With the New Education Policy coming up in the next couple of months, Soha Moitra analyses if it will revilatise education in India
The Indian education system is finally undergoing revision. Since the revision has come after a long gap it will have to take into account the socio-economic and political changes that have occurred over the last few decades. Despite having achieved significant progress, issues pertaining to quantity, quality, access, efficacy and financial outlays still remain. In fact they have built up to mammoth proportions and hence, must be tackled with utmost urgency. For three decades Child Rights and You (CRY) has been working to restore the rights of children in India. Having touched the lives of 20 lakh children across 23 States, we believe that a few critical recommendations need to be put forth to necessitate a lasting change
A greater demand for education calls for a strong foundation in schools so as to achieve the desired learning outcome. learning outcomes are a combination of several factors. These include overall health and nutrition, school infrastructure, qualified teachers, regular attendance, pedagogy and assessment processes and the environment provided to children in school and at home.
Quality infrastructure and qualified workforce are both critical for a good start and the Right to Education Act 2009 has rightly emphasised on these two components, setting deadlines which we have unfortunately failed to meet.
According to the latest available District Information System for Education (DISE) data (2014-2015), less than 65 per cent schools have playgrounds and boundary walls. While 87 per cent schools in the country have toilets facilities, ground realities, however, reveal that there are several instances where toilets are non functional, mostly due to non availability of water.
In a seven-State study conducted recently, Andhra Pradesh was found to have the highest number of schools without drinking water and toilet facilities. A huge percentage of schools studied in the East and North were not electrified with Jharkhand, Bihar, J&K, Orissa and MP having more than 70 per cent schools with no electricity. Improving the basic infrastructure in terms of availability of all weather classrooms, drinking water facilities and functional, accessible toilets is essential since it will have a direct bearing on the attendance and, consequently, the learning outcomes.
Teachers are pivotal to the learning process but lack of enough and qualified teachers has often been a disabler. According to the 12th five year plan there are five lakh teacher vacancies in the country and another five lakh teachers are required to meet the RTE norms on pupil-teacher ratio. Furthermore, 2.25 lakh in-service teachers are still untrained as indicated by DISE (2013-14). Need-based and on-site training of teachers should be given utmost importance as it not only brings in an element of innovation and interest in the teaching-learning experience but also helps teachers to identify and course correct problems faced by children like slow learning, lack of interest, disciplining etc.
A balanced pupil-teacher ratio allows for individual student attention and thus, affects the effectiveness. The RTE Act allows for a certain teacher-student ratio to be followed in both primary (30:1) and secondary schools (35:1). However the latest DISE data shows that in some States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, more than 50 per cent schools have pupil-teacher ratio above the prescribed RTE norms
Studies conducted by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration reflect an urgent need to improve children’s learning outcomes. Three cycles of surveys conducted for Classes III, V and VIII since 2001 show that the average achievement of students in selected subject areas vary greatly across states and UTs. The results also reflected that achievements varied greatly based on socio-economic backgrounds of children, with students from general category performing better than their SC/ST/OBC counterparts.
Discriminatory practices based on issues like caste, religion, gender, disability etc force children to miss classes, eventually leading to their dropping out. Inclusivity in education should not only end all forms of discrimination from and within the school system but should also cater to the learning needs of children from disadvantaged background.
Education is not simply a preparation for the future but an investment on our children in the present. That’s why it is important to ensure an effective interplay of a range of supportive factors; an enabling policy and an enabling home, community and school environment. Guaranteeing this would require the strong will of all stakeholders particularly the Government.
The writer is Soha Moitra, director, Child Rights and You