This headline might have given you some wrong impression. Let me clarify I am an Educationists and strongly believe that Knowledge is Power.

Literacy Mission in India coined the Word “Anpadh-Gawar” which conveyed that anyone who is illiterate is not having any knowledge.

Let me share MY understanding of Education and Knowledge. Knowledge is very important in life. One can gain knowledge with multiple methods such as Read/Write, Observation, Oral Communication, Experimentation and Intuition. And systematic approach adopted for knowledge transfer is called Education.

Now with Literacy mission, literacy, which means ability to read and write is made sole criteria for Education. Hence anyone who is not literate is considered Uneducated right away.

Some of the examples that how this assumption ruined India:

• Any like housewife, business man who may be illiterate but does have complete life skills required for sustenance of life. But being illiterate they were called Anpadh-Gawar.
• People who build the regular houses need not be literate but they have enough skills to build a complete house.

Now with full literacy mission, people were made literate and they also got graduate degrees. But this system did not appreciate the importance of life skills. Hence most the graduate could not earn for their living these days.

Literacy Mission should empower the people while respecting the life skills that they already have.

Right now general perception in Industry is that someone is Educated only if he/she is:

• Literate
• Holds Master Degree
• Can speak English (primary reason given by most people on importance of Education)

And further misconception is that only Educated (as per literacy mission) people can have skills. If we change our benchmark itself to reflect true skills, our Skill India score would reach to higher degree. If we would start considering and respecting skills of housewife and other labor work then so called Educated people would also get motivation to attain Real Skills.