- Pre-schools/nursery schools should be attached to the existing elementary schools so that the pre-school children will not be isolated at an early age.
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II. Universal Enrolment & Retention
Assam - Vigorous propaganda campaign needs to be immediately undertaken in rural and backward areas in order to intensify enrolment drive for all children attaining school-going age and to bring the dropouts back to school.
- Curriculum renewal, use of attractive teaching aids including the mass-media, provision of ancillary services including mid-day meals, improvement of Physical facilities of schools, upgrading of all single-teacher schools into at least two-teacher schools, adjustment of school hours with the convenience or children and their parents, and tagging on pre-primary section of 2 years duration in all Primary schools etc. have been considered as major ingredients for strengthening elementary education and the programme of universalization.
Bihar - Policy of `Inducement if possible and coercion, if necessary' for improved attendance in all elementary schools. Apart from legislation for purpose of coercion financial inducements in the terms of financial support to guardians below poverty line be provided for releasing their wards for schooling.
- Mid-day meals for improved attendance
- Multi-point entry into the system be permitted to draw the drop-outs back.
Gujarat - The committee also feels that if a no detention policy is adopted in the elementary school system, the problem of stagnation and retention may also become less in course of time. The Gujarat State has already a system of un-graded system for Classes I and II.
(i) Provision of adequate number of teachers so that each standard has one teacher;
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(ii) Qualitative and more attractive production of school textbooks including, Teachers' hand books and Students, work- books'
(iii) Intelligent use of mass-media including T.V. aided teaching programmes;
(iv) Adequate remedial coaching for weaker sections;
(v) Mid-day meal programme (Besides providing economic support, provision of mid-day meal has proved to be successful in combating the retention problem. Apart from contribution of nutrition, in has been discovered that mid-day meal has also added to up-holding of certain values of community living).
Haryana - Provision of free supply of uniform, text books, stationary, attendance scholarships and payment of opportunity cost, compensation to parents of SC/ST and lower income groups.
Himachal Pradesh - Possibility of enactment of a law to make elementary education compulsory may be examined.
- Those, industries which are employing child labour should by law be compelled to provide for the education of those children.
- Children of lower income groups should be provided with uniforms mid-day meals and other such facilities so that the parents do not consider their studies as a burden on themselves.
- For girls who are kept away from the school for looking after their younger brothers and sisters and for helping in daily house-hold chores, apart, from providing the above help, there should be provision for Anganbaries and Halwaries, so that they can also look after the young siblings and also attend the school.
- Where children are, engaged in cattle grazing they should be enabled to enter the school by employing cattle tenders. The Panchayats should be able to mobilise local resources for this.
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- Planning for universalisation should be done on the basis of survival rate and not the enrolment rate. The State should be divide into different regions and teachers should be sensitized and deployed as per the needs of each region. The Programme should be evaluate from time to time.
Jammu & Kashmir The group, therefore, feels that the legislation to make education free and compulsory at the Elementary Stage be enforced with immediate effect.
Madhya Pradesh - Emphasis to retention and attainment policy of no detention proposed to be extended upto Class IV.
- Further expansion of ongoing incentive programmes to provide greater coverage. Programmes of distribution of free, text books and uniforms to cover all children of poorer sections.
- Mid-day meals for all elementary school children. Management of this programme not to be entrusted to teacher and separate infrastructural facilities be provided for its implementation.
- Girls and tribals (especially : the tribal girls) are particularly lagging behind in respect of enrolment at the elementary stage. Special efforts will, therefore, be needed to bridge these gaps. Attachment of nursery classes with creche facilities for small siblings will go a long way in ensuring greater enrolment and retention of girls.
- Such facilities should specially be provided at the sites of large projects where mothers have to work and girls have to take care of their sibilings. Provision of proper toilet facilities for girls will also be necessary.
- Incentives programmes for tribal children should be further expanded and efforts should be made to compensate each family atleast partially for the loss of income due to children's education.
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Meghalaya - Emphasis to be shifted from enrolment to retention and achievement
- To arrest the huge drop-out rate at the primary level the following suggestions are recommended :
- Provision of Mid-say Meals should be continued and strengthened and given for a management to organisation like the Social Welfare Deptt.
- Attendance Scholarship for the Students should be introduced. Free Text looks free Uniforms should be provided.
- Retention alurement like play materials should be provided at each primary school.
- Pre-Primary Schools should be attached to Primary schools to ensure the regular attendance of elder brothers and sisters who may other-wise be unable to attend schools as they have to look after their small brothers and sisters.
- Adult Education should continue to motivate the elders for the need of Education.
- School timings should suit the local conditions. The schools has should nor be lese than four hours a day.
- Non-formal education should be continued to cater to the needs of the drop-outs.
- Parents-teachers association should be formed to enable the teachers to motivate the parents more effectively.
- Village education committee, may be formed to obtain community participation for educational expansion and retension.
- In order to Prevent the children from dropping, out due to financial/economic reasons, they should also be trained in productive activities of the `earn while you learn' type.
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Nagaland - Part time education and evening/night class may be arranged as part of the non-formal system.
- Providing incentives and amenities;
- Ensuring community participation;
Orissa - It has generally been felt that performance of first generation learners is qualitatively poor because of lack of learning environment at home. Supplementary classes for them should be arranged along with other weak students in the schools.
- Considerably more emphasis has to be given to programmes aimed at reducing drop outs so that the need for continuance of the non- formal system as a special system to cater to the needs of the drop outs is progressively reduced and economies effected in due course. One of the important factors which has encouraged non- attendance of children and has given rise to high rate of drop outs is the fact that having regard to the economic backwardness of areas where the enrolment ratio is low, the children are often required to participate in the, income-earning activities of the family or to attend to household cohores with a view to permitting the mothers to particiapate in such economic activities. With a view to facilitating attendance of such children in schools, it would be desirable to provide for flexible hours and timing of vacations so that such children may attend school after their other works and attending school does not prevent their pursuit of other unaviodable engagement. There might still be situations where incentives might have to be provided to motivate the parents to send their children to school. Such incentives may be in the form of supply of free test books supply of free unit forms, provision of meals etc. it should, however, be recognised that these incentives can at best tackle economic backwardness but not social backwardness, cultural backwardness and psychological inhibitions to deal with which a separate strategy would be necessary. It should also be rioted that, financial incentives way help in achieving quantitative increase but will not help in raising the quality of performance of these groups. Separate measures would be necessary for improving the quality of their performance.
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- It is suggested that existing primary schools in such areas should be converted into residential schools in a phased manner by creating hostel facilities and by providing residential accommodation for teachers. Such a step would attract more tribal children and would provide considerable incentive to such children to continue their education. It would be relevant to mention in this context that the State Government has set tip a number of residential schools/low cost hostels in tribal areas and the results of this scheme have been gratifying. It has significantly improved enrolment and retention of tribal children special incentives like mid day meals should be given to tribal children and central assistance given in the form of subsidized rice and wheat.
- Even though it is not proposed to have a regular guidance unit in elementary school the teachers in general should have adequate training in handling personal and academic problems of children with a view to preventing the cumulative effects of backwardness and ensuring normal academic and personal development of children.
- School health programme including immunisation programme and maintenance of health cards should be introduced from the elementary stage.
Rajasthan - Shift emphasis from enrolment to attendance
- Seek active involvement of local community
- Suitable incentives for retention :
- Free books & stationery
- Uniforms
- Mid-day meals & financial incentives
- Special attendance scholarships for girls in rural areas as per the following pattern :
Class-I- Rs. 50/-; Class-II- Rs. 60/-
Class-III- Rs. 70/-; Class-IV - Rs. 80/-;
Class-V - Rs. 100/-.
- More women teachers to attract girls special emphasis on education of illiterate mothers.
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Grant of awards on the basis of retention and attention
Spread awareness among masses especially in remote areas through mass media
School environment to be made attractive. Minimum level of facilities like black boards drinking water, chalks, maps, tat patties etc. Grant of special development funds to the area on the pattern of family welfare programme.
Uttar Pradesh - It was expressed by all groups that the legal provision for compulsory elementary education be strictly enforced and child labour banned forthwith.
- All groups felt that mid-day meals should be given to all children in the age group 6-14 and that there should be a liberal provision of free uniforms, free text-books and attendance scholarship for children of weaker section, especially girls, SC and ST.
- It was felt that the basic problem of UEE was enrolment and retention of girls. Therefore, special effort should be made for bringing girls into schools. It was time and again pointed out that more women teachers should be employed in primary schools and to open separate girls junior high school. Alternately women teachers to be included on the stall of mixed junior high schools.
- The existing norms for opening of primary and middle school do not differentiate between male and female children. It was observed that it is not always possible for girl children to travel unescorted in certain areas. The group therefore propose that wherever necessary, an effort should be made to provide some transort or escort for girls to attend junior high schools. Alternately, girls could be provided with residential school in areas where the population was scattered and schools were not within easy reach.
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Arunachal Pradesh - All the children of age group to 14 should get education upto class VIII by 1990 and the date achieving the target should not be postponed.
- The village/town where the school is located is to be surveyed, beneficiaries identified and enrolled.
Delhi - Parents should be given motivation and incentive in the form of cash award for sending their children.
Pondicherry - To attract child workers and the over-aged children part-time classes and evening/night classes may be arranged as a part of compensation to poor parents for sending their children to schools may be considered.
- Some attempts should be made to motivate parents to send children to school and to retail them there. The assistance of the mass media, village panchayats/municipalities and the formal school system itself should be enlisted in this matter.