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A ray of hope
Some see the cloud,
others, the silver lining
ADULT LITERACY PROGRAMME TO BE PHASED OUT IN 5 YRS
New Delhi: In a move
expected to raise the hackles of entrenched bureaucrats and professional consultants, the
Ministry for Human Resource Development (HRD) has decided to phase out the adult literacy
programme in five years. With it will go a fiefdom that comprises the National Literacy
Mission (NLM), whose "time-bound" target keeps changing, but which still won the
UNESCO award for literacy; the Directorate of Adult Education and the National Institute
of Adult Education, whose functions overlap with each other, and the Rural Functional
Literacy Project, which by the Ministry's own admission has not had the "expected
impact".
The idea is that
when the Education Guarantee Scheme is implemented, it will make the adult literacy
programme redundant. The idea is also to focus resources on elementary education, for
which a fresh bill will soon be introduced in Parliament. The other department will handle
secondary education and higher education. While the Department of Elementary Education and
Literacy, as it will henceforth be known, will be headed by the current Education
Secretary. It is expected that the second department will be looked after by an
additional secretary.
The Education
Department as a whole has a large contingent of bureaucrats - as many as nine joint
secretaries and one additional secretary. Adult Education, in any case, has the lowest
allocation of all HRD departments: while elementary education was allocated Rs 3,034 crore
in the 1999-2000 budget, secondary education bagged Rs 1,136 crore and university and
higher education was given Rs 2,392 crore.
Source: The
Indian Express
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MUTE STUDENTS BRING LAUREL'S TO THE INSTITUTE
Dimapur (Nagaland): When Vehiko Sema brought four of his deaf and mute children to the
Nagaland Deaf and Dumb Institute, he thought it was "good riddance". Two years
later, he is grateful. For the four children whom he had virtually given up on have
evolved into disciplined, well-groomed talented youngsters winning national scholarships
and awards in painting while their physically able siblings have taken to drugs or other
vices. "When I brought them here, it was like a load off my shoulders but it has
turned out to be a blessing in disguise," says Sema. The institute, run by Yanger
Walling, a trained psychologist for the handicapped, is perhaps the only institution of
its kind in the insurgency-ravaged state. Beginning with a rented room in downtown Dimapur
in 1987, it is today a modest residential complex spread over 18 hectares along Thansari
river. It holds classes for regular schooling and provides vocational training. "I
work among people who believed that the deaf were either mentally handicapped or possessed
by demons. They were kept as slaves at home and considered to be a curse from God,"
says Walling, founder-principal of the institute. "They were left to roam on the
streets and subjected to mockery and teasing. The fact that the deaf can be educated, let
alone live a normal life, was unknown to the people," says Walling. The school has
classes from nursery to Class X. The first batch of students successfully passed out this
year, becoming the first deaf matriculates in the history of Nagaland. The institute aims
at overall development - physical, emotional, spiritual, moral and social of the deaf,
says Walling. At the vocational training centre, children are taught knitting, cutting and
tailoring, weaving, cane work, woodcraft, bead work, jute work, card-making, painting and
screen printing. Many of their products have found a market not only in the country but
also in the US, particularly cards. The institute also trains teachers and helps
rehabilitate the deaf children after they pass out. Deft in sign language, these students
are active and undeterred by their handicap. "They are adept at bargaining and want
to explore everything. The world has changed for them," says Tainla, a teacherat the
school. "Initially the society would not accept the potential of the deaf and
therefore was reluctant to give them any moral or material support. Their parents were
unable to meet their basic needs, such as books and clothing, and the beginning was
tough," recalls Walling.
Source: The
Indian Express
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