What went wrong with literacy in India ? What can be done to achieve
total literacy in near future ?
A panel discussion sponsored by ASHA-OSU, Corvallis to be held in the MU
208 [LaRaza Room] at 7.30 PM, Wednesday, 19 May 99, at the Oregon State
University.
The panelists are,
Dr. Charles Langford, OSU, Corvallis.
Dr. Megha Shyam, da Vinci Technologies Group, Inc., Corvallis.
Dr. S.N. Murthy, School of Pharmacy, OSU, Corvallis.
Dr. Steve Heinrich, Corvallis.
Ms. Sathya Ravichandran, moderator, OSU, Corvallis.
Much progress has been achieved in India, five decades since its
independence in disparate fields such as self reliance in food grains
production, heavy industries and manufacturing, nuclear sciences, space
program, medicine and above all a functioning democracy that manages to
survive despite the enormous cultural and linguistic barriers. Much of the
progress could not have been achieved but for the dedicated contributions
made by India's home grown talent in the fields of administration,
medicine, science and engineering. India has often been touted, with much
justification, as a nation with world's third largest number of scientists
and engineers. The Indian higher educational system continues to churn out
large number of high caliber graduates annually in all major fields of
study.
Yet, despite all the palpable progress, a full half of the Indian
population remains illiterate according to the Government of India's
official statistics. Economists of all persuasions, be it Amartya Sen or
the venerable Economist, have long agreed on the utmost importance of
literacy that forms the foundation for long term economic progress and
development. The pivotal role literacy plays in achieving gender equality
and in slowing down the ever burgeoning birth rates is well established.
Neighboring nations in Asia such as China, South Korea and Thailand to name
a few, who were on par with India five decades ago so far as many social
indicators were concerned have since outpaced India. The literacy rates and
the corollary social indicators such as life expectancy, infant mortality
and average annual income in these societies have made impressive gains.
So, what did go wrong with literacy in India ? Was it a case of skewed
priorities or misallocation of resources ? Or was it a case of benign
neglect on the part of electoral leaders or is there a larger hidden social
dimension that forms the root of the problem ? Can Kerala's success in
achieving universal literacy be duplicated elsewhere in India ?
You are cordially invited to participate and share your views on this issue
that continues to have profound consequences on the Indian nation.
