Education and Literacy

In our society, there is a widespread misconception that education is synonymous with literacy. Many people believe they are the same thing, while others believe literacy is merely a stepping stone to education. Although the former is partially true, promoting literacy as the sole form of education is categorically incorrect. So, what is the distinction between literacy and education?

Literacy is defined as the ability to read, write, and comprehend. It is entirely dedicated to the craft of reading and writing. It provides information that can be used to further one's knowledge. Where information is a subject's theoretical know-how and knowledge is awareness of how to use that information. It is the primary mode of information transmission in this day and age.

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Education, on the other hand, is defined as the systematic process of facilitating learning, receiving, experiencing, and/or acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and beliefs in order to impart instructions and provide overall development. While an educated person can be literate, not every literate person is educated. Education is a broader concept that encompasses the overall development of a human personality. Literacy, on the other hand, is a more limited concept that tends to maintain the status quo. Education aims to make a person rational, i.e. to think broadly and scientifically. It entails honing skills and learning how to steer them in the right direction.

One common misconception holds that educated people are free of superstitions, bias, irrational sociological religious beliefs, and customs. Education also causes a shift in one's way of thinking. It encourages people to think outside the box (creatively). It motivates people to be inquisitive, innovative, and to develop rational behaviour. The relative behaviour is determined by people, and the type of education varies. Education is dependent on a person's field of work and may or may not liberate her/him from mental slavery.

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The following indicators highlight the primary distinctions between literacy and education:

• A person can be both literate and educated.
• Someone can be literate but uneducated.
• An illiterate person can still be educated.
• A person can also be illiterate and uneducated.

Another myth perpetuated by our society is that a person with an educational degree or diploma is educated. However, this does not seem to be true. If that were the case, our country's founding fathers would not have been addressed as learned. Remember that while a literate person may need an education degree to prove his education, a learned person does not need a degree to prove his experience. A student cannot be considered educated if he or she can only read and write. The student as a whole must be changed, which includes teaching him to be sociologically and legally responsible for society.

Literacy is one of the tools used to direct a person's behaviour, which is the main goal of education. Education is a mix of experience and practise, which does not always include literacy. An illiterate sailor with a lifetime of sea practise and experience may still be taught and educated. Historically, many illiterate saints and philosophers guided future generations with their experienced teachings. In other words, 'knowing the knowable is education.' As previously stated, the sky is the limit for the educated, but educated in what?

There have been some famous illiterate people throughout history, including:

• Beginning in 771 A.D., Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was a King of the Franks and Roman Empire. He was thought to be illiterate in his youth.
• Isabella Baumfree, a former African-American slave in New York, escaped in 1826, converted to Christianity, changed her name to Sojourner Truth, and dedicated her life to evangelism. Despite her illiteracy, she was a powerful advocate for women's rights and the abolition of slavery.
• Genghis Khan was a Mongol leader who was illiterate. He established a legal code for the Mongolians and united them to conquer lands four times the size of those conquered by Alexander the Great. He built the largest empire in history, stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Sea of Japan, with over 700 tribes and cities under his control.
• Abadi Bano Begum, also known as Bi Amman, was a pioneering Muslim woman who actively participated in India's independence movement. Despite her illiteracy, she was a powerful voice and a symbol for millions of women in the early twentieth century.
• Joseph Jefferson Jackson, nicknamed "Shoeless Joe," was a Major League Baseball outfielder in the early twentieth century. He is remembered for his on-field performance. He was illiterate and relied on his wife to sign his documents.

The most serious problem with our society is that it equates literacy with education. It aspires to create a country full of literates but not educated citizens. It is undeniable that illiteracy is a root cause of many problems, but illiteracy does not necessarily imply a lack of education. A literate can read, write, and comprehend but may not be a responsible person. Education does not necessarily make people visionary, but it does make them rational and responsible citizens.

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Literacy and education are distinguished by the fact that literacy refers to a person's ability to read and write, whereas education refers to the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, morals, habits, and beliefs. Literacy, or the ability to read and write, is frequently equated with education. However, the two terms do not have the same meaning; education refers to a person's overall development in terms of knowledge, intellect, behaviour, and sensibility. Literacy is thus only the first step toward education. It is past time for us to understand the distinction between literacy and education, because simply being able to read and write is insufficient.