Jammu Dll Final

8/2/2019 Jammu Dll Final

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Lifelong learning and Gender Equality

through Distance Education

Geetika Singh

Academic Officer (Management) -Jammu &

Kashmir State Board of School Education

Email :[email protected],

09419173496

Learning is a lifetime process, beginning with the

universal experience of socialization within the

family, from the cradle to the tomb. More

than 40 years ago, the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights asserted that everyone has a right

to education. Declaring the goal of basic

education for allfor the first time in history an

attainable goal, the World Conference on

Education for All in April 1990, affirmed the right

to education for all. India had been trying to

extend the reach of education to larger sections of

its society by making Education a fundamental

right.

Gender equality means that males and females

have equal opportunities to realize their full

human rights and potential and contribute to and

benefit from economic, social, cultural, and

political development. It does not mean that

women and men have to become the same, but that

their rights, responsibilities and opportunities do

not depend on whether they are born male or

female.At the Millennium Summit in 2000 ,the

189 member states of the United Nations made a

commitment to : Promote Gender Equality and

Empower Women. In 2001 in Dakar, participants

in the World Education participants in the World

Education Forum committed themselves to

achieving a 50 percent improvement in levels of

adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and

equitable access to basic and continuing

education for all adults..

Lifelong learning is loosely defined as the

continuous acquisition of skills and knowledge

through both formal and non-formal learning

opportunities. The emergence of Open and

Distance Learning (ODL) Systems are directlylinked with the issues of life long learning and

has implications for empowering people ,

especially women .

The paper explores the role of distance education

in creating lifelong learners in relation to the

complex and multidimensional concept of gender

equality, specifically with respect to the state of

J&K.

Keywords:Learning , Gender equality, Lifelong

learning , open & distance education ,J&K

INTRODUCTION

Education has been the main instrument of human

development and its importance has been

emphasized through fundamental rights,

principles, statutes in a number of countries.

According to Article 26 of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights (United Nations

1948):Everyone has the right to education.

Education shall be free, at least in the elementary

and fundamental stages. Elementary education

shall be compulsory. Technical and professional
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]


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education shall be made generally available and

higher education shall be equally accessible to all

on the basis of merit. Education shall be directed

to the full development of the human personality

and to the strengthening of respect for human

rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promoteunderstanding, tolerance and friendship among all

nations, racial or religious groups, and shall

further the activities of the United Nations for the

maintenance of peace. Similarly, at World

Education Forum Dakar,Senegal, April 2000, the

framework for action was developed according to

which goals for international communities weredefined and these are:expand and improve

comprehensive early childhood care and

education, especially for the most vulnerable and

disadvantaged children;ensure that by 2015 all

children, particularly girls, children in difficult

circumstances and those belonging to ethnic

minorities, have access to and complete free and

compulsory primary education of good

quality;ensure that the learning needs of all young

people and adults are met through equitable access

to appropriate learning and life-skills

programmes;achieve a 50% improvement in levels

of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women,

and equitable access to basic and continuing

education for all adults;eliminate gender

disparities in primary and secondary education by

2005, and achieve gender equality in education by

2015, with a focus on ensuring girls full and

equal access to and achievement in basic

education of good quality education. Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) passed by the UN

General Assembly in a special session in the fall

of 2000, further strengthening international

commitments towards Education for All

(EFA).MDG3: Promote gender equality and

empower women. Target: Eliminate gender

disparity in primary and secondary education,

preferably by 2005, and to all levels of education

no later than 2015.

Today, education in India stands at the crossroads.Neither normal linear expansion nor the existing

pace and nature of improvement can meet the

needs of the vast population for literacy. The

catalytic action of Education in this complex and

dynamic growth process needs to be planned

meticulously and executed with great sensitivity.

Even though a large number of policies have beenadopted to make Education For All goals at the

primary, elementary and secondary level come

true in the Indian context , there is still a large

percentage which gets left out very large

percentage of them being women who cannot

make the transition to higher education due to

various constraints.

According to the most recent 2001 census data,

women account for 48.26% of the 1028.6 million

population of India. About 27% of these are 15-29

years old. The literacy rate among women has

improved from 7.83% in 1951, to 54.16% in

2001.However, there remain still 228 million

women considered to be illiterate

(http://www.censusindia.net ). Only 6% of women

who completed secondary education (35% of the

total population who enrolled in Class 1) entered

higher education.It is clear therefore that a large

number of women are still outside the existing

higher education system in India. Data show that

women in India represent about 50% of the adult

population, but only 33% of the labour force.

They perform nearly 66% of all working hours,


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receive only 10% of the world average income,

and own less than 1% of property.

Very few research studies have been conducted on

the linkages between lifelong learning , ODL

systems and gender equality. A general finding

from a brief review of these studies indicates thatmore women have recently achieved getting their

first job - mostly in education as teaching faculty -

and most of them were married (Mclntosh,

1973).Kanwar (1995) stressed the need for

increasing the upward mobility of women in

distance education institutions. Meanwhile women

students continue to face problems while studyingthrough the ODL system. Rathore et al (1996)

revealed that lack of student support system

creates problems for women learners in ODL

system. Bhalalusesa (2001) found that there are

factors like the faraway locations of the study

centres that make studying more difficult for

women than men.Taplin (2000) found that the

female students reported severe bottlenecks in

pursuing their studies due to their social

commitments, and a similar finding was visible

through their academic results. Sharma (1996)

argues for empowerment of women - and not

concessions to women - through increased

effective use of the distance education system.

Studies by Woodley (1995) and by Gaba (1999)

have found that the career paths of graduates have

been markedly changed after completion of their

respective programmes. Taplin & Jegede (2001)

found that most students studied through the ODL

system for self-satisfaction and for this improved

employment status.

The paper is divided into four sectionsin section

I , we discuss the larger encompassing issue of

lifelong learning and its increased relevance in the

changing global village of today. The section II

explores the concept of open and distance learning

as a effective instrument for making lifelong

learning a reality for a large section of the

population especially women. In section III we try

to talk about how lifelong learning can take placethrough ODL systems to empower women leading

to gender equality in the context of equality of

opportunity to learn at any point of time in life.

Section IV talks about the peculiar case of women

literacy in J&k and problems faced by women in

J&K to pursue higher education due to a host of

socio economic and cultural factors. Finally insection V we talk about the practical suggestions

that can be incorporated to use ODL systems in

J&K to bring about a semblance of gender

equality in access to education for women so that

lifelong learning becomes a reality.The paper

explores the role of distance education in creating

lifelong learners in relation to the complex and

multidimensional concept of gender equality,

specifically with respect to the state of J&K.

SECTION I.

Education for all and Lifelong Learning

Entwined with the concept of education for all

EFA is the concept of lifelong learning. To tackle

the enormous challenges of EFA, non-formal

education (NFE) should also play an important

role in coordination with formal schooling.By

means of flexible programmes in combination

with other development activities, NFE can meet

the needs of people in disadvantaged situations -

needs that cannot be met by the formal school

system alone. In addition, due to the rapid

changes in society (ICT) and the global economy,

education cannot be limited to formal schooling,


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but should expand to become a lifelong activity

using both formal and non-formal, as well as

informal, modes of learning.

Lifelong learning is activated today as the key

organising principle for education and training

systems, and for the building of the knowledge

society.Lifelong learning acknowledges

essentially two inter-related facts: (a) learning is

lifelong (not confined to a particular period in life,

from the womb to the tomb); and (b) learning is

lifewide (not confined to school but taking place

everywhere: home, community, playground,

workplace, sports yard, mass media, through play,conversation, debate, reading, writing, teaching,

problem solving, social participation, social

service, travel, use of ICTs, and so on). Lifelong

learning is the continuous building of skills and

knowledge throughout the life of an individual. It

occurs through experiences encountered in the

course of a lifetime. These experiences could be

formal or informal. Lifelong learning, also known

as LLL, is the "lifelong, voluntary, and self-

motivated" pursuit of knowledge for either

personal or professional reasons. As such, it not

only enhances social inclusion, active citizenship

and personal development, but also

competitiveness and employability.Lifelong

Learning is the provision or use of both formal

and informal learning opportunities throughout

people's lives in order to foster the continuous

development and improvement of the knowledge

and skills needed for employment and personal

fulfillment. It shares mixed connotations with

other educational concepts such as Adult

Education, Training, Continuing Education,

Permanent Educationand other terms that relate to

learning beyond the formal educational system. A

country like India having varied social,

educational, economical and developmental

standards demands the exploration and

implementation of innovative ways to provide

lifelong learning opportunities to every citizen.

ODL technologies present numerous possibilitiesto fulfill the promise of lifelong learning for all in

India.

The first characteristic of lifelong learning is that

it encompasses both formal and non-

formal/informal types of education and training.

Formal learning includes the hierarchically

structured school system that runs from primaryschool through the university and organized

school-like programs created in business for

technical and professional training. Whereas

informal learning describes a lifelong process

whereby individuals acquire attitudes, values,

skills and knowledge from daily experience and

the educational influences and resources in his or

her environment, from family and neighbors, from

work and play, from the market place, the library

and the mass media.The second common theme of

lifelong learning is the importance of self-

motivatedlearning. There is a heavy emphasis on

the need for individuals to take responsibility for

their own learning. Lifelong learners are,

therefore, not defined by the type of education or

training in which they are involved, but by the

personal characteristics that lead to such

involvement.Self-funded learning is the third

characteristic of the lifelong learning literature.

The concept of self-funded learning is linked to

the characteristic of self motivated learning. In

recognition of the costs involved in subsidising

lifelong involvement in education and training, the

lifelong learning policy agenda emphasises the
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Permanent_Education&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Permanent_Education&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schoolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Permanent_Education&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuing_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traininghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Educationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult_Education


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responsibility of individuals to finance their own

continuing education and training with minimal

support from government. The fourth distinctive

feature of the lifelong learning policy literature is

a commitment to universal participation in

education and training. In advocating 'lifelonglearning for all', the Organisation for Economic

Co-operation and Development (OECD) argues

that universal participation is necessary for

meeting the economic demands of the 21st

century. The concept of universal participation

includes both informal and formal learning for all

purposes - social, economic and personal. Theimportance of Lifelong Learning/Education has

been repeatedly stressed in several educational

policy documents and discourses in India. While

the Report of the Education Commission (1964-

66) observed that education does not end with

schooling but is a lifelong process ; the National

Policy on Education in India - 1986 (modified in

1992) considered Lifelong Education as the

cherished goal of the educational process which

presupposes universal literacy, provision of

opportunities for youth, housewives, agricultural

and industrial workers and professionals to

continue the education of their choice at the pace

suited to them. It observes that the critical

development issue is the continuous upgradation

of skills so as to produce manpower resources of

the kind and the number required by the society.

SECTION II

Open and distance learning systems-

Today , the right to education can no longer be

understood as the right to access the school

system (and eventually complete a certain number

of years of schooling). The right to education

implies essentially the right to learn and to learn

throughout life. The state has an obligation to

ensure equal learning opportunities for all, within

and beyond the school system, at all ages.this is

where Open and Distance learning is bring about

a silent revolution in the equitable access to

educational opportunities irrespective of gender ,

age or time or place. Open and distance learning

is defined by the Commonwealth of Learning as a

way of providing learning opportunities that is

characterized by the separation of teacher and

learner in time or place, or both time and place;

learning that is certified in some way by aninstitution or agency;the use of a variety of media,

including print and electronic; two-way

communication that allows learners and tutors to

interact; the possibility of occasional face-to-face

meetings; and a specialized division of labour in

the production and delivery of courses.Open and

Distance education is a branch of education where

teachers and students are separated in terms of

place and time. They communicate at times of

their own choosing by exchanging printed or

electronic media, or through technology that

allows them to communicate in real time and

through other online ways. In other words,

distance learning is the process of creating an

educational experience of equal quality for the

learner to best suit their needs outside the

classroom. Distance education courses that require

a physical onsite presence for any reason

(including taking examinations) is considered a

hybrid or blended course of study. With the recent

trend of technological advance, distance learning

is becoming more recognized for its potential in

providing individualized attention and

communication with students internationally.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Developmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organisation_for_Economic_Co-operation_and_Development


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Initially, developed countries were practicing

distance education but off late developing

countries have also gone for distance education in

a big way.

Open Education is considered as very effective for

societies like India, where literacy and educationlevels are low. More over the system and its

features are inclusive in nature. India tried its level

best to provide free and compulsory education to

all its citizens but it could not achieve its target in

the last 60 years of its independence. It becomes a

tough task to provide higher education with its

limited recourses. In this context the distanceeducation has emerged as an alternative model to

the conventional education system.India has

emerged as one of the biggest centre of distance

education in the world.Open Education is

considered as very effective for societies like

India, where literacy and education levels are low.

Since open learning system in India adopts multi-

media approach learner can study the course

material, watch audio visual programmes related

to their courses in his own pace and place. To seek

further help or information they can attend the

counseling sessions in nearby study centers during

the weekends. This facility helps the learners who

work for their livelihoods.The examination and

evaluation system also gives greater flexibility for

the learners. Thus the Open University system in

India came in to existence with a popular slogan

Education at your door step literally brought

higher education closer to the people.Second

important factor for the success of open learning

system in India is its Cost effectiveness.

Education in the Open University is cost effective

not only to the students but also to the institution.

A student can gain while he is earning and learn

according to his convenience and interest.Access

in terms of reach, particularly geographical

distance is another advantage of ODL. Providing

education to all in a country like India in

conventional methods is proved as a difficult task

because huge population live in a vastgeographical regions. In such a situation ODL

made the access of higher education simple to the

learners through study centers covering all the

geographical areas. Thus the flexibility in terms of

study, greater access compared to conventional

education systems and the multi media teaching

learning package and the cost effectivenessattracted millions of people. It resulted in the

equity, diversity and inclusiveness with in the

society.The reasons for the emergence and fast

popularity of ODL are manifold.The flexibility in

terms of time, pace, place, age, occupation

certainly gives a new hope and fresh life to

thousands of learners who were the victims of the

Indian rigid traditional education system. At the

school level , NIOS or national institute of Open

schooling is providing ODL solution to lakhs of

students while at the higher education level ,

IGNOU (indira Gandhi National Open University

, BRAOU , YCMOU)just to name a few are

providing lifelong learning options to people .

SECTION III.

Gender equality

Gender equality is equality between men and

women and entails the concept that all human

beings, both men and women, are free to develop

their personal abilities and make choices without

the limitations set by stereotypes, rigid gender

roles and prejudices. Gender equality means that

the different behaviour, aspirations and needs of

women and men are considered, valued, and


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favoured equally. It does not mean women and

men have to become the same but that their rights,

responsibilities and opportunities will not depend

on whether they are born male or female.1

In other words, gender refers to socially

constructed roles and responsibilities assigned towomen and men in a given location and the social

structures that support them, all of which are

subject to change over time.The purpose of

looking at gender is not to divide women and

men, causing conflict between them. Rather, it

draws our attention to those issues that have

brought about unequal relations, and allows us toaddress these issues with appropriate measures

that will help reduce rather than perpetuate

inequality. Thus, the concept of gender helps to

focus on growth in terms of the equitable

distribution of benefits between women and men,

equality of power relations between them and,

most of all, the partnership between them in any

field of development.The emphasis on gender

equality and womens empowerment does not

presume a particular model of gender equality for

all societies and cultures, but reflects a concern

that women and men have equal opportunities to

make choices. Because of current disparities, the

equal treatment of women and men is insufficient

as a strategy for gender equality. Equal treatment

in the context of inequalities can result in the

perpetuation of disparities.Achieving gender

equality requires changes in institutional

practices and social relations through which

disparities are reinforced and sustained.There

are four main dimensions of gender equality

outlined in the Millenium development

framework: equality of access, equality in the

learning process, equality of educational

outcomes, and equality of external results

Gender equality through Open and Distance

Learning

ODL is a source of progress and development for

women. Marriage has and will always be a aterminal point for women education after

secondary level especially in rural areas. It was

believed among educated men that little education

was sufficient for women just to make them

literate. It was believed that educated women

would not be submissive to their husbands, and

hence women education met with resistance interms of financial and moral support from their

husbands. Today, ODL has brought succour to the

women education and subsequent empowerment.

Women can aspire to reach any level in their

education through ODL programmes. It is worthy

of note that despite the ample opportunities

through ODL, there are still millions of women

who are still illiterates due to ignorance, cultural

hindrances and poverty in urban, rural and remote

areas of the country. ODL has played significant

roles in accelerating women education and

subsequently women empowerment. ODL has

created opportunities for women to squeeze time

out to learn and further their education. It also

created opportunities for women to up-grade their

qualifications and skills at reasonable intervals.

ODL is a veritable instrument in bringing social

and economic transformation of women. Distance

Education can surely fill up the vacuum created by

on campus studies especially for women. Distance

education is being considered as a favorite option

by majority of women folk because it is

accessible. Women can study what they want and

also from where they want. It is their own


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prerogative. Moreover ODL is advantageous

because it is flexible. Women can study when they

want, completing course work on their schedule,

rather than that of college.ODL is being

considered as a good option for those women who

want to meet their personal and professional goalssimultaneously.ODL has the potential to alleviate

or remove some of the barriers or constraints that

prevents women and girls from accessing

educational opportunities such as illiteracy,

poverty, time scarcity, socio cultural factors,

mobility and relevancy, leading to women

empowerment and gender equality. The onlylacunae in this field leading to lack of

participation of women are the restricted access to

the technology, basically lack of skills in using

computers and lack of information.If used in the

right manner, ODL can become the tool for

womens active participation in improving their

situations. Simple access to information and

improved communications can end the isolation of

women and promote improved health, access to

reproductive services, economic growth as well as

alleviate poverty.ODL can serve as an opportunity

to overcome some of these key barriers. However

initiatives have to be designed specifically for

women and awareness needs to be generated

among women on the advantages of ODL and

their potential to address specific problems faced

by them.Women need to be encouraged to enable

them to make use of ODL in improving their

educational status. Positive discrimination or

Affirmative action in favor of girls in provision of

ODL facilities needs to be explored. With its

ability to overcome geographical boundaries and

relatively low access costs, ODL has

revolutionalized the transfer of information and

knowledge around the world.ODL provides

various types and levels of education to be

acquired by the women. Flexibility of access and

study times and the potential to reach women in

rural areas or women facing social barriers that

limit their access to schools, make distancelearning via ICT a promising educational

approach for women.ODL may open economic

opportunities especially for Muslim women, since

in their culture, Muslim women are expected to

stay at home and are not permitted to have face to

face contact with men other than close family, or

to travel. In such cases, telephones, computers andthe internet allow women to telecommute and

hence work and interact with men without face to

face contact and even without being in the same

place.

SECTION IV.

The Case of Jammu & Kashmir

The State of Jammu and Kashmir has a peculiar

topography which is a hindrance in achieving the

desired goal of complete literacy . The network of

schools is spread sparsely/thinly and the majority

of populace lives in far flung and inaccessible

areas, countenance many problems like easy

access to institutions, lack of infrastructure,

weather vagaries etc. To add to that has been the

problem of militancy which has taken its toll on

the acceibility to education in certain pockets of

the state.

Women constitute about 47% of the total

population in J&K. The literacy rate of J&K is

55.52% with male literacy of 67% and female

literacy of 43% (census 2001) and as per BPL

survey 2008 the literacy rate of J&K is 64.18 with

male literacy of 72.32% and female literacy of


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55.35%.Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in classes

(1 to VIII) is 74.45% in J&K as against 93.54% at

all India Level. Dropout rate for classes (I-X) is

53.75% as compared to 61.92% at National Level.

Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) at Primary level is 1:34

in the State as against 1:46 at National Level.Similarly, the PTR at Upper Primary Level is 1:16

in the State as against 1:35 at National Level. On

an average one lakh population is catered to by

153 Elementary Level Schools as against 97 such

schools at National Level._ In Secondary/Higher

Secondary Education there are 13 schools per lakh

population as against 14 schools at NationalLevel. On an average, one University in the State

caters to the educational needs of 11.80 lakh of

population as against 27.4 lakh at National level.

Similarly, one college caters to the educational

requirements of 2.12 lakh of population as against

1.04 lakh at National level.J&K has a lower

literacy rate than the all-India level of 68.64 per

cent; the difference in the male-female literacy

rates here is also a whopping 20.25, higher than

even Bihar, where the literacy indicators are the

lowest at a rate of 63.82 per cent, so is the gender

gap at 20.03 per cent points.

Women development, no doubt, has been part of

the development planning in the state since the

inception of five year plans but the shift in

approach from welfare to the development of

women took place in the 6th Plan onwards. But

despite so many positive outcomes in the

successive plans and the progress made over the

past 60 years, female literacy has remained very

low in J&K State as compared to men. Gender

disparity in literacy in J&K is historical

phenomenon. The female literacy in the State is

only 43%. The gender gap in literacy is 23%.

Gender differential exist both in Rural and Urban

areas but it is high in Rural areas. The harsh

terrain of the State in majority of the areas , socio

religious bottlenecks , lack of access to schools,

parents feeling insecure about sending girl

children to schools, their engagement in

agricultural and other domestic activities etc,

early marriage of girls , unwillingness of parents

and inlaws to allow the women to continue

education after secondary level , lack of

awareness and lack of motivation incentives

being provided by the government agencies and

civil society to promote continuation of educationby girls and women through distance mode have

been some of the factors which have resulted in a

high gender gap especially after higher secondary

stage .

SECTION V.

SUGGESTIONS

Keeping in view the difficult terrain of the various

regions of the state of J&K be it Kashmir , Ladakh

or some regions of Jammu division, the

heterogenous religious and cultural environment

in which the women live and other constraints

socio economic and religious, various strategies

can be developed to make ODL systems as vehicle

for lifelong learning for women in j&k thereby

improving the gender equality ratio in access and

delivery of Education at a higher education stage

by especially focussing on vocational and skill

related areas.

1. J&K being a tourism intensive state , specialtourism and hospitality centric

diploma/certificate programmes can be

developed by Open universities in india which

will allow women access to gainful


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employment in front office management ,

opening of tourist / travel agencies , opening

of hotels and restraints. Such programmes will

definitely find favour with areas like Ladakh

which has a large influx of foreigners as

tourists , Kashmir and pilgrimage tourismpockets in jammu region.

2. Moreover with a large number of foreigntourists visitng the state especially ladakh and

Kashmir foreign language courses through

ODL systems can help women to enhace their

employability skills to gain self sustenance.

3.

Horticulture being the most important sectorafter tourism in the state , the ODL bodies in

india can join hands with the agricultural

universities and Home science departments of

Higher education in the state to develop

distance learning packages especially for

women focussing on setting up of nurseries ,

food processing & pickling , commercial

vegetable production.

4. ODL systems can target again a huge chunk ofthe female population who have studied till

higher secondary stages , but then got married

early due to parental and societal pressures.

They may not want to increase their

qualification but want to use the skills which

they have been taught as girls or is part of the

family craft -like horticulture , carpet weaving

& shawl making , Embroidery , bakery , bee

keeping , food processing at cottage level ,

cattle rearing , tailoring and beauty to earn a

respectful living and become economically

independant with these home skills.

5. ODL systems like IGNOU can provide theplatform for women to fulfil these dreams with

programs like - certificate/diploma courses in

Computer Literacy Programme, Motor Cycle

Service & Repair, IT Service Management,

School Services Management, Publishing

Services Management, Garment

Manufacturing Services Management,

Business Entrepreneurship Development,Retail Services Management, Security

Services (Advanced), Desk Top Publishing,

Communication Skills, Garment Stitching,

Retail Marketing, Security Services (basic) for

Security Supervisor, Security Services(basic)

for Assistant Security Officer, Security Guard

Protection, Security Supervisor, AwarenessProgramme on Value Added Products from

Fruits & Vegetables, Dairy Farming for Rural

Farmers, Awareness-cum-Training Packages

in Disability for parents and Family

members(Mental Retardation, Visual

Impairment, Hearing Impairment & Cerebral

Palsy), Foundation Course on Education of

Children with Disability,certificate in bee

keeping , certificate in food processing.

6. Jammu and Kashmir having a very largepercentage of female muslim population also

has another group of women who have been

denied access to qualitative education due to

purdah. The use of ICT in ODL systems is a

boon for this section of women to contribute

to her own quota to self and national

development.

7. The itinerant nomadic women gujjars andbakarwals in our state can also benefit from

this ODL revolution. Mobile telephony , radio

broadcasts can help girls from these

communities to study while moving along

with their families. ODL systems can also help

them to get formal education in their family


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trades or nomadic practices-such as certificate

programmes in dairy farming and cattle

rearing. The mobile phone would not only

help in the learning process but would also

support the goat-rearing enterprise in terms of

animal management and marketingmanagement

8. Women can be encouraged to continueeducation after secondary level, after marriage

, after children , in adverse situations by

providing fee waive off or scholarships to

women who successfully complete their

education or enhance their education levelthrough ODL bodies.

9. Distance education bodies and agencies cancollaborate and use panchayat centers and

anganwadis as centers to promote community

learning for women of a specific area.

CONCLUSION :

The concept of lifelong learning stresses that

learning and education are related to life as a

whole - not just to work - and that learning

throughout life is a continuum that should run

from cradle to grave. Gender is a concept that

deals with the roles and relationships between

women and men. These roles and relationships

are determined by socio-cultural,

religious,political and economic factors, not by

biology. ODL creates opportunities for women

education today to learn throughout their life

time. Education given to a woman is un-

quantifiable, the spillover effect of women

education on children, families, communities and

the nation cannot be over-stressed. An educated

woman is a better mother, wife, social mobilizer

or citizen. ODL systems can bring about a

revolution a state like J&k by foccussing on areas

which will allow women to utilise their human

potential

REFERENCES :

1. Ashok Kumar GABA :WomenEmpowerment through Professional and

Technical education Programmes : A Case

Study of IGNOU

2. Aslam M : scope of open and distancelearning in J&k state

3.

Burge Elizabeth and Helen Lenskyj. "WomenStudying in Distance Education: Issue$ and

Principles". Journal of Distance Education,

Vol. V(i). Spring 1990, pp. 20-37.

4. Janaki, D. : pcf4- (2006) Empowering womenthrough distance learning in India Literacy: A

Potent Tool for Women Empowerment

5. Jakkamal, P 2009, Open and distance Leaningand Lifelong Learning: Reaching the

Unreached, Paper presented in 17th

Conference of Commonwealth Education

Ministers Stakeholders Forum

6. K. Balasubramaniana*, P. Thamizolib, AbdurrahmanUmara, and Asha Ka :Using mobile phones to

promote lifelong learning among rural women

in Southern India

7. Purnendu TRIPATHI, & Siran MUKERJI:Access and Equity to Education in India

through Synergy of Conventional and ODL

Systems: A Step towards Democratization of

Education

8. Qadir BUKHSH:Empowerment of womenthrough distance education in Pakistan.

9. Renu NANDA - Issues and challenges forNon Formal Education -A case study of Indira


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Gandhi National open University (IGNOU)

With Reference to J&K State

10.Sudarshana Rana :Policy Perspective andControlling Agencies for Distance Education

in India

11.Sushmita Mitra : Gender and OpenSchooling in India -, National Institute of

Open Schooling, New Delhi

12.Walter Sukati :Role of Distance Educationin Gender Equality and in Empowering

Women- A Case Study of the Institute of

Distance Education , Institute of Distance

Education, University of Swaziland13.Zeynep Varoglu :life long learning and

education from a gender perspective

14.Census of india 200115.Organisation for Economic Co-operation and

Development: policy brief on lifelong

learning.

16.Task Force on Education and Gender EqualityUN MDP document retieved from internet on

22nd feb 2012

17.Taking action: achieving gender equality andempowering women- Commonwealth of

learning document document retieved from

internet

18.Gender Equality in Basic Education andLifelong Learning through Community

learning powerpoint retrieved from internet

on 29th feb 2012

Jammu Dll Final

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