Literacy and Education

We all use the terms Literacy and Education interchangeably and loosely. However, they aren’t the same. While literacy is an important component for education; it is not a sufficient and does not complete education. Let’s look at the definitions by dictionary

Literacy –

A person’s knowledge of a particular subject/field. e.g. acquiring computer literacy.

Education – The act or process of imparting or acquiring general knowledge, developing the powers of reasoning and judgment, and generally preparing for a mature life

Literacy mainly revolves around acquiring the ability to read and write a subject. This is necessary to secure employment to win bread and grow materially – an important aspect of life. We all need it and need more of it.

Literacy alone cannot make a person wise. It provides people the skills and knowledge to execute / perform tasks that help accomplish objectives. These are mostly learnt from books and by practice. A good college graduate is a literate and potentially can earn to live. The person may not necessarily make the best judgments in life. The learning received while becoming a literate is usually forgotten.

Whereas education on the other hand is about the overall development of a person i.e. linguistic, emotional, analytical, physical etc. The making of a complete human who can not only read or write but also has the ability to think in broader terms and analyze rationally – is education. A well educated person makes good judgements in life. Education helps a person become wiser and provides with the understanding of distinguishing between the right and the wrong. Education becomes a habit and cannot be forgotten. The way we behave, reflects our education and is not necessarily a reflection of our being literate.

While, literacy might make people feel superior to others, the educated are superior. They know how to respect people and pay due importance to their environment in general. Literates, occupying high positions abuse their positions and degrade others are examples of uneducated people.

Conclusion

Education is about recognizing your power as an individual, constantly assessing your abilities, adapting to the changes and making judgements in life. Educational institutions can make all the students literate but cannot educate them if they don’t make changes to their curriculum. Education changes a person to use ethical practices to bring a real change in the society.

Vish Sivaswamy
Director
TATVA Global School