Nepal: Bet on literacy for better development
Atul Chatterjee
July 28, 2008
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in terms of per capita GDP, but in terms of Human Development Index (HDI) it fares slightly better. China has a rank of 86 while Nepal pegged at 142 is not very far behind India at 128.
The components of HDI are longevity, education, literacy, and standard of living. Here we consider the parameter literacy and suggest means to improve it.
For China the level of literacy is 90 per cent for those above 15 years of age. For men the figure stands at 95 per cent whereas for women it is at 85 per cent, the country has obviously taken a great leap forward on this count. In the case of Nepal literacy stands at 49 per cent, for males it is 63 per cent for females it is a dismal 35. The overall statistic for India is at 61 per cent with a retrograde figure of 48 per cent females.
It is obvious that women have to be targeted for a literacy drive. The Indian government has also woken up to this fact and now there is much talk and some action for the ´girl child´. This should be a cue for Nepal as well.
The advantages of having literate women manifold. They are able to take part in community development when NGOs or government workers show up. They can be given simple forms or literature to read, rather than depend on others for interpretation. Literacy lends to personal empowerment and then they are able to participate in decision making within the village. Women in villages often have a wider perspective since they are housemakers and work in fields and jungles.
In India (most stark in the state of Kerala) and also in most other parts of the world it has been empirically found that there is an inverse relationship between literacy and rate of growth of population. As a society becomes more literate population growth rates fall. At present Nepal´s population is around 29 million and the rate of growth of population is 2.095 per cent. Population increases create additional demands on infrastructure and all other needs. Improved literacy will curb population growth and leave more resources for future use.
An important point in Nepal´s favour is that 50 per cent of the population is below the age of 20. This means that a young population will be easier to train than an older population, since it can be assumed that learning at a younger age takes place faster. In contrast in India 50 per cent of the population is below the age of 25, making it a wee bit harder to impart literacy.
Now for modalities, it all very well to offer prescriptions but who will carry them out? At present there are easily between 10,000 and 15,000 CPN -- M (Maoists) who are supposed to have laid down arms. They could well pick up pens and chalk to teach. They could be used by the party to go into the hinterland and occupy themselves. Demobilising them completely will not serve a useful purpose since they will join the ranks of under employed or unemployed. Also there are sporadic reports of extortion and other misbehavior by these militia persons, after all the have lived by the dictum ´power flows from the barrel of a gun´. Another point that is obvious is that all arms have not been surrendered. They have no occupation at present and could well turn rogue.
This militia of the CPN (M) is a prospect and should not be viewed as a problem alone. After all they have been subject to discipline, capable of group tasks and know the importance of time schedules. Also over the years they have built relationships across many villages. Further they have women in their cadres and they could prove to be good workers.
To teach a person the basics of reading and writing does not require a person to be a graduate. In India in the past decade there was a ´each one teach one´ program in which school children taught adults. There are enough educational technologies for accelerated learning by adults. (The definition of literacy is the ability to both read and write. A two step program could be followed where they first learn how to read.)
A negative experience from India can be a signal for Nepal. With the invasion of cable TV, dish TV and disc players, in India adults especially women in villages have relapsed into illiteracy. So reinforcement of learning is of prime importance, and this cannot be left to NGOs alone.
Prior to the elections it was said that there were just 200,000 Maoist sympathizers, but the elections to the Constituent Assembly in 2008 indicate that Maoists i.e. CPN – M have a much wider support base than thought. A move to start their own programs in the village would go a long way in building confidence amongst those disaffected by Maoists.
After all since 1996 there has been destruction of property including small hydro-electricity plants, buildings and so on. Not to forget the 13,000 lives lost in fighting, executions, land mine blasts etc. From being a destructive force the Maoists will have to learn how to be a constructive. Also they have to learn to work at the ground level with government and at higher levels with other parties such as CPN (UML) and the NC. One of the reasons they started their ´insurgency´ in 1996 was because they were tired of the bickering in parliament.
President Ram Baran Yadav has called for a consensual approach, that sounds good provided everyone sees eye to eye in trying to reach minimum common objectives. A literacy program is something on which a consensus could be easily obtained compared to say a land reforms program.
Unilateral steps to spread literacy and other development efforts would spur other parties to act directly on the masses, rather than wait for government programs to be delivered. After all one of the reasons for the growth of communism in Nepal (and actually almost everywhere in the past also) has been desperation due to abject poverty and a proven track record of failures of government agencies to improve living conditions. Expecting the government to deliver literacy is wishful thinking, even facilitation may be hard to achieve.
References: CIA World Book
The components of HDI are longevity, education, literacy, and standard of living. Here we consider the parameter literacy and suggest means to improve it.
For China the level of literacy is 90 per cent for those above 15 years of age. For men the figure stands at 95 per cent whereas for women it is at 85 per cent, the country has obviously taken a great leap forward on this count. In the case of Nepal literacy stands at 49 per cent, for males it is 63 per cent for females it is a dismal 35. The overall statistic for India is at 61 per cent with a retrograde figure of 48 per cent females.
It is obvious that women have to be targeted for a literacy drive. The Indian government has also woken up to this fact and now there is much talk and some action for the ´girl child´. This should be a cue for Nepal as well.
The advantages of having literate women manifold. They are able to take part in community development when NGOs or government workers show up. They can be given simple forms or literature to read, rather than depend on others for interpretation. Literacy lends to personal empowerment and then they are able to participate in decision making within the village. Women in villages often have a wider perspective since they are housemakers and work in fields and jungles.
In India (most stark in the state of Kerala) and also in most other parts of the world it has been empirically found that there is an inverse relationship between literacy and rate of growth of population. As a society becomes more literate population growth rates fall. At present Nepal´s population is around 29 million and the rate of growth of population is 2.095 per cent. Population increases create additional demands on infrastructure and all other needs. Improved literacy will curb population growth and leave more resources for future use.
An important point in Nepal´s favour is that 50 per cent of the population is below the age of 20. This means that a young population will be easier to train than an older population, since it can be assumed that learning at a younger age takes place faster. In contrast in India 50 per cent of the population is below the age of 25, making it a wee bit harder to impart literacy.
Now for modalities, it all very well to offer prescriptions but who will carry them out? At present there are easily between 10,000 and 15,000 CPN -- M (Maoists) who are supposed to have laid down arms. They could well pick up pens and chalk to teach. They could be used by the party to go into the hinterland and occupy themselves. Demobilising them completely will not serve a useful purpose since they will join the ranks of under employed or unemployed. Also there are sporadic reports of extortion and other misbehavior by these militia persons, after all the have lived by the dictum ´power flows from the barrel of a gun´. Another point that is obvious is that all arms have not been surrendered. They have no occupation at present and could well turn rogue.
This militia of the CPN (M) is a prospect and should not be viewed as a problem alone. After all they have been subject to discipline, capable of group tasks and know the importance of time schedules. Also over the years they have built relationships across many villages. Further they have women in their cadres and they could prove to be good workers.
To teach a person the basics of reading and writing does not require a person to be a graduate. In India in the past decade there was a ´each one teach one´ program in which school children taught adults. There are enough educational technologies for accelerated learning by adults. (The definition of literacy is the ability to both read and write. A two step program could be followed where they first learn how to read.)
A negative experience from India can be a signal for Nepal. With the invasion of cable TV, dish TV and disc players, in India adults especially women in villages have relapsed into illiteracy. So reinforcement of learning is of prime importance, and this cannot be left to NGOs alone.
Prior to the elections it was said that there were just 200,000 Maoist sympathizers, but the elections to the Constituent Assembly in 2008 indicate that Maoists i.e. CPN – M have a much wider support base than thought. A move to start their own programs in the village would go a long way in building confidence amongst those disaffected by Maoists.
After all since 1996 there has been destruction of property including small hydro-electricity plants, buildings and so on. Not to forget the 13,000 lives lost in fighting, executions, land mine blasts etc. From being a destructive force the Maoists will have to learn how to be a constructive. Also they have to learn to work at the ground level with government and at higher levels with other parties such as CPN (UML) and the NC. One of the reasons they started their ´insurgency´ in 1996 was because they were tired of the bickering in parliament.
President Ram Baran Yadav has called for a consensual approach, that sounds good provided everyone sees eye to eye in trying to reach minimum common objectives. A literacy program is something on which a consensus could be easily obtained compared to say a land reforms program.
Unilateral steps to spread literacy and other development efforts would spur other parties to act directly on the masses, rather than wait for government programs to be delivered. After all one of the reasons for the growth of communism in Nepal (and actually almost everywhere in the past also) has been desperation due to abject poverty and a proven track record of failures of government agencies to improve living conditions. Expecting the government to deliver literacy is wishful thinking, even facilitation may be hard to achieve.
References: CIA World Book