Arbind Kumar Singjh’s investigation into the workings of the National Adult Education Programme (NAEP) is a timely warning that the best intentioned ideas run the risk of being distorted by the bureaucracy which is expected to support them. The problem of illiteracy in India and its close interrelationship with poverty is perhaps the greatest problem the country faces today. A Micro Analysis of Adult Education in India takes Bhagalpur District as a representative sample of the NAEP in action. The Adult Education Centres run in the district are on the verge of collapsing despite the well-conceived and thoughtfully planned hierarchy of controls and guidance that has been established. While the basic education that Gandhiji advocated is at the core of the NAEP, the apathy and corruption of the officials who are responsible for its implementation have degraded it to the point where its future existence is doubtful. The writer has made some very valuable suggestions on how the NAEP should be run successfully, from the organisational point of view. The concept of Adult Education, the objectives of the Programme and its supervision and control are other aspects with which the study deals.
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