Indian education system(primary/elementary): still some distance to cover

Every year during the annual educational report period in the country we come across various new policy promises being made for further development but  what about the country’s education system as a whole on the ground level, let’s have a look at it.

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme for universalisation of education , along with the no detention policy(elementary classes), has resulted in a significant enhancement both in the gross enrolment ratio and the enrolment of girls. But large numbers of children continue to leave school before completing elementary education. In 2015-16, the retention rate at the primary level was 85.8 per cent and it was as low as 68.3 per cent at the elementary level.

All the surveys indicate that, quantitatively, India is inching closer to the constitutional and RTE guarantee of universal access and participation in elementary education. Encouraging reports show that at the all India level the percentage of older girls (11-14 years) not enrolled in school has dropped from 10 per cent in 2006 to close to 3.2 per cent in 2016. Except Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh , the figure has dropped significantly for most states, with Bihar showing the steepest decline.

However the quality of education in terms of learning outcomes is undeniably poor, particularly in the government school system. This is a matter of concern because 80 per cent of all the recognised school at the elementary stage are government run or supported. Reading is a foundational skill; without being able to read well , a chid cannot progress in the education system. However, reading outcomes are unacceptably poor, particularly in government and rural schools.

 Early childhood years are critically important, when a child’s mental and physical development are at their highest, and when many lifelong characteristics are developed; this is when basic skills are acquired for subsequent development. Without a strong foundation in the early years, the child’s future progress, is highly circumscribed. The criticality of addressing the child’s mental and physical  growth in the early years has not been  adequately addressed . Available data indicate that in 2016 nearly  17 per cent  of children of class 2  did not recognise numbers from 1 to 9  and nearly 35 per cent of children in class 3 were unable to recognise  numbers till 100. Even more disturbing is the fact that these proportions  have gone up since 2010.

The fact on ground is that even minimum infrastructure standards are not observed in most schools, particularly in the hinterland- basic amenities are indeed not available in most locations. Moreover,  social and income disparities continue to be reflected in gaps in learning levels , which remain large and seem to be growing . Children from historically disadvantaged and economically weaker sections of society and first-generation learners exhibit significantly lower learning outcomes and are more likely to fall behind and drop out of school.

In conclusion, the most noteworthy point emerges is that while issues of accessibility and enrolment have dramatically improved in the past decades and progress has been made in equity of opportunities.  Necessarily, issues of quality need to be addressed immediately.