Adult education programmes in unified Andhra Pradesh-targets, achievements, bottlenecks and solutions

Education is an instrument of social change and literacy is the basic step for education. In view of this, Universal literacy is recognized as an important factor in contributing to social and economic development. Before independence the magnitude of illiteracy in our country was very high. After independence there has been an increase in literacy rate due to the implementation of Adult Education programmes giving priority to promote Universal Literacy by the Government of India. Despite these efforts India's literacy rate increased only sluggishly. The 2011 census however indicated a 2001–2011 literacy growth of 9.2 percent which is slower than the growth seen during the previous decade. The portray of the literacy picture of India indicates the ordering of the states as per 2011 census that Kerala continues to top the list with 93.91 per cent, Bihar remaining at the bottom of the ladder with 63.82 percent. States like Tripura (87.75%) Sikkim (82.20%), Manipur (79.85%), Nagaland (80.11%) and UTs like Dadra & Nagar Haveli (77.65%), NCT of Delhi (86.34%), Pondicherry (86.55%) and Lakshadweep (92.28%) have shown higher rankings than before whereas Punjab (76.86%), Haryana (76.64%), Madhya Pradesh (70.63%), Andhra Pradesh (75.60%), Karnataka (67.66%) and Tamil Nadu (80.33%) and UTs like Andaman & Nicobar Islands (86. 27%), Chandigarh (86. 43%) are downgraded from their previous rank. Andhra Pradesh may have witnessed a boom in the number of educational institutions in the past few years, but its literacy rate is of 67.66% much lower than the national average of 74.04%. From the 28 rank in the 2001 Census, the state has now slipped to an even poorer 31 in the national literacy rate list of 35 states and Union territories. States like Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Union territory like Dadra and Nagar Haveli, which were ranked lower than Andhra Pradesh ten years ago, are sitting pretty with better rankings in the 2011 Census list. AP's literacy rate has improved by almost 7% in the last decade that of the other states has increased by 11 to 14% (see box). The other three southern states are miles ahead of AP, with Kerala holding its number one position in the country, both Tamil Nadu (80.11%) and Karnataka (75.6%) too have improved their standings. In this situation i.e. downgrading from the previous ranking of Andhra Pradesh, there is need to review the programmes implemented, the approaches adopted, the strengths and weaknesses of the programmes so that the present and future programmes will be implemented effectively to attain cent per cent literacy. In this paper an attempt has been made to discuss about the literacy scenario of Andhra Pradesh due to the implementation of adult education programmes, targets, achievements, the bottlenecks and to suggest some solutions.