Investment in basic infrastructure for school education has been considered vital to build a learning environment for mental and ensure physical growth of the children. Developed countries of the world invest a fair portion of their GDP in primary education. The ten most educationally developed nations, such as Russia, Canada, Japan, Finland, the USA, South Korea, the UK, New Zealand, Australia and Israel spend nearly 10 per cent of their GDP on education. The economic success of many socialist countries is linked with high literacy and good educational standard. The countries neglecting primary education still continue to be poor and backward such as sub Saharan Africa, Somalia and Ethiopia. The subject of primary education is in the Concurrent List in India and the Right To Education (RTE) Act speaks of equal responsibilities of the Centre, States and local Governments in matter of education.
However, in the context of Odisha, it is unfortunate that even after seventy years of Constitutional governance, we failed to ensure basic infrastructure for our school where we are engaged in shaping the future generation. The recent 13th annual status of education report (ASER) 2018 and data collected by Orissa Primary Education Programme Authority reveal the stark realities of schools of the State.
The ASER 2018 report on school facilities in Odisha, based on a sample survey from all 30 districts covering 812 schools, says that about 11 per cent schools have no kitchen shed for cooking midday meal (MDM) and 8 per cent school have no facility for drinking water and 9 per cent have facility but no drinking water available. Even after much hyped Swacha Bharat campaign, toilet facility has not reached to all schools as 3 per cent of schools have no toilet facility. In 22 per cent of schools toilets are not useable. About 10 per cent of schools have no separate toilet facility for the girls. The report also exposed that 20 per cent of schools have no library and 44 per cent schools have no electricity connection and schools having electricity have irregular availability and mostly classrooms are not connected with electricity.
The situation of physical education and sports in schools is not so encouraging as 33 per cent have no access to playground and where playgrounds are available, they are located outside the school premises. One fourth of the schools have no physical education teacher. More than 80 per cent of schools have no computer for the children. So far as the school management committee (SMC) is concerned, about 5 per cent do not have a committee and in many schools where SMCs have been formed, they meet irregularly.
The ASER survey reveals that more than 15 to 25 per cent of children in the age group of 6 to 14 years were enrolled in private schools mostly in the districts of Cuttack, Jagatsinghpur, Kendrapada, Khorda, Nayagada andPuri whereas 2 to 8 per cent of children in the same age group were not enrolled in schools in the districts of Ganjam, Keonjhar, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Nuapada and Rayagada. It is reported that in the learning level also, less than 20 per cent of children in standard three can read standard two level text in the districts of Koraput, Malkangiri, Nuapada and Rayagada.
It is well established out of the findings of the report that the poor performance in education has direct link with non-availability of basic amenities mostly in the interior parts and specially schools with large numbers of children of marginalized sections of the State.
The continued discriminatory education policy by the State Government in form of existence of various categories of schools without uniformity has been reinforcing inequality among our children. It has been encouraging disparity and discrimination among children but ideally education should be used as a mechanism to reduce inequality by creating scope of equal opportunity and to promote equity and dignity by adopting common school system for all its citizens irrespective of their economic status, social identity, caste and gender, and place of birth. There has been no uniform policy in the State for employees serving with in the same department having large differences in salary and service conditions.
There are varieties of primary schools in the State run by the Government, semi-Government corporates, NGOs, religious bodies, community and private trusts which lack uniformity in quality of teaching and availability basic infrastructure.
It is fact that the backward districts having large concentration of marginalized section still have a long way to go to ensure quality primary education for its children .The poor performance of these districts shows the continued negligence of the Central, State and local Governments in improving the primary education system and the peoples representative and civil society actors working in these areas have not sufficiently devoted their attention to the issues of education in order to bring structural change in education system .
The future of the children from marginalized sections from interior and backward pockets has been routinely linked to Ashram schools run by Government and NGOs. These Ashram schools were started in Odisha in early forties by the initiative of Gandhians to serve a political purpose to integrate the marginalized sections into mainstream Hindu society with active support of the then rulers but even after eighty years the same charity approach towards education of marginalised sections has been routinely continuing. It is time to question the very system and existence of Ashram schools when we have RTE Act that ensures universal, free and compulsory education for all. Why this segregation continues even in more planned way and does it really help the marginalised section in their liberation from persistent social subjugation, bondages and economic exploitations? Every day we come across horrific stories of suffering of the marginalised children in these Ashram schools but no major change has taken place in providing them safety and security by availability of basic amenities and infrastructure. The inmates are not being supplied with bed and bed sheet, mosquito net, adequate food and other minimum essential items required for a student. Lack of basic amenities has badly affected the physical and mental health of students as a result of which many of them are forced to leave the hostel. There are also sexual, moral and physical exploitations perpetrated against them.
While the State Government has been madly engaged in building hostels after hostels for tribal students with major Central assistance but there has been no plan to address their safety, security and dignity issues in social life. The State Government has closed down about 200 primary schools, including eight upper primary (UP) schools, on the plea of non-availability of students in backward districts, such as Kandhamal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Subarnapur, Rayagada and Sundaragarh etc. There were no students in 37 schools in these districts. The Government is also in the process to disband more such schools in coming days with a view to bring a drastic reduction in educational expenses. There has been uncontrolled dropout rate with higher percentage of them among SCs and STs and girl children. Therefore, it must be the first step of the Government to make available good school building, class room, electricity, drinking water, toilet, kitchen, staff room, boundary and playground for all schools, especially in rural parts and tribal areas. While tribal areas have no schools, the Government has been promoting private residential institutions with huge grants. Even these schools are carrying huge numbers of children without proper monitoring of safety and security. The good infrastructure facility will pave the way for healthy mental and physical growth of children and building a quality learning environment.