Reflections on Primary Education in India

 Teachers’ Day 2024

Reflections on Primary Education in India

Long colonial rule played havoc with literacy and education in India.[1] Today, seventy-seven years after Independence, the quality of  primary education is far from satisfactory. 

Facts given below substantiate the statement above. Suggestions on improving the learning outcome in government primary schools are also offered in this brief note.

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) on the cognitive skills of adolescents, and a report on the quality of teachers by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences on India’s school education landscape paint a disturbing picture.[2] The first report, ‘Beyond Basics’ reveals that 25%  per cent pupils in the 14-18 age group cannot read Class II level text fluently even in their mother tongue. Also, more than half the children in rural India have difficulty with basic mathematics. These findings based on a large and varied sample cast a shadow of doubt over India’s literacy rate of 77.7 percent that NFHS-5 (2019-21) revealed. In other words, the pupils lack the three elementary skills: reading, writing, and arithmetic.

The above reports give insight into the problem at National Level.

At state level, situation in Bihar are rather revealing.As per a report published by Jan Jagran Shakti Sanghathan (JJSS) in January-February 2023 on a survey of eighty-one government primary and upper-primary schools in Katihar and Araria districts of Bihar, ‘none of the surveyed schools met the norms of the Right to Education (RtE) Act.’[2] The problems include poor pupil attendance (20), high student/ teacher ratio, and absence of teachers from schools. According to this report, Direct Benefits Transfer for textbooks and uniform has also adversely impacted education since the parents in poor families prioritize their own needs over textbooks and uniform.[3] 

The report also found an increasing prevalence of cheap and dingy tuition centers threatening to displace government schools. They prove a barrier to quality education and pose risks to children’s health as well. Thus success in achieving the goals of the Right to Education(RtE), 2009  and the Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan( SSA) remain a pipe dream particularly among the students from impoverished families and marginalized communities.

Apart from the above,one major challenge facing quality education for children in rural areas is the non- availability of trained and qualified teachers, particularly in urban poor, and rural areas. [4] 

According to a study by the National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA), only 53% of teachers in rural areas have received any form of teacher training, compared to 86% of teachers in urban areas.[5]

Therefore, to summarize the current situation in primary education is far from ideal. To improve the situation following suggestions targeted at major problems are offered:

1. Poor student attendance:  

1. Involvement of social workers, teachers and religious teachers to impress upon parents to ensure attendance of their children and wards.

2. Strict enforcement of Prevention of Child Labour 

3. Direct Benefit Transfer be linked with defined month-on- month percentage of pupil attendance.

       2. Improving the quality of teachers and teachers’ attendance

           require both short- and  long-term  measures. 

                  a. Interventions for improvement in higher education and  

                   training of teachers in pedagogy requires action by the 

                   state governments. 

                  b. Ensuring attendance of teachers also falls under the

                     administrative domain.

        3. Improvement in Learning outcome

1. Everyone must acquire writing, reading and arithmatic skills during first 5 years of schooling.

2. Defined metrics for learning outcome be employed for continuous and periodic assessment of students along with separate performance metrics for teachers and the institutions.

3. Performance-based grants to schools, and increments to teachers.

4. Strict ban on private tuition by teachers employed in Govt. Schools.

         4. Improvement in School Infrastructure

Conclusion

Status of primary education in India has improved in the last half a century. Yet, it remains far from ideal. To achieve the goals of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and Right to Education, interventions both at social and administrative levels are imperative. Involvement of society as a whole shall help achieve the goal sooner than later.

References:

1. Dharampal.The Beautiful Tree: Indigenous Indian Education in the Eighteenth Century.

2. Editorial. Poor teenage learning levels, a national crisis, Business  Line Jan 21, 2024

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/editorial/poor-teenage-learning-levels-a-national-crisis/article67762298.ece. published Jan 21, 2024.

3. Frontlline News desk https://frontline.thehindu.com/news/bihar-schooling-crisis-survey-report/article67157898.ece. published Aug 04, 2023.

4. Kumar Ashwini. Current education reforms and policies in India for primary (elementary) school children.https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/current-education-reforms-policies-india-primary-elementary-kumar. Published Dec 16, 2022.

5. National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA: Teachers in Indian Education System.NRRPS/001/2016.

http://www.niepa.ac.in/download/Research/Teachers_in_the_Indian_Education_System.pdf