Human Development Challenges: Illiteracy in India
The economy of India has developed rapidly in the last years to become the ninth largest economy in the world by nominal GDP with astonishing growth rates of gross national income per capita since 2002 (Google Public Data Explorer, 2011). India's per capita income (in current US$) has nearly tripled from $470 in 2002 to $1340 in 2010, averaging 14.4% growth over these eight years (Google Public Data Explorer, 2011). However, India ranks a low 134 among 187 countries in terms of the HDI and its literacy rate of 74% in 2011 is still lower than the worldwide average of 84% in 2008 (UNESCO, 2010).
But why is literacy important for sustainable development? What causes can be found for particularly high rural and female illiteracy? How can we solve this development issues?
This paper will analyze the development issue of illiteracy in India – in particular the disparity in literacy rates and educational opportunities between urban and rural areas, males and females, and among different social groups. Finally the paper will provide suggestions to overcome the development issue of illiteracy.
By definition a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as literate (The Viewspaper, 2011). However, one in five adults of the world is still not literate and about two-thirds of them are woman (UNESCO, 2011).
One could ask, why literacy is important for the development of a country – particularly for India with a continuously increasing GDP per capita (PPP$ inflation adjusted) from $877 in 1981 to $2478 in 2007 based on the following data: www.bit.ly/w3vtri (Gapminder World, 2008).
But literacy is at least as important as GDP growth for a sustainable, equitable, and democratic development that focuses on increasing living standards in India (Stiglitz, 2006). It is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development (UNESCO, 2011). Moreover it is connected either
But why is literacy important for sustainable development? What causes can be found for particularly high rural and female illiteracy? How can we solve this development issues?
This paper will analyze the development issue of illiteracy in India – in particular the disparity in literacy rates and educational opportunities between urban and rural areas, males and females, and among different social groups. Finally the paper will provide suggestions to overcome the development issue of illiteracy.
By definition a person aged seven and above, who can both read and write with any understanding in any language, is treated as literate (The Viewspaper, 2011). However, one in five adults of the world is still not literate and about two-thirds of them are woman (UNESCO, 2011).
One could ask, why literacy is important for the development of a country – particularly for India with a continuously increasing GDP per capita (PPP$ inflation adjusted) from $877 in 1981 to $2478 in 2007 based on the following data: www.bit.ly/w3vtri (Gapminder World, 2008).
But literacy is at least as important as GDP growth for a sustainable, equitable, and democratic development that focuses on increasing living standards in India (Stiglitz, 2006). It is a human right, a tool of personal empowerment and a means for social and human development (UNESCO, 2011). Moreover it is connected either