The funds for the India Literacy Project (ILP), promoted by the Andhra Pradesh based NGO, the Bhagavatula Charitable Trust (BCT) are secured from private sources, primarily non resident Indians (NRI)s.  BCT believes that if the villagers are made literate, they will be able to tackle most of their problems on their own.

Thus it is laying stress on literacy which it feels should be given priority over all programes, whether economic or human resource development.  As examples, other poor Third World countries are cited – those that have overcome any number of odds to make their entire population such as Cuba, Somalia, Brazil.

BCT’s expectations of literacy are that it will (a) build awareness of the world, (b) make people question the system and (c) enable the villagers solve 70 percent of their problems by building their self-confidence (d) develop leadership among the youth who are at present without purpose.  A country can afford to waste money, all other resources, but not its youth with their energy and idealism and only literacy can release creative tensions.

If literacy is not sought to be made a mass movement by the turn of the century every second illiterate in the world will be an Indian.  One way of tackling the issue is to do away with the highly subsidised education funding pattern.   A 1000 people can be made literate with the amount spent in training a doctor, or 500 in the case of an engineer.

Moreover, every educated member of society can contribute towards combating illiteracy under the ‘each one teach one scheme’.

The NGO launched its literacy drive, aimed at all illiterates regardless of age, in December 1989.  It is aimed at eighth and ninth class students of high schools (upto class ten). They do not have to pass exams for promotion and hence are less under pressure.  Under the ILP, class eight and nine students are trained to teach their elders in the village, beginning with their neighbours. They form one cadre.  The second cadre is being built among literates in general, youths, retired government servants, defence service personnel, to take on the responsibility of teaching illiterates they constantly meet, their servants, people in the neighbourhood and so on.

BCT has also employed post-graduates on a salary of Rs. 1000 a month to promote literacy.  Known as a mandal motivator, he is expected to supervise the literacy drive in 22-25 villages of the mandal.  He visits the villages, establishes the clubs and associations and trains the students of class eight and nine to teach the people of their area….Thanks to then 15,000 illiterates have been involved in the learning process.   The idea is to expand the ILP throughout India, at present confined to a pocket in Vishakapatnam district.

Extract from Development With a Bang by Gautam Vohra (Uppal Publishing House, New Delhi, 1992, Rs. 225). q

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