Education functions in relation to whole social milieu.
Therefore its activities cannot be limited to providing only the background
knowledge in the form of formal education alone. The one-school education
constitutes an essential part of the total education. In a developing country
like ours .even the willing and deserving young boys and girls are not able to
get school education due to strong economic and social constraints.
The idea of adult education therefore, is conceived
to supplement the formal schooling by independent efforts in the later years of
life. This problem has been engaging the attention of a large number of
countries. It includes the variety of needs and objectives of the
people-educational as well as economic, social and cultural. The Adult
Education Committee of Great Britain definer adult education to mean all the
deliberate efforts by which, men and women attempt to satisfy their thirst for
knowledge, to equip themselves for their responsibilities as citizens find
opportunities. for self-expression.
The American Association for Adult Education
mentions that the aim of adult education is to inspire grownups to be something
more than they are now and to go their work better than they do it now. Its
beginning is wherever one finds oneself: it ends only when ambition ceases to
function. At its best it leads to richness of life, appreciation of what
offers, greater satisfaction in the use of mind and body and better
understanding of rights and duties of ones fellow men.
In Denmark adult education means folk schools”. It
may be concluded therefore that it is a help to man and woman to grow by
themselves in life by acquiring knowledge and understanding new skills and
attitudes towards various things and objects. It is a voluntary work
channelizing the energy of the people after formal school to creative work and
harnessing their leisure time usefully. It is non-compulsory as much as it can
be accepted or rejected.
In Russia too, this problem was quite alarming. At
the time of the great October Socialist Revolution, the three quarters of the
population were illiterate and in the countryside, illiteracy was even more
rampant. So in December 1919 Lenin signed a decree by which entire illiterate
population, in the age group of 8-50 years was obliged to study either Russian
or any other native language. The Young Communist League started a movement "Likbez" (finish illiteracy) to combat illiteracy on war footing. In 1928 about one lake persons were deputed to
the countryside to spread literacy. Adult Schools were set up. Similarly
preparatory courses were introduced on the national basis, to prepare the
working people- for enrollment at institutes of higher learning. A four year
elementary school education course was adopted throughout the country. By 1934
compulsory seven year education was introduced in the cities making provisions,
for the training of the teachers. The work and study” programd attracted the
entire youth community of the Soviet Union. Within a short span of 20 years the
country made a remarkable progress and 1939 census of the country recorded 81
per cent of the population between the ages of 9 years and above had become. Literate.
Now the country has cent per cent literacy.
In 1951 Only 16.6 per cent of the population in
Pakistan could read and write. The percentage went up to 29.45 in 1981. As
still two third of the population is illiterate the government has given the
highest priority to the National Adult Education program me. the program me
envisages that 110 million illiterates in age group of 15-35 years should he
made literate in the next eight years.
literacy is essential for keeping our democracy
alive. The entire population cannot participate actively in the political life
of the country till literacy is prevalent among them. Literacy is a Pre- condition
for individual growth to give expression to inner urges for ‘better social
status, improved citizenship and enriched life.