EFFECTIVE DISTANCE EDUCATION IN EMPOWERING INDIAN WOMEN

Article by Swapna Gopinath, UGC-JRF, School of Pedagogical Sciences Mahatma Gandhi University

Introduction and Scope

Over the past few millennia, the status of Indian women has been subject to many great changes. From a largely unknown status in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. But looking at the education, it is immediately visible that the female literacy rate in India is lower than the male literacy rate. Compared to boys, far fewer girls are enrolled in the schools, and many of them drop out (1). According to the National Sample Survey Data of 1997, only the states of Kerala and Mizoram have approached universal female literacy rates. According to majority of the scholars, the major factor behind the improved social and economic status of women in Kerala is literacy (1). A modern Indian woman has to take care of two social spaces viz. marriage and occupation, both of which call for education as the primary requirement. The most damaging denial of opportunity that women in India suffer is the ability to receive an education. A woman’s lack of education certainly has an adverse affect on her family, most importantly on her children. Under Non-Formal Education programme, about 40% of the centers in states and 10% of the centers in Union Territories are exclusively reserved for females. In urban India, girls are nearly at par with the boys in terms of education. However, in rural India girls continue to be less educated than the boys. The International Institute for Population Sciences found that in India, infant mortality is inversely connected to the amount of education mothers received (3).

India still has one of the lowest female literacy rates in Asia. The Indian government is committed to improving the education of girls and empowering Indian women through its constitution, amendments and even a National Policy for the Empowerment of Women [2]. Regarding education for all, the main concern seems to be keeping girls in school. The differentials between primary school enrollments of boys and girls differ 12 percentage points, but that number grows to 23 percentage points beyond primary school (4)

Additionally, many women also find it difficult to gain higher education and advanced degrees especially after marriage due to the commitments to the family. For working women, this also prevents them from getting promotions as the posts may call for higher degrees. In this paper, distance education is looked upon as a flexible and appropriate means to deliver education to the needy, especially women. This will expand women’s access to quality education, raise literacy, improve management and administration capabilities, broaden community participation in education to ensure accountability and sustain quality improvements in the community. The emerging new-age woman will have the ability to equip herself with education thereby seeking her own identity, confidence and self-respect.

Distance Education as an Option

Distance education is a planned learning that normally occurs in a different place from teaching and as a result requires special techniques of course design, special instructional techniques, special methods of communication by electronic and other technology, as well as special organizational and administrative arrangements (5). Distance education is practiced in all parts of the world to provide study opportunities for those who cannot or do not want to take part in classroom teaching (6). In its earliest form, distance education meant study by correspondence. As new technologies developed, distance instruction was delivered through such media as audiotape, videotape, radio and television broadcasting, and satellite transmission. Microcomputers, the Internet and the World Wide Web are shaping the current generation of distance learning, and virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and knowledge systems may be next. The advantage of distance education as an alternative option to women is that they can enroll for the course of their interest and need, based on the social or professional requirements.

Implementation of Distance Education

Distance learning students and tutors face unique challenges which must be overcome to ensure success. Some of them are discussed here.

Technological literacy: Technology shall be used meticulously to support distance learning. The advent of technology coupled with distance learning could go a long way in widening accessibility to education for the majority of women who could not complete or continue studies. They must be able to access materials from home, which is seen as the safest, least expensive environment. There are five fundamental requirements to an effective distance education programme (7):

1. contact between the student and the instructor

2. active learning through writing out answers

3. timely feedback to the instructor on students' comprehension

4. timely feedback to students on work done

5. opportunity for students to make revisions to work done and learn from their mistakes

Obviously, four of these require timely bidirectional communication. Hence distance learning methodology requires that some kind of support mechanism be available to students, so they can overcome their learning difficulties, get supplementary information, and evaluate their own progress and exchange ideas with teachers, tutors and fellow students. Even if course materials have been designed to be suitable for self-learning, communication must be fast enough, yet easily accessible to women in need. There should not be unacceptable delays between the generic availability of learning materials and their actual handling by the user; between posing a question and getting an answer; between sending an assignment and receiving the corresponding evaluation. This would require the need for learning to use internet, emails, web conferencing, and above all the facilities to use all these too. Local learning Centers: Distance education should have local provision that is available within a local area through drop-in Learning Centers, Community-based Learning Centers, workplace Learning Centers or at home. This kind of platform would allow distance learning to take place for excluded groups as the technical element of learning is localized thus, making attendance for tutorial or technical guidance during a programme less of a barrier.

Overcoming negative attitudes: A critical barrier to learning and development is the negative and harmful attitudes towards differences in our society. Discriminatory attitudes resulting from prejudice against people on the basis of race, class, gender, culture, disability, religion, ability, sexual preference and other characteristics manifest themselves as barriers to learning when such attitudes are directed towards learners in the education system, even in distance learning institutions. Distance learning institutions therefore should create a caring, supportive and enabling learning environment that promotes and facilitates mutual respect for differences. Non-alienating Instructors: Faculty should be involved in the whole process. Cost cutting should not be at the expense of faculty jobs. Distance education technologies are not alternatives to teaching. Failing to address these issues can lead to significant faculty rejection of the proposals, and may include Union confrontation. Native Language Instruction: Many of the tools available, whether on the Internet or not, have severe limitations in their ability to accommodate non-native language instruction. Hindi, our national language and the one commonly used by rural women, is sparingly used in any World Wide Web sites concerned with learning. This is slowly becoming less of an issue on the Internet as standards begin to coalesce. Flexible yet diverse curriculum: Admittedly, one of the most significant barriers to learning for any learner is an inflexible curriculum. Consequently, barriers within the curriculum must be identified and addressed, so that it is accessible to and relevant for all learners, irrespective of their learning needs. This means that the curriculum must be sensitive and responsive to the diverse cultures, beliefs and values of learners. To ensure that women are active participants in the learning and even teaching process, distance learning institutions must ensure that teaching and learning materials are evaluated to ensure that the full range of diverse learning needs of all learners is accommodated. Learners must also be provided with learning materials in formats that meet their individual needs.

Educators are being challenged to come up with new ways of instructing techniques and vision in distance education to involve more women for all strata of society, as there are important linkages between family and the acquisition of female literacy in developing .countries, particularly in rural areas. This will address many of the important familial, sociocultural, individual-level, and institutional factors that constrain female educational attainment. The way education is viewed continues to evolve, as do the tools available for shaping its growth and development. What must emerge is a more social view of education, focusing on education of women in need to empower them to be confident and self-reliant.

Conclusion

The concept of empowering women through education, like the concept of freedom, is intangible, sometimes elusive, and often subject to divergent interpretations. Distance learning can be used very effectively by women in need, both employed and not, to gain higher education and degrees. The outlook of distance learning institutions may adapt suitably considering the socioeconomic basis of Indian women. Unless considerable time and energy are used in striving to establish and maintain a flexible distance education especially for women, unless the majority of these disadvantaged learners have access to the resources of the institution and technological advances, and unless distance learning institutions conduct ongoing research to evaluate the impact of the new teaching and learning strategies, women education in the context of distance learning and the consequent empowerment will remain a mammoth challenge.

References

1. Kalyani Menon-Sen, A. K. Shiva Kumar (2001). "Women in India: How Free? How Equal?". United Nations.

2. "National Policy for the Empowerment of Women (2001)".

3. Velkoff, Victoria A (1998). “Women’s Education in India”, Report by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Washington: GPO.

4. Mahbub ul Haq (2000). “Human Development in South Asia-The Gender Question”. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

5. M. Moore and G. Kearsley (2005). “Distance Education - A system view”. 2nd edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Company.

6. Holmberg, B (1995). “Theory and practice of distance education”. 2nd edition. London: Routledge.

7. Fulton, J. R. (1992) Microcomputers in distance education: applications for extension, Journal of Extension, 30 2,