Apex industry body ASSOCHAM on Monday said that Madhya Pradesh Government needs to take significant steps to perk up social infrastructure in the State to bring equitable development and social empowerment, which is a precondition to sustainable economic growth. A recent study titled ‘States Emergence: A comparative analysis of growth and development,’ conducted by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) noted, “Madhya Pradesh has proved to be a laggard amid top 20 industrial States in terms of education and health services development as the State is grappling with highest infant mortality rate of 54 per 1,000 live births and recorded a negative compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about one per cent in terms of student enrolment in recent years (2007-08 to 2013-14).”
Clocking a CAGR of 1.7 per cent during 2007-08 and 2013-14, MP is ranked 11th in terms of growth in number of schools, according to the study prepared by the ASSOCHAM Economic Research Bureau (AERB). MP is ranked 19th in terms of growth in student enrolment and stayed just ahead of Himachal Pradesh (-1.9 per cent) in this regard between 2007-08 and 2013-14.
MP has ranked 16th amid top 20 States in terms of number of students per teacher ratio while the State was ranked 13th with just over 13 per cent of schools in the State having computer facility. MP is also ranked 11th in terms of expenditure incurred by the State on education sector as per cent of its gross state domestic product (GSDP). However, the expenditure incurred by the State on education as per cent of its GSDP had almost doubled from about three per cent in 2007-08 to about six per cent in 2014-14, further highlighted the ASSCOHAM study.