V. S. Mathur

Workers" e d u c a t i o n o rgan iza t ions of the

and the rural poor

The role of workers' education in particular, and that of education in general, in rural de- velopment in developing economies can only be properly appreciated in the context of the prevailing socio-economic conditions in the countryside, goals to be achieved and the need for promoting institutions and organizations crucial for such development. It seems essential, therefore, to make a rapid review of the efforts already made in the field of economic develop- ment and to assess the results obtained, in order to identify problems in the way of progress and perhaps indicate possible lines of action. Edu- cators might obtain therefrom a better perspec- tive on the role and functions of education in development.

The overwhelming majority of the working people in all developing countries live and work in the countryside. It is here that the larger proportion of national wealth is created and therefore any change in the economic and social situation in this sector is bound to have a tremendous impact on the economic and social developments of the country as a whole.

V. S. Mathur (India). Asian Regional Secretary of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions.

Rural poverty and development

What is the economic and social situation in the developing countries of the world? The acute conditions of poverty and deprivation in which the overwhelming majority of the rural and urban poor live and work are too well known to need any recapitulation. The Agencies in the family of the United Nations perhaps surpass all the rest in the graphic description of poverty, un- employment, underemployment, undernourish- ment, incidence of disease and mortality, illit- eracy, deplorable housing and environmental conditions, to mention only a few. Despite two decades of earnest efforts on the part of govern- ments for promoting rapid economic and social development and with considerable emphasis on the spread of education, the results have been far from satisfactory.

Political leaders all over the world have clearly pointed out that peace and stability in the world must be on social justice and that if we ignore the summons of the times and continue to tolerate and protect injustice we will have to pay a high price in terms of economic and social stagnation and political instability. Neverthe- less, success in overcoming the above problems has been, to say the least, limited. There is now again an urgent need for a thorough review of economic, social and educational policies.

The developing countries of the world, though they differ widely from each other in

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V. S. Mathur

many respects, have a few common charac- teristics. The conditions of poverty and un- employment are generally most acute in the countryside. There is almost a continuous flow of unemployed, poverty-stricken rural folk to the cities, accentuating further the conditions of urban poverty and unemployment and de- pressing further the already deplorable social conditions in the cities. There appears to be a link not only between poverty and unemploy- ment as such but also between such conditions in the city and in the rural areas--the exodus from the rural areas making problems in the cities more intractable. It is obvious therefore that in order to achieve any tangible results we will have to concentrate our attack first on the problems of rural poverty and unemployment.

The overwhelming majority of the people in the countryside are engaged in agriculture or in processing or other industries or trades related to agriculture. Among the more im- portant factors which have been responsible for the slow progress in the agricultural sec- tor are retrograde land relations and outmoded technology, although during the recent past, considerable efforts of governments have been concentrated on both of them. There has indeed been a spate of land reform legislations in the various countries of the developing world. With regard to technology, truly epoch-making achievements have been made giving rise to what has been appropriately termed as green revolution, the potentialities of which are im- mense. However, the fact is that despite pro- gress in both the above fields, namely land reforms legislations and technology, there has not been much improvement in the conditions of the rural poor.

As regards progress in agricultural tech- nology, termed as green revolution, it has opened up three possibilities of great signifi- cance: a sorely needed increase in agricultural production, greater opportunities of employ- ment in the countryside, more equitable income distribution. However, none of the above possi-

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bilities have yet been realized to any desirable extent.

The green revolution (improved variety of seeds, greater inputs of fertilizers and other inputs, more irrigation and more intensive cultivation) has certainly led to increased agri- cultural production but the potentialities of the technique have not been exhausted. While the experts claim that the technology is neutral, the access to such techniques, as well as credits, are available mainly to the rural rich.

As a result it has made the situation of the rural poor still worse by increasing income disparities. As there has been a tendency on the part of the rural rich to have bigger and bigger farms and to cultivate them with sophisticated agricultural machinery and implements, the employment opportunities in the countryside have been even further reduced.

Efforts at changing the economic and social structure of the countryside through legislation alone have not been entirely successful. Further, the emphasis is changing from mere economic development to social transformation and change, of which one of the corollaries is the emphasis on greater participation of the people in economic and social development. All this is very welcome, but we have to go further and realize the rational implications of these changes in concepts: for participation to be effective, realistic and constructive, it must be through the organizations of the people. Again, in case people are to be assured a just share in the gains of growth there must be an effective mechanism for that purpose. In the modern technological age trade unions and organizations of the people alone are the effective mechanisms for distributive justice.

The Asian Regional Organization of the In- ternational Confederation of Free Trade Unions has taken initiative to promote organizations of the rural poor precisely for the above purpose, In its project at Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh (India). an O~ganization of the Rural Poor has been established with broadly two functions: pressure

Workers" education and the organizations of the rural poor

and development. While it seeks to put the necessary pressure for land reforms and other progressive social and economic measures and helps in their effective implementation, the organization undertakes as well considerable developmental activities on co-operative lines such as provision of agricultural inputs, secur- ing of irrigation facilities and providing of other ancillary services to small and marginal farmers for more efficient and more productive agri- culture. The organization also undertakes cre- ation of employment opportunities for the land- less and provision of training, raw material and other assistance to artisans to profitably practise their respective trades. In addition it is under- taking a number of economic activities to sup- plement meagre incomes of rural poor house- holds through schemes of cattle breeding, backyard poultry and dairying. But the em- phasis in all these activities is to help the rural poor to have a better appreciation of their problems and the possible lines of action they could undertake for their solution and help them to protect and promote their interests through their united effort. The need is to help them recover confidence in themselves and in their common effort to bring about desirable change in the countryside. Thus the most vital and crucial input for such ventures is indeed education of various types and of various forms with the aim to equip the rural poor to bring about desirable social transformation and change--a none-too-easy a task.

Workers" education

Workers' education has acquired different meanings in different countries. While in the countries of North America it is almost synony- mous with trade-union education, in countries of Europe it seems to have a wider connotation covering in addition general adult education for workers as well as vocational education. The emphasis, however, is always on the problems

of workers and the most prominent agencies often are the organizations of the working people or those created on their initiative or with their co-operation. It is obvious that joining and participating in the working and functioning of an organization itself is edu- cation. Moreover, an organization of the work- Lug people having a better understanding of the needs and requirements of its membership and enjoying their greater confidence are often better equipped to arrange educational programmes for them. The limiting factor, however, quite often is the lack of resources, particularly financial. A linkage of the educational efforts of the organizations of the rural poor with those of the community may perhaps be very appropriate.

The areas of educational concern for organ- izations are roughly three. They are of course concerned with the general education of their membership, catered for mainly by adult- education agencies. They have also often the responsibility of helping their membership to equip themselves better for their different trades and responsibilities in their economic pursuits and occupations. And, finally, they must both enable the membership to have a better under- standing of the aims, objectives and role of the organization, and equip them for effectively participating in ks functioning at the different levels of its hierarchy. While the education for leadership of trade unions and rural workers' organizations, and for conscious and purposeful participation in their functioning, is best under- taken by the organizations concerned, there could indeed be a good amount of co-operation and collaboration with other agencies in respect of general adult education for the members as well as in respect of vocational education. For example, rural schools could usefully play a role. Investment in general adult education results in early returns in terms of better atti- tudes to production and productivity and greater co-operation with developmental efforts; but is also useful for the education of the children.

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Considerable cultural, educational and in- formational activities are being conducted in every country by other departments of the government than the education department, such as health and agriculture, not to mention radio, television and the other media. However, if the different resources used for education, information and culture were pooled together and their activities effectively co-ordinated and integrated, it may help to go much further and achieve much better results.

As organizations of the poor have a crucial role in economic and social transformation, all educational activities must fully appreciate their role. Indeed education must lead people to forge suitable instruments for progress and change. There has to be greater involvement of the individual in the process of education, both to enable adults to learn better and to further personality development. All the forms of education--informal, formal and non- formal--may have to be suitably used; the emphasis for adults must obviously be on in- formal and non-formal education. The structure of education should be time-free, space-free, age-free and admission-free, which requires that it be provided at times convenient to the

learner. It also means the learner should be free to begin to leave and to return to a programme to suit his own convenience.

There should, furthermore, be no bar to education in respect of age; adults possess life experience which equips them with some under- standing of the problems which concern them and society at large. They should be given an opportunity for further learning without the preconditions of a diploma or a degree.

There is need for a better appreciation of the role of education and particularly adult education, in bringing about socio-economic changes and transformations in developing economies. This will be possible only when the role of education will not be the accumulation of inert knowledge, but would be to lead to action enabling its recipients to forge powerful instruments for the protection and promotion of their interests and to make a constructive contribution to the development of their re- spective societies. The role of organizations of the rural poor is crucial for economic develop- ment and for education to play its effective role in building up a better tomorrow, by creating an atmosphere of hope and progress in the countryside.

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