The Unemployed literate

Education ... has produced a vast population able to read but unable to distinguish what is worth reading.

- G. M. Trevelyan



Almost everyday, one would definitely come across articles in the news papers that motivate its readers to invest their efforts in teaching and educating the younger generation. The Government keeps coming up with various programs to educate the youth and children of the nation and are often supported by management gurus who are often in the hunt for the limelight. NGOs, which are often considered as messengers of god by the general (ignorant and at times anti-government) public, also come out with their philosophical, yet noble ideas to support and promote education for all. B-schools, social clubs, volunteers jump in and 'adopt' villages in order to educate them and teach them. With these kinds of efforts one may definitely hope that one day the whole country would 'literate' in its literal sense.



But how does one define the term 'literate'. Kerela, a state often referred to as "Gods own country", is reportedly said to be the only state in the country with a literacy rate of 100%. Something that every Kerelite can be proud of isn't it. But are they? Or has the term literate been misunderstood or overrated? Though the state's literacy rate is impressively high, why is it that the most sort after profession in Kerela is 'Nursing', rather than the main stream professions like medicine(as a doctor) or engineering or for that matter, even business . More often than never, nursing, though noble, is often considered as a profession for those who aren't bright enough (at least in a nation like ours that is driven by cynicism). Then what does the literacy rate represent? Is the ability to read and write enough to consider someone as a literate? Even if we do consider this ability as an important criterion to define literacy, does it contribute to the progress of the nation? Are these efforts just creating a bunch of unemployable literates?



Highly possible isn’t it?





Imagine a situation when we have a whole population graduate out of school. What would be the first thing that they would want to do? Find a job? Quite obviously that could be the first thing they would try to do. But when you have such a vast population hunting for jobs, how do expect, if not all, at least a majority of them to get them? The basic intention of education is to groom a person to think differently or in the more "INDIAN" context, make them "Employable". But if you don’t have jobs, how do you expect education to bring about a change in the system. The papers are filled with news of unemployment with the recession just adding to the damage. Looking at all this, one question that lingers in my mind is whether the emphasis on education is really all that India needs. Can education also solve all problems that we face? Are we spending too much time trying to solve the problem of education, when we should be thinking of creating jobs and careers? We have professors from various B-schools going to villages and spending quality time in trying to solve the problem of education. Don’t you think they must build strategies to make this education useful instead?





Some great person once said, "Necessity is the mother of all inventions". Similarly here, education is needed for employment. But if employment opportunities aren't created, what is the justification in the education for all propaganda? I am not against education. All i am saying is that we are spending way too much time and effort in solving the problem of illiteracy rather that solving the problem of unemployment. One may argue that once the problem of illiteracy is solved, it would automatically lead to other problems like unemployment being solved. But looking at the current facts and figures, it seems that unemployment is causing more damage than illiteracy. It’s driving people with a master’s degree to do petty jobs that can give him and his family only one meal a day. Is this what he had invested in? Highly debatable isn't it.



I'd like to take moment to emphasize on the kind of education that is being imparted these days. With the current "syllabus", all that people learn is to leave their villages and venture into the cities to pursue their ‘dreams’. Obviously this would only add to the already existing problems faced. Why doesn’t this education emphasize on helping individuals to think differently and use their acquired knowledge to their benefit. Why do i get a feeling that education is just making man greedy. Is education the pathway to the disappearance of villages? We are already facing a food crisis. Is it only because the population has increased or is the reduction in farming area also a factor? Why is the educated population leaving their ancestral land and moving to the city?



In short, I feel education is very important. It will take some time for the literacy rate to rise. But i believe that the government and other must start investing a larger share of their efforts in creating jobs and reducing the unemployment numbers. And let’s support quality approach to education and not a quantitative one.