GROWTH OF ENROLMENT AND EXPENDITURE ON EDUCATION
Bearing in mind the importance of education, the Government of India issued a comprehensive Policy on Education in 1986, addressing the shortcomings of the National Policy on Education of 1968. "The concept of a national system of education implies that, up to a given level, all students, irrespective of caste, creed, location or sex, have access to education of a comparable quality." The National Policy on Education of 1986 laid special emphasis on removing disparities and equalizing educational opportunity by attending to the specific needs of those denied equality so far. Guidelines were included in the 1986 National Policy on Education on education of women, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, other educationally backward sections and areas, minorities, handicapped and on adult education.
We focus here on primary education enrolment. Between 1950-51 and 1990-91 the number of primary schools increased by more than 165 per cent, from 210,000 to about 560,000. There is, however, a sizable number of villages which even today lack a primary school. In existing primary schools, the number of teachers is generally insufficient. For example, about one-third of schools in rural areas have only one teacher. The National Policy on Education of 1986 enunciated the principal that in such schools at least one more teacher should be recruited. The Policy further stressed that at least one teacher in such schools should be a woman from the local area, the idea being that a local woman teacher would be especially effective in persuading parents to send their children to school. In urban areas the schools tend to be overcrowded with unsatisfactory buildings, furniture and equipment.
Growth of Enrolment in Classes I-V Earlier, in Table 9, we examined enrolment ratios in Classes I-V at the all-India level. The enrolment ratios sometimes exceeded 100 per cent and were difficult to interpret. Similar tables for States and Union Territories have been published by the Department of Education of the Government of India, but they show en-
44 Literacy Trends in the 1980s in India
rolment ratios as high as 172 per cent (for Lakshadweep in 1980-81), which are even more difficult to interpret than the national-level data. Moreover, in some cases the trend in enrolment ratios is downward, though still over 100 per cent. For example, in Goa the enrolment ratio declined from 122.1 to 102.9 per cent between 1980-81 and 1990-91 (Ministry of Human Resource Development, 1982, 1992). Because of the difficulty of interpreting these levels and trends, we have not included these tables in the present study.
Average annual compound growth rates of enrolment in Classes I-V between 1978-79 and 1988-89 by sex for States and Union Territories are, however, presented in Table 22. For India as a whole, enrolment in Classes I-V grew at an annual rate of 3.34 per cent for both sexes combined, 2.99 per cent for boys and 3.88 per cent for girls. The enrolment for boys grew fastest in Assam, at an annual rate of 7.67 per cent, and slowest in Punjab, at an annual rate of 0.03 per cent. States and Union Territories in which enrolment for boys grew slower than an annual rate of 1.00 per cent were Punjab, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Nagaland, Kerala and Goa. The enrolment for girls grew fastest in Arunachal Pradesh, at an annual rate of 10.39 per cent, and slowest in Kerala, at an annual rate of 0.30 per cent. States and Union Territories in which enrolment for girls grew slower than an annual rate of 2.00 per cent were Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Goa, Punjab and Kerala.
Dropout rates for Classes I-V by sex for States and Union Territories for 1987-88 are shown in Table 23.Fro India as a whole, girls. These rates were calculated by dividing the number enrolled at the start of Class V in 1987-88 by the number enrolled at the start of Class I four years earlier, in 1983-84
Dropout rates varied tremendously among the States and Union Territories. For boys the dropout rate ranged from-1.0 per cent (i.e, an increase of 1 per cent) in Kerala, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry to 71.4 per cent in Manipur. Goa and Daman & Diu each had Dropout rates greater than 60 per cent were Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim. For girls the dropout rate ranged from 1-.0 per cent in Kerala to 72.0 per cent in Manipur. States and Union Territories with dropout rates greater than 60 per cent
Growth of enrolment and Expenditure on Education 45
were Bihar, West Bengal and Rajasthan. The dropout rate was higher for boys than for girls in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Orissa, Sikkim, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.
Table 22: Annual compound growth rate (per cent) of enrolment In Classes
I-V between 1978-79 and 1988-89 by sex for States and
Union Territories
India/State/Union Territory Both sexes Boys Girls
1 2 3 4
INDIA 3.34 2.99 3.88
States
1. Andhra Pradesh 3.90 3.68 4.21
2. Arunachal Pradesh 7.66 6.11 10.39
3. Assam 6.20 7.67 3.82
4. Bihar 2.54 2.00 3.76
5. Goa 0.58 0.17 1.06
6. Gujarat 2.89 2.48 3.48
7. Haryana 3.33 1.63 6.18
8. Himachal Pradesh 2.97 2.06 4.15
9. Jammu & Kashmir 4.55 3.96 5.55
10. Karnataka 2.85 2.47 3.33
11. Kerala 0.24 0.18 0.30
12. Madhya Pradesh 5.70 4.67 7.63
13. Maharashtra 2.31 1.85 2.91
14. Manipur 2.99 2.66 3.39
15. Meghalaya 2.25 1.98 2.54
16. Mizoram 5.27 5.36 5.18
17. Nagaland 1.85 0.77 3.14
18. Orissa 2.98 2.90 3.12
19. Punjab 0.20 0.03 0.48
20. Rajasthan 5.68 5.00 7.60
21. Sikkim 5.29 4.06 7.01
22. Tamil Nadu 2.15 1.93 2.42
23. Tripura 5.87 5.32 6.62
24. Uttar Pradesh 3.45 2.77 4.86
25. West Bengal 4.85 4.72 5.02
Union Territories
1. A & N Islands 4.51 4.15 4.95
2. Chandigarh 4.46 4.47 4.46
3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 1.20 0.79 1.85
4. Daman & Diu Included in Goa.
5. Delhi 3.61 3.40 3.86
6. Lakshadweep 1.98 1.51 2.54
7. Pondicherry 2.64 2.18 3.18
*Includes Daman & Diu.
46 Literacy Trends in the 1980s in India
Table 23: School dropout rate In Classes I-V by sex for States and Union
Territories, 1987-88
India/State/Union Territory Boys Girls
1 2 3
INDIA 43.3 49.4
States
1. Andhra Pradesh 52.4 58.5
2. Arunachal Pradesh 58.8 58.4
3. Assam 51.6 59.5
4. Bihar 63.9 68.9
5. Goa 2.2 8.8
6. Gujarat 38.1 46.9
7. Haryana 24.4 31.6
8. Himachal Pradesh 28.1 29.3
9. Jammu & Kashmir 28.1 41.5
10. Karnataka 43.3 57.4
11. Kerala -1.0 -1.0
12. Madhya Pradesh 36.6 48.0
13. Maharashtra 34.7 45.7
14. Manipur 71.4 72.0
15. Meghalaya 31.4 33.4
16. Mizoram 37.3 38.7
17. Nagaland 37.2 33.4
18. Orissa 40.1 37.3
19. Punjab 36.8 37.8
20. Rajasthan 53.1 60.8
21. Sikkim 60.2 58.5
22. Tamil Nadu 19.4 24.5
23. Tripura 59.1 58.0
24. Uttar Pradesh 47.8 47.2
25. West Bengal 62.4 65.8
Union Territories
1. Andaman & Nicobar Islands 18.6 22.7
2. Chandigarh -1.0 24.4
3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 29.4 45.6
4. Daman & Diu 2.2 8.8
5. Delhi 14.4 25.4
6. Lakshadweep -1.0 11.4
7. Pondicherry -1.0 0.8
Note: See text for methodology for calculating dropout rates.
Expenditure on Education
Table 24 shows budgeted expenditure on education for States and Union Territories for 1980-81 and 1989-90. Per capita expen-
Growth of Enrolment and Expenditure on Education 47
diture for 1989-90 has been adjusted for inflation between 1980-81 and 1989-90. The price deflator (derived from World Bank, 1991, p. 313) is 1.974315; current 1989-90 per capita expenditure was
Table 24: Budgeted expenditure (Revenue Account) on Education
(Education and other Departments) - 1980-81 and 1989-90
India/State/ Per Capita Budgeted Percentage of Budgeted
Union Territory Expenditure (Rs.) Expenditure on Education
to total Budget(Revenue)
1980-81 1989-90 1980-81 1989-90
1 2 3 4 5
INDIA 49.9 146.0 24.5 19.9
States
1. Andhra Pradesh 47.0 152.4 25.2 20.7
2. Arunachal Pradesh 109.1 438.0 10.9 15.4
3. Assam 43.7 148.1 27.8 20.4
4. Bihar 30.4 96.6 29.4 21.8
5. Goa* 121.5 383.3 28.7 42.4
6. Gujarat 59.7 181.5 23.2 20.9
7. Haryana 56.5 163.5 19.9 16.3
8. Himachal Pradesh 97.1 236.6 25.5 19.7
9. Jammu & Kashmir 77.5 191.5 18.9 14.4
10. Karnataka 53.1 172.9 21.9 21.7
11. Kerala 83.6 193.1 39.5 25.3
12. Madhya Pradesh 32.6 99.2 18.4 17.0
13. Maharashtra 65.6 173.4 22.1 18.2
14. Manipur 120.5 318.2 22.9 21.4
15. Meghalaya 76.2 316.8 17.9 19.4
16. Mizoram 155.1 466.4 14.5 13.8
17. Nagaland 160.2 375.2 14.9 13.4
18. Orissa 42.0 138.6 21.5 21.4
19. Punjab 74.2 227.5 25.6 21.8
20. Rajasthan 44.1 135.5 22.5 22.7
21. Sikkim 100.0 480.2 11.9 18.3
22. Tamil Nadu 54.2 157.5 28.2 21.2
23. Tripura 76.7 371.0 19.2 22.1
24. Uttar Pradesh 76.5 97.4 26.0 15.1
25. West Bengal 52.7 158.0 25.9 26.0
Union Territories
1. A & N Islands 231.9 495.2 14.2 11.4
2. Chandigarh 174.0 439.5 26.4 21.8
3. Dadra & Nagar Haveli 79.8 197.2 27.2 10.1
4. Daman & Diu Included in Goa
5. Delhi 104.8 257.7 37.6 27.4
6. Lakshadweep 330.0 837.3 17.5 13.3
7. Pondicherry 116.9 377.2 22.1 19.2
*Includes Daman & Diu.
48 Literacy Trends in the 1980s in India
divided by this factor to yield price-adjusted 1989-90 per capita expenditure expressed in 1980 prices.
At the national level, the price-adjusted per capita expenditure on education increased from 49.9 rupees to 73.9 rupees between 1980-81 and 1989-90. However, because total government expenditure increased proportionally more than government expenditure on education, the percentage of government expenditure devoted to education actually declined between 1980-81 and 1989-90, from 24.5 to 19.9.
As in the case of other statistics relating to literacy, govern- ment expenditure on education varied greatly by State and Union Territory. Price-adjusted per capita expenditure in 1989-90 varied from 48.9 in Bihar to 424.1 in Lakshadweep. States below the India average of 73.9 rupees were Orissa, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. States and Union Territories with per capita expenditure above 200 rupees were Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Mizoram, Chandigarh and Arunachal Pradesh. Uttar Pradesh was the only State in which the price-adjusted per capita expenditure actually declined, from 76.5 to 49.3 rupees. In percentage terms, Tripura had the largest increase in per capita expenditure, from 76.7 to 187.9 rupees. In Tripura, Sikkim, Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, the price-adjusted per capita expenditure on education more than doubled between 1980-81 and 1989-90.
In 1989-90 the percentage of total government expenditure devoted to education ranged from 10.1 in Dadra & Nagar Haveli to 42.4 in Goa. States and Union Territories with percentages below 15 were Mizoram, Nagaland, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar Islands and Dadra & Nagar Haveli. States and Union Territories with percentages above 25 were Goa, Delhi, West Bengal and Kerala. States and Union Territories in which the percentage of total government expenditure devoted to education increased were Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura and West Bengal. In all other States and Union Territories, the percentage spent on education declined.