Nijera Shikhi: the operation and effectiveness of a people's literacy movement

This set of documents present the Nijera Shikhi (NS) peopleÆs literacy movement, an organisation working to abolish illiteracy in Bangladesh. The main document is a PhD thesis with the above title, and attached is also a brief summary paper, æNijera Shikhi: an effective way of tackling illiteracyÆ, outlining the effectiveness of the NS approach, with flexibility, fluidity and æsocial energyÆ as their primary resources; and a written account of ten NS participants on their involvement in the programme. The thesis is focuses on the effectiveness of literacy work and its role in development. It reviews the literature on development, education and literacy. It looks at the types of organisms working in development and literacy, placing this in a context of changes in development thinking in the last half century. Issues involved in testing literacy are subsequently examined with ZieghanÆs literacy test being trialled and modified to a test that can be used with a group of twenty neo-literates to determine functional literacy. The dissertation finally focuses on NS and compares it to literacy work done by the government and ActionAid, an NGO which has developed the REFLECT method. By testing neo-literates at least twelve months following the completion of their course, and by interviewing neo-literates to assess the life changes that have occurred as a result of becoming literate, NS is found to be both extremely low-cost and highly effective. The possible reasons for this are explored with the concept of æsocial energyÆ emerging as a critical issue. Issues relating to different methodologies for educational planning are subsequently explored.