About half of all adolescent girls, for instance, are unable to read and write. The low priority given to education by this nation is apparent from the mean years of schooling, the average period spent in school by a citizen. Indians spend a little over two years in the classroom. The Chinese spend five, the Sri Lankans over seven and the South Koreans nine. That so many children are out of school is a profound tragedy.
Education is a basic tool for self-defence in modern society.
The feeling of powerlessness that goes with being illiterate comes through loud and clear in any conversation with ordinary people. Lal was one among 1,221 Indian parents who were interviewed in a recent survey planned by a group of researchers based at the Delhi School of Economics and the Indian Social Institute. The survey covered all the schooling facilities in a randomly selected sample of 188 villages in Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. The probe findings provide a startling picture of the schooling situation in India's villages. It makes it clear that the battle against ignorance is a grim one.