 19 districts the gap decreased. While the
increase is nominal, the decrease is substantial. The highest decrease was
recorded in Jhunjhunu, followed by Sikar. Whereas the highest increase
was in Jalore, followed by Bhilwara. Interestingly, there is no positive
correlation between high literacy and low gender gap. Although the situation
that prevailed in 1991 has changed and some of the high-literacy districts
now have a lower gender gap, the overall position is not positive. This may
be a temporary phase. A stage has been reached where overall literacy cannot
increase without a significant increase in female literacy. The emphasis
therefore has to shift to women's education.
3) According to Street (2005), this approach would involve use of 'real literacy
materials' that come from everyday social life. This does not mean that we
need not do anything beforehand. As Street says we need to carry out pre-
programme research on what adults already know and also find out what
the learners would like the programme to provide. This is quite a lot for
adult educators to prepare before they take up any of the provisions made
90
 available by the government in the field of adult learning. Such advance Global, Regional and
N a t i o d Scenarios on
preparation is likely to initiate the process of building your own perceptions 1,iteracy
about the national scenario on literacy.

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