INTRODUCTORY
EDUCATION AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 1.1. The significance of education as a major determinant of socioeconomic development is well established. It is now universally recognised that only an educated population can bring economic development. As the National Policy on Education (NPE), 1986 (Para 2.3) puts it, "Education develops manpower for different levels of the economy. It is also the substrate on which research and development flourish, being the ultimate guarantee of national self-reliance. In sum, Education is a unique investment in the present and the future." Therefore, the expenditure on education should be looked upon as an investments.
1.2 Human Resource Development is the very core of the development strategy envisaged in the Eighth Five Year Plan. Education has come to the forefront of the national agenda with the increasing realisation of its pivotal need for the country's future development and growth of the economy and that it is the major instrument for the material, physical and' spiritual development of the society and the individual.
EDUCATIONAL, PROGRESS SINCE INDEPENDENCE 1.3 The country has made considerable progress in the sphere of education over the past four decades. Substantial progress in literacy levels and in the spread of educational institutions has
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been attained as may be seen from Tables 1 and 2. According to the 1991 census, the literacy rate in the country (in the age-group 7 years and above) was 52.2 per cent. According to the 5th All India Educational Survey (1986), 94.45 per cent of the rural population has a primary school/section either within their own habitation or within a walking distance of one kilometre. A small fraction of population (1.49 per cent) is not served up to the distance of two kilometres. This position would have improved since 1986. The present position would be known when the results of the 6th survey become available. In addition to 5.58 lakh primary schools, 2.70 lakh non-formal education centres have been opened primarily in rural areas to cater to the needs of school dropouts, working children and girls who cannot attend the whole-day schools. In technical education, about 230 recognised institutions at the first degree level and more than 600 polytechnics at the diploma level have annual admission capacity of 45,000 and 88,000 students, respectively. Besides, about 150 institutions offer post-graduate and specialised research facilities with an annual capacity of 10,000 students. There has been substantial increase in the number of teachers at all levels (See Table 3).
1.4 The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in the Primary Stage (Classes I- V) increased from 42.6 per cent in 1950-51 to 105.7 per cent in 1992- 93 and in Upper Primary Stage (classes VI-VIII) from 12.7 per cent to 67.5 per cent as evident from Table 4. The proportion of children moving up from the Primary to Upper Primary Stage has also increased steadily - from 16.3 per cent in 1950-51 to about 34 per cent in 1991- 92.
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CURRENT PROBLEMS 1.5 While these achievements are impressive in themselves, there are wide regional and gander imbalances. The literacy rate among females is only 39.3 per cent (as against 64.1 per cent for males); it is only 44.2 per cent in rural areas (compared to 73.1 per cent in the urban areas) and it is significantly lower for the Scheduled Castes (37.4 per cent) and the Scheduled Tribes (29.6 per cent) population.
1.6 As with any educational indicator regional and gender disparities are conspicuous in regard to enrolment and retention. Girls' enrolment, of course, has grown at the primary stage from 5.4 million in 1950-51 to 42.4 million in 1991-92 and at the upper primary stage, from 0.5 million to 13 million during the same period. While the rate of growth of enrolment of girls has been higher than that of boys, the disparities still persist. in 1991-92 girls accounted for only 45.7 per cent of the enrolment at the primary stage and 37.73 per cent at the upper primary stage (See Table 5). Also the drop-out rates of girls at the primary as well, as the upper primary stage are higher than that of boys.
1.7 Regional disparities are conspicuous. High female literacy states, i.e., those with more than 50 per cent have by and large universalised primary enrolments among girls. Even in regard to upper primary enrolments Kerala, Goa, Pondicherry and, Lakshadweep fare very well. In States with medium female literacy rates (40-50 per cent), enrolment of girls appears to be satisfactory at the primary level but there is a steep fall at
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the upper primary level. The situation in low female literacy states (20-40 per cent) is cause of concern. These states have more than half of the country's population; just four of them (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) accounting for 40 per cent of the country's population.
1.8 Dropout rates, though declining over the years, are still significantly high, as may be seen from Tables 6, 7 and 8.
1.9 While efforts have been made to ensure some minimum levels of learning at primary stage, the overall quality of education has not been very satisfying. The reasons for this are internal inefficiency of the system and absence of minimum physical and infrastructural facilities in educational institutions. The first one is a management problem and the second a resource question.
MAJOR THRUST AREAS
EFA by 2000 AD 1.10 India hosted the Education for All (EFA) summit of nine high population countries in New Delhi on 16th December, 1993. The Delhi Declaration adopted at the end of this Summit reaffirmed the commitment of these countries to achieve EFA by the turn of the century. Achievement of EFA by 2000 AD is, thus, a major priority programme for India.
1.11 Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) and eradication- of illiteracy are basic objectives of education in the Eighth Plan. About 19 to 24 million children in the age group 6-14 years and about 100 million people in the age group 15-35 years (with over 60 per cent females in both cases) are
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estimated to constitute the target group in this context. The strategies adopted include a phased reduction in the ratio between primary and middle schools from the existing 4:1 to 2:1 adoption of a decentralised approach to curriculum development, quality improvement in the process of teaching and learning, emphasis on child-centred and activity-based approach, reducation of curricular load, and expanded coverage of the country through Total Literacy Campaigns.
Adult Literacy 1.12. In adult education, the momentum of the Total Literacy Campaigns (TLCs) would be further built up and the Hindi heart land would receive particular attention. So far, 246 TLC projects have been approved involving 272 districts (either fully or partially) in the States and Union Territories of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Delhi and Pondicherry. Currently, approximately 57 million learners in the 9-45 age-group are learning with the help of about 5.7 million volunteers. They are in different stages of learning but it is estimated that. about 38.67 million of them have already acquired the threshold level of literacy and numeracy. Post Literacy and. Continuing Education activities are being launched even as TLCs make significant progress in an area. The objective is to cover 345 districts during the Eighth Plan and make 100 million people functionally literate. Over the last few years the efficacy of
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TLCs was demonstrated in states with different endowments; with the emergence of TLCs it is now increasingly being perceived that universal adult literacy is no longer a hopeless dream but an achievable task.
Primary Education 1.13. In the area of primary education, the major initiative would be implementation of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP). The Programme of Action (POA), 1992 and the Eighth Five Year Plan enunciate disaggregated target setting and decentralised planning as the main strategy for achieving UEE. The Social Safety Net (SSN) Credit offered by IDA was used to conceptualise this strategy through DPEP. The DPEP had elicited keen interest of the external donor agencies. The DPEP seeks to channelise the keen interest evinced by international agencies to support basic education in a way consistent with national capacity building. The cost for civil works component would be limited to 24% and management cost to 6% of the total project investments. In other words, bulk of the investments (about 70%) would go to improve the quality of teaching and learning processes and enhancing school effectiveness. The DPEP moves away from the earlier schematic, piecemeal approach and takes a holistic view of elementary education, emphasises decentralised management, community mobilisation and undertakes district and population specific planning. The programme also builds upon experience gained from the Bihar Education Project (BEP), Lok Jumbish Project (LJP) in Rajasthan and the planning of Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Project.
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1.14. The special features of DPEP are :
i) Local area planning with district as the unit
ii) Focussed targetting to improve access and retention
iii) Stress on education for girls and socially disadvantaged groups
iv) Emphasis on qualitative improvement in schools to ensure minimum standards of learning
v) Development of creative alternative to formal schooling so as to cater to the learning needs of out-of-school children
vi) Sustaining a genuine community involvement in primary education
vii) Building local and state level capacities to sustain planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation
viii) Building a network of education, management and social science research Organisation at the national and state levels with a view to supporting the programme with professional input.
1.15. The programme targets on the educationally backward districts with female literacy below the national average as well as districts where TLCs have been successful leading to enhanced demand for elementary education. The DPEP will eventually cover all States and districts in a phased manner. To begin with, seven states which are not already covered by externally aided basic education projects are being take up under the programme. In the first year, 42 districts in Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala are being covered under the DPEP. During the Eighth Five Year Plan, the
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DPEP would be extended to 110 districts.
1.16. While the quantum of funding would vary with reference to the specific needs of the individual districts', the level of investment per district is expected to be between Rs.30 crore to 40 crore over a 5 to 7 year period. The participating state Governments would provide about 15% of the total project outlay while Government of India (GOI) would meet about 85% to be received from external funding. The World Bank has already appraised 23 district proposals spread over the States of Assam, Haryana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala with a baseline cost of Rs.847.1 crore and total project cost (including physical contingencies) of Rs.1206.4 crore. IDA has indicated interest in financing further two to three credits to DPEP over the next few years. Appraisal of the 19 district proposals for Madhya Pradesh has already been completed by a GOI-EC (European Commission) Mission. A financing agreement with EC has also been signed whereby the EC has pledged assistance to the programme amounting to ECUs 150 m (equivalent to Rs.585 crore) spread over four years (1993-94 to 1996-97). Planning for DPEP in five districts each of Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal, with ODA assistance, is scheduled to commence in August, 1994.
1.17. The DPEP would be implemented in a mission mode through a registered state level autonomous society. The need for a registered society is rooted in the experience gained from the Bihar Education Project and the U.P. Basic Education Project and the belief that existing administrative structures have shown an inadequacy to implement specific time-bound educational programmes. Furthermore, a society provides an appropriate forum
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to foster a meaningful partnership between the government machinery, voluntary agencies, teachers unions, and parent-guardian groups who can help and guide the implementation of the programme. It also helps to forge linkages between the national resource institutions like NIEPA and NCERT ensuring professional rigour and inputs into the programme. In essence, the DPEP seeks to bring about a qualitative transformation in primary education scene the way TLCs have done in adult literacy. The Cabinet approval for the scheme has been obtained and Rs.50 lakh released to each of the State societies during 1593-94.
Resources 1.18 Adequate financial resources are a critical requirement for the accelerated development of various educational programmes. The resource allocation has increased from Rs.155 crore in the First Five Year Plan to Rs.19,599.70 crore in the Eighth Five Year Plan. Expenditure on Education as percentage of GNP has increased from 1.2 in 1950-51 to 3.7 in 1990-91.Per capita expenditure has increased from RS.3.20 in 1950-51 to Rs.217.15 (at current prices) in the year 1991- 92. But, education has not been getting the resources it required.
1.19 Allocation of six per cent of GNP for education has been accepted as a goal in the NPE. This six per cent norm was worked out by the Education Commission (1964-66) on the basis that "if education is to develop adequately, educational expenditure in the next twenty years should rise from Rs.12 per capita in 1965-66 to Rs.54 in 1985-86 (at constant prices)." The following considerations would have influenced the Education commission in
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fixing the six per cent norm:
i) Education was regarded as a direct causative factor of economic growth, though after a time lag. Growth was identified with industrialisation. There is a deep and symbiotic relationship between education and national posperity. There is a close interaction and interlocking between the level of education and level of industrialisation.
ii) Economically advanced countries, in particular Japan, USA and USSR were seen to spend considerably more than six per cent of their GNP on education.
iii) It was expected that these countries would be investing in education ten per cent of GNP or even mote by 1986. It was necessary to narrow "education distance" between India and these advanced countries.
iv) In early stages of educational development, rate of growth of educational expenditure ought to be approximately twice the rate of growth of national income.
V) In view of the above, the Commission while assuming a medium rate of growth of national income (6% instead of 5% or 7%) and a medium rate of growth of population (2.1% per year instead of 1.5% or 2.5%) assumed a high rate of growth of 10% for educational expenditure and a high proportion (6% instead of 4% or 5%) of national income devoted to education.
vi) The Commission might also have been influenced by the base rate of 2.9% or 3% which, the Commission was
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convinced needed to be doubled in a twenty year period. The considerations which influenced the Education Commission 1964-66 are valid even now as the country still lags behind other countries in education.
1.20 The Prime Minister, while addressing the EFA 9 Summit in December 1993, declared the resolve of the Government to achieve the norm of allocation of six per cent of GDP for education during the Ninth Five Year Plan. This commitment was re-stated by him in the Conference of Chief Ministers held in New Delhi on 15th February, 1994 as a followup of the EFA 9 Summit. The Finance commission may now keep this national commitment in view while deciding resource allocation for different sectors.
Cost-effective Utilization of Resources 1.21 Alongwith higher allocation of resources, stress is laid on cost- effective utilization of resources. Programme of Action (POA) , 1992 prepared in pursuance of the National Policy on Education (NPE) , 1986 makes a strong plea that an ethos of cost effectiveness and accountability permeate every part of the education system. The POA (Introduction) says, "To say the least, unplanned proliferation of sub-standard institutions should stop here and now; programmes should cease to be driven by budgets and instead should stress processes and outcomes; efficiency should, be rated not by the ability to consume budget and demand more but by performance and delivery. All this calls for extra-ordinary attention to the management of education."
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Decentralisation of Management of Education and Community
Participation 1.22 The new stress on management of education is meant to address these deficiencies. In the ultimate analysis, resources and management would determine the success of educational development. As a major step to this, decentralization of management of education to the district, block and village levels has been proposed in the light of the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments. Immediately after the enactment of these amendment bills, a CABE (Central Advisory Board of Education) Committee on Decentralised Management of Education was set up under the chairmanship of Shri M. Veerappa Moily, Chief Minister, Karnataka, to consider the whole question of decentralisation of educational management. The report strikes a balance between decentralisation of administration and maintenance of academic standards. It provides a great deal of flexibility to the state to harmonise the recommendations with their situational imperatives. The report of the committee has since been endorsed by the CABE as well as the Conference of Chief Ministers held on 15th February, 1994 and commended to the states. The Department sets great store in the implementation of the report as it is only through devolution to local communities, of powers and responsibilities that the goals of UEE are achieved. Equality, as well internal efficiency of the primary education system, would be fostered by decentralisation. These measures would ensure closer monitoring of the performance of educational functionaries. At the same time, it would also generate pressure on upgradation of existing educational