ADULT EDUCATION Adult education is a process where adults who are no longer in school, or do not attend school on a regular or, full time basis, or school dropouts undertake sequential (Chronological) and organised educational activities on various subjects, such as health and family welfare, agriculture and animal husbandry, etc. This is intended to bringing about changes in knowledge, attitude, and skill for the purpose of identifying and solving personal or community problems. Adult education embraces (Hold) all forms of educative experiences needed by men and women according to their varying interests and requirements at their differing levels of comprehensions and ability, and in their changing roles and responsibility throughout life.Adult education plays an indirect but significant role in the educational as well as economic development of a nation. It can be remarked that without adult education and adult literacy, it is not possible to have range and speed of economic and social development that makes it worthwhile in terms of values and welfare. Because it is not possible to impart all types of education to various categories of learners. Non- classroom education of adult learners has immense importance, particularly for a developing society, and a society with low levels of literacy, high illiteracy, and low development. DEFINITION According to Reddy (2000) “adult education is part time or full-time education for men and women of all ages either organised by themselves or provided by schools, learning centres, or other agencies which enable them to improve their general or professional knowledge, skills and abilities by either continuing their education or resuming their initial or incomplete education of previous year. According to Morgan, Holmes & Bundy “adult education may be though of as the conscious effort of a mature person to learn something new”. OBJECTIVES OF ADULT EDUCATION The goals of adult education are: to increase the quality of life of an individual and unable him/her to realise his/her potential for self realisation; to raise the standard of living of the families, communities, societies and nations; to promote peace and communal harmony in the multi-cultural global village; and to enhance the pace of development and welfare of the individual nations and the international community as whole. There are three major objectives of adult education as explained below. • Imparting literacy of diverse types This includes basic literacy, scientific literacy, economic literacy, technological literacy, legal literacy, computer literacy, and so on. You will learn more about types of literacy at higher levels of your educational pursuits. • Generating awareness on various matter/subjects This includes awareness about one’s self, community, society and the nation; about social, economic, political, cultural, environmental, developmental, health, hygiene, etc; about peace, welfare, and harmonious growth and development of the individual, family, community, nation and the world, amongst other things. • Promoting functionality This includes application of individuals, collective, community, corporate, national and international knowledge, skills, attitudes, practices, resources, etc. for addressing the felt needs, for solving the problems, for promoting larger public participation in various activities and for bringing out social, economic, cultural, political transformation for raising general level or standard of living of the individual, community, nation and the world. IMPORTANCE OF ADULT EDUCATION IN INDIA Adult education is very important as without adult education & adult literacy, it is not possible to have that range & speed of economic & social development which we require. A programme of adult education & adult literacy should therefore take a front place in any programme for economic and social development.The various reasons for which we need adult education are- • To remove illiteracy Adult education brings a new hope for the illiterate masses who failed to get education during their school years. About 50 percent of our people still live in the darkness of ignorance & illiteracy. In this situation adult education is essential to remove illiteracy & ignorance. • Curb Exploitation The rich people in India are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. One of the main reasons of this economic disparity is illiteracy. People who are not educated are forced to indulge in menial tasks. They are not paid well and continue to lead a miserable life. They struggle to make their ends meet. Adult education has proved to be a boon for such people. Seeking education makes them more knowledgeable. They get to know about their rights and the rightful wages they should be paid which helps them stop the ongoing exploitation against them. • Find Better Job Those who are uneducated indulge in tasks such as cleaning and washing. They continue to earn meagre wages and have a poor lifestyle which gives way to numerous problems such as poor hygiene, lack of amenities, etc. Seeking adult education helps them find better jobs and do well in life. • Boosts Confidence An educated person is certainly more confident. He has an opinion about various things and doesn’t hesitate in sharing the same. This sharing of opinions and suggestions can help in the betterment of one’s society, surroundings and even the nation as a whole. • Better Parenting An educated adult can nurture his children much better. He is knowledgeable and wiser and can thus guide his children at every step. • Develop better life Adult education gives a chance to learn and expand knowledge which in turn provides better job opportunities. Better job opportunity means better purchasing capacity and a better lifestyle. • Women empowerment Women in the earlier times were confined to the kitchen and other household tasks. Little girls in many areas and communities of India are still confined to the households. They grew up to be vulnerable adults who are dependent on the male members of the family. Adult education programs are an opportunity for them to take charge of their lives and become self-dependent. • To make the adults politically conscious Political freedom is meaningless without economic, social , moral & spiritual freedom. The real political awakening depends on proper education. So we need adult education as it enables the great masses to be conscious in selecting the right candidate for the right place in a right way. PROBLEMS OF ADULT EDUCATION 1. Grasping Problem Children are quick learners. They are keen, curious and possess good observational as well as grasping power. They love to explore new things, ask questions and learn constantly. Learning for them is fun. However, it is not the same with the adults. As a person grows old, he isn’t as quick when it comes to learning, the curiosity to learn new things fades away and so does the ability to grasp. This becomes one of the biggest hindrances in learning. 2. Time Constraint Another problem is time constraint. Adults are mostly working and are unable to take out much time to study. This is the reason why many of them refrain from enrolling at adult schools. Even those who go to adult school aren’t able to manage enough time for self study. This slows the learning process and hampers their performance. 3. Responsibilities Children are just required to go to the school and study and may be indulged in certain extra-curricular activities out of interest. They are not loaded with any other responsibility but it is not the same when it comes to adults. Adults need to take care of the financial, emotional and other needs of their family. They also need to fulfil their social responsibilities. Amid all these responsibilities they find it hard to concentrate on their studies and thus learning becomes a challenge for them. 4. Difficulty Getting Back It is not that easy to get back to school after you start working. Those who haven’t ever been to school find it all the more difficult to adjust to this new environment. Adults find it hard to accustom to new things and going to school as their age seems to be one of the most difficult and challenging tasks for them. 5. Social Obligations Many people refrain from enrolling to the adult schools because of the fear of society. This is particularly true for the women. A woman who has been suppressed since her childhood and has been denied the right to education will find it hard to gather the strength to go to school in her adulthood. People in our society take no time to criticise a woman who tries to be independent. Those who go out to study at an adult school are often criticised of neglecting their families. Meeting the needs of her family and children and completing the daily household chores also becomes a hindrance in learning for those enrolled. SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS OF ADULT EDUCATION • National campaign for understanding adult education programme. • Open more public libraries & reading room. • Involve students in literacy program. • Provide adequate radio & television programmes for adult education. • Utilise the service of voluntary organisation. • Provide dynamic methods of training to adult education workers. • Increase the course of adult education programmes. • Constitute adult education rewards. CONCLUSION Adult education is of utmost importance. While the government of our country has already understood its importance, a large number of people in our country are yet to recognise it. A number of schools have been set up by the government to provide adult education. However, the role of the government does not end here. It needs to sensitise the importance of education among the masses. People must recognise the need to get educated in order to feel determined to enrol at adult education schools. NATIONAL ADULT EDUCATION PROGRAM In India the overall position of literacy is disturbing, as the total number of illiterates has continued to increase, particularly among women and tribal people.