Today 1/5 adult is still not literate. 2/3 of them are women. It is said, if you teach a man you teach only one person but if you teach a woman you teach the entire family.
I think this model – of educating women – must be applied especially in developing country like India where the population is huge and the adult literacy rate is only about 65%. Now the big question is how can developing countries reach 100% figure? In think, the best & smartest way of reaching this would be to educate our villages since the foundations of any economy lies in its rural area. We generally think the economy is doing well because of its urban contribution. Well, that may be true in some parts but we shouldn’t forget that the root of the urban world originates from its villages.
Now the 2nd big question for the developing nations is: how can it get every child into the classroom within the next 5 years? If we talk about international literacy it is important to look into basic demographic problems each country face. In management terms a best practice of one country may not apply with others. Similarly a manifesto of giving a computer to every student wouldn’t work if the fundamental need of basic education is not met. What is the child going to do with the computer when she can’t even read or write? Thus it is important to work towards this goal smartly so that the vision of making the world a better place to live is well established.
Thus on International literacy day we should think ways to empower villages by educating its people (esp. the women folks) deprived of this important necessity. This has a cure for any developing economy. If our kisans or farmers are educated, it will lead to a better yield. This in turn will lead to a healthy economy. If the economy is healthy we will have a better standard of living. If we have a better standard of living we all will do a better job. And if we do better jobs the world will be a better place to live. So let us all make a conscious effort of improving the education level within the developing countries. Each one of us can make a difference - directly or indirectly – either educating 1-on-1 or by donating funds to NGOs/govts or UNESCO. However let us be conscious in educating the remotest of remote. So let the mantra be - Let each one teach one.
Lastly the other dimension of literacy is following etiquettes. For e.g. some people despite being literate do not follow traffic rules or wouldn’t want to stand in a queue or they unnecessarily littering around or ignore manners we learnt in school. What is the use of our learning if such basic manners are not followed? I think this is important to be considered as well.
A candle does not lose its light by lighting another candle. Let us light and enlighten those who are deprived and also to those who are not.
