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EDUCATION
THE TIMES OF INDIA | NEW DELHI THURSDAY | JUNE 9, 2011

Education is seen as the passport to a golden future, but millions in India cannot access it beyond the entry level

Class Act? Thats A Cruel Joke

I
ndias education system is staggeringly huge. Its 300 million students and 6.5 million teachers could make up the worlds fourth largest country In this otherwise sleepy . behemoth, far-reaching changes have been taking place in recent years. Enrolment in primary classes is touching 100%. Over 120 million kids are getting free mid-day meals at school. The literacy rate has increased to almost 75%. The right to education has been enshrined as a law. There has been a surge of interest and attention towards education, largely because people no longer are willing to let their children stagnate in backwardness. Education is increasingly being seen as the door to a better life. This momentum and the accompanying euphoria, however, hide a stark truth that many are unable to see: that the education system continues to suffer from four great divides. These are ruralurban, men-women, rich-poor and between castes. These divides are built into the system. As a result, vast millions on the wrong side of these divides are denied the benefits of modern education, their dream of prosperity crushed. children who havent ever been to school. Estimates of out-of-school-children are shrouded in mystery There were about 3 . crore in 2001-02. According to the government, this had dropped to just 28.7 lakh in 2009. But an independent survey by the Indian Market Research Bureau in 2009 found that over 81 lakh were out of school.

THE FUNDING DEFICIT

here is a view that at last the government has realized the importance of education and is channeling huge amounts of money into the sector. This is far from the truth. The latest Economic Survey notes that the combined spending on education by the central and state governments is projected at just short of 3% of the gross domestic product (GDP) for 2010-11. It is about 11% of all government spending. This spend is nothing spectacular way back in 199192, education spending had inched up to 3.8% of GDP and over 13% of public spending. What this means is that despite the high growth trajectory of the Indian economy, essential problems like providing quality education for all are not receiving adequate resources. Not only does this restrict the opportunity of education, it also affects quality. With people thirsting for better education, there is only one way this plays out higher costs for better education. As a recent NSSO study revealed, the average cost for general education (not technical) has increased by 176% in rural areas and 204% in urban areas between 1995-96 and 2007-08. This increase has the net effect of preventing large sections of people from joining the educational mainstream.
quality of education hard. A recent survey of learning outcomes of school children reported in the Annual Survey of Education-Rural revealed that about half of those in Class V could read only Class II texts and the proportion of kids who could solve a simple division sum in Class V had declined. In short, the standard of learning is low and dipping further. Although a new national curricular framework was adopted in 2005, only lip service is being paid to its approach. Untrained and demotivated teachers are ignoring it, as are text book publishers and syllabus makers. The number of teachers needed for unrolling the RTE is estimated at 20 lakh and the standards of teacher education are being lowered to hastily fill the gap. A study by the National University of Educational Planning & Administration found that of the 47 lakh elementary school teachers, nearly 25% have not studied beyond the secondary level. Another quarter have just completed their higher/senior secondary level.

I THE GENDER DIVIDE

The gender divide is starkly brought out by the fact that in the age group 5-29 years, about 57% of males were enrolled in educational institutions as opposed to 50% females. Even among those enrolled, only 48% females were attending classes as op-

DIVIDE AND RUE

Drop-out Rates by Class 8 All 43% Scheduled Castes 53%
Scheduled Tribes

63%
Source: SES, MHRD

Expenditure on Education
(Centre + States) Year % of GDP % of All Public Exp

I DALITS AND TRIBALS

Take the case of scheduled castes and tribes. They account for about a quarter of the population. Recent years have seen an intense urge in them to get educated. At the elementary (Class VIII) level, gross

1951-52 1961-62 1971-72 1981-82 1991-92 2001-02 2008-09 2010-11 BE

0.6 1.5 2.3 2.8 3.8 3.8 2.9 3.0

7.9 11.7 9.5 10.3 13.1 12.9 10.1 11.3

WRITING ON THE WALL

Signs spelling out the rights of children are commonplace and the Right to Education is now enshrined in law, but even drinking water is a luxury for many kids in Indias schools
alike have a primary school within 2 km of their residence. But secondary schools are in a different league. While 59% of the richest have a secondary school within 2 km, only 39% of the poorest do.

Source: Economic Survey, various years

Private Spending on Education

Rs /Annum Poorest 10%
enrolment ratios, that is, the ratio of those enrolled to the total number of children in the 6-14 year age group, have increased at a faster rate for dalits and tribals than for other sections. But look beyond the elementary level and you see a grim picture. The drop-out rate for dalits is about 53% and for tribals a staggering 63%. This is way above the average for the country which is 43%, in , itself a pretty high figure. In some large states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan, over 50% of dalit children do not go beyond Class V In other words, vul. nerable sections like dalits and tribals, who are also among the poorest, are not able to continue educating their children. We are talking about dropouts and not

Rural

Urban

Richest 10%

588 4738
1551 5128 2461

1346 15834
172 204 172

posed to 51% males. These are results of an NSSO study in 2007-08. The legacy of past discrimination against women remains visible in todays numbers. According to Census 2011 data, among those above 7 years of age, there are 17.6 crore illiterate women in the country compared to about 9.7 crore men.

1995-96 2007-08 Increase (%) Rural Urban India

570 1686 904

Source: NSSO Report No.532, 2007-08

GENDER DIVIDE | Illiteracy Above Age 7

Male Female

9.7cr 17.6cr
Total | 27.3cr
Source: Census 2011

technical training of any kind. Besides the paucity of technical institutions like ITIs and polytechnics, the high fees in technical and professional institutions is surely a cause for this abysmal state of affairs. According to the NSSO report of 2007I TECHNICAL GLITCH 08, the average annual spending by a famIt would be logical for policymakers ily on technical education for their son or to believe that providing technical and daughter is Rs 19,989 in case of governI RICH-POOR AND RURAL-URBAN vocational education to the poor would ment institutions and a back-breaking In rural areas, over 51% of the poorest are lift them out of poverty with subsequent Rs 38,675 for those studying in a private , illiterate and a minuscule 0.4% have gone help. But the state of technical educa- unaided institution. Who among the poorbeyond higher secondary Among the rich- tion in the country causes dismay . . er can afford this kind of expenditure? est, about 23% are illiterate but nearly 9% Just 1.9% of all students enrolled in These averages are much higher in have completed post-school studies. the country get technical education, while urban areas where most technical eduIn the urban areas, the situation is dra- those receiving vocational education are cation institutions are located. Studying matically different. Though 42% of the a mere 0.3%. In all, just about 2% of the in a private unaided institution in an urpoorest are illiterate, the proportion of il- countrys population has ever received ban area means spending Rs 43,058 on avliterates among the richest is only erage. This average hides the 7%. Just 1.5% of the poorest have range between top-class To apply or nominate for the awards, go to completed higher studies but 42% institutions and lesser ones. timessocialawards.com. You can log in via Twitter, Facebook, of the richest have done so. itimes, indiatimes or TOI IDs. If you do not have an account I QUALITY CRUNCH Even geography seems to be on these, please click More Login Options and select The rush by the government to against the poor. In rural areas, Connect with Times of India and join as a new member churn out numbers has hit the almost all people rich and poor

One has the g leam of pro gress in its eye , while

our core, Slowl y and silentl y, the tension between the haves and the have-nots pulls at the seams of our glorious future. What then is keep ing us from falling apart? We don t tknow them. Don t tsee them. Hardl y ever acknowled ge them . But there are those who are b u i l d i n g bridges across the abyss, Quiet yet relentless , the y are working to close the
gaps , making us a nation that

A PARTITION OF ANOTHER KIND.

India is a whole made of two halves. A A wide chasm runs across our country s vast bod y,

the other gropes in the d arkness for a foothold. One aims for success , the other merel y to survive. One races , the other crawls. And as more o f us leave the middle ground , either joining the march of the first or falling into the despair of the latter , the distance onl y grows. This partition may not quite be as violent or immediate as the last one , but it too erodes

V
H

slicing through its very heart ,

sp litting us into

a peculiar pair of comp letely dissimilar twins.

moves ahead as one.

To those who have shown the will and courage to dissolve the divides and make our nation a more equal place , the Times Social I mpact Awards are our humble way of giving back a bit. They are for every NGO , Corpor ate and Government Organi z ation working tirelessly in the fields of Health , E ducation , Environment , Livelihoods and Advocacy & Empowerment. Please log on to www.timessocialawards.com to apply for the award or to nominate the commendable work done by an organization.

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