Is India Negligent Towards Education? What are the Measures taken?

The recent study conducted by UNESCO also brought out the fact that India receives close to 10 percent of aid to basic education in the world, which is the largest share compared to any other country.

The government of India has come up with a new dimensional strategy to cater to the rural or Grameen children with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. This is a programme by the Government of India with the aim of making elementary education universal "in a time bound manner" as mandated by the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India making free education to children aged 6-14 a fundamental right. This programme was led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. There has been improvements made in the field of education by India, but there is still a wide road ahead in becoming an economic power with the best educational reforms.

Illiteracy in our country is by far the most serious problem. We all recognize that illiteracy is bad and that it prevents the cultural growth of people. But illiteracy in our country continues to exist on an appalling scale. Even today among ten in India about four are illiterate. Nor is there any organized effort to do away with this deplorable state of backlog. We tinker at the problem instead of tackling it thoroughly. We made experiments. The States have ambitious programmes of setting up primary schools in every village, but these are yet in the cold shade of neglect.

But illiteracy can be removed if concerted efforts are made both by private organizations and the states. Within a decade, the Russians got rid of ignorance as colossal as ours; and now the Chinese have also achieved it. They took a total war against illiteracy for which the services of all educated men and women were conscripted. For this, education must be made free and compulsory at least upto the age of fourteen. That is the plain directive of our Constitution.

Government of India has taken several measures to improve the literacy rate in villages and towns of India. State Governments has been directed to ensure and improve the literacy rate in districts and villages where people are very poor. There has been a good improvement in literacy rate of India in last 10 years, but there is still a long way to go.

List of Steps taken by Government of India to improve Literacy Rate in India:

1. Free education programs to poor people living in villages and towns.

2. Setting up of the new school and colleges at district and state levels.

3. Several committees have been formed to ensure proper utilization of funds allotted to improve the literacy rate.