CHANGING LITERACY OF NTFPS COLLECTORS IN AKKALKUWA TAHSIL, NANDURBAR DISTRICT

Education is a fundamental human right and the foundation for lifelong learning. It is fully essential to social and human development in it's to transform lives. The definition of literate and literacy is “A person age 7 years and above whom can both read and write with understanding in any language is taken as literate”. “Literacy could also have been achieved through adult literacy classes or through any non-formal education system”. (Census of India). Akkalkuwa tahsil in Nandurbar district is mostly scheduled tribe population lives about 85 percent of the total population. It's living in and around the Satpura forest area which depends on the natural resources. They use several plants to their basic needs of their art of living. Among the plants used unripe mango, mahua, chiranji, hirada, behda, rosha grass, etc. non-timber forest products collections, processes, storage and selling. In this area, the literacy was lower than the tahsil and district average. Wide variations of Male-female literacy rate among the study area. It is found that female literacy rate is lower than that of male population among scheduled tribe due to the majority of woman engaged in agricultural and NTFPs collections, processes, storage etc. activities, lack of awareness of education and less educational & other basic facilities are not available.