SCHOOL BUILDINGS
1. The question of school buildings has to be examined in the light of the policies followed in this regard in the past. The Second Five- Year Plan, made the following policy statement regarding school buildings for the elementary stage*.
As regards school buildings, it is inevitable that at the present stage austere standards should be adopted. Much of the work may be done out of doors, while the minimum covered accommodation needed is provided by the local community with some assistance from public authorities. Experiments in cheap designs for schools need to be carried out. The starting of a school in a village need not be contingent on certain prescribed standards being observed. A school should be started under whatever arrangements are immediately possible in a locality, and common buildings like village temples and 'panchayat ghars' could also be used. Once a school is actually functioning, the provision of a building can be taken in hand as soon as circumstances are favourable and local contributions are forthcoming.
2. It is understandable that in the present conditions of financial stringency, when educational facilities have been expanding very rapidly, school buildings have not been treated as an item of high priority. In spite of the desirability of obtaining data on various aspects of school buildings, very limited data could be collected in a census operation like this. Information has been collected regarding the following items:
(i) Number of class-rooms in primary sections;
(ii) Area of class-rooms and average size of classrooms for primary sections;
(iii) Average area per pupil at the primary stage;
(iv) Ownership of school buildings;
(v) Schools running in shifts;
(vi) Schools sharing buildings between themselves;
(vii) Playground facilities for primary sections in rural areas;
(viii) Hostel facilities for secondary sections in rural areas.
Class-rooms for primary sections 3. It must be made very clear at the outset that the information given here is for the 'rooms used for instruction' and not the total space used for this purpose. It is possible that there are a number of schools which according to our definition are without class-rooms and that the area of class-rooms available, therefore, is nil. There will also be many instances where class-rooms are inadequate and improvised arrangements have been made to supplement the available class-room space in order to accommodate additional pupils. The average space per pupil has been calculated by dividing the total class-room space available by the total number of pupils in a State or Union Territory.
4. Some data regarding class-rooms have also been collected under the First Survey. The report of the Survey does not indicate the criteria for class-rooms used in the collection of data. No attempt has, therefore, been made to compare the present data regarding classrooms with that of the First Survey.
5. For primary sections, 9,08,929 class-rooms are available, 7,08,282 in rural areas and 2,00,647 in urban areas. The class-rooms for primary sections in rural areas constitute 77.92 per cent of the total number of classrooms for primary sections in the country. The area of these class-rooms in the rural areas is 77.68 per cent of the total area of the class-rooms for primary sections in the country. The primary sections in rural areas constitute 90.20 per cent of the total number of primary sections and the enrolment in these sections is 78.61 per cent of the total enrolment at the primary stage (Tables 13 to 15).
6. The average area of a primary class-room in the country is 291 square feet. The corresponding averages for rural and urban areas are 290 square feet and 294 square feet respectively. Thus there is not much difference in the average size of class-rooms in the rural and urban areas. Among the States, the average is the highest in Gujarat (355 square feet) and lowest in Rajasthan (223 square feet). The data also show that on an average the class-rooms for primary sections are of
* Second Five-Year Plan, government of India, Planning Commission, 1956, page 505.
90 SECOND ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
relatively small size in most of the States and Union Territories.
Average area per pupil in Primary Sections 7. The average area per pupil in primary sections in rural as well as in urban areas is 6 square feet (Tables 13-15). This average has been calculated by dividing the total 'class-room' area by the total enrolment. Though the averages for rural and urban areas do not differ, they need not reflect identical situations. It is possible that the average area per pupil in rural areas is low because the total class-room space available is relatively less, and a number of pupils are studying in the open air or in verandahs, etc., which have not been included in the class-room space. As regards urban areas, the low average may be accounted for by the fact that the classrooms are over crowded. These are tentative hypotheses put forth on the basis of general impressions. It will be useful to follow them up with a study to find out the reasons for the inadequacy or small space available per child in different cases.
8. In the rural areas in the States, the highest average per pupil is 8 sq. ft. in Assam and Jammu & Kashmir and the lowest is 3 sq. ft. in Uttar Pradesh. In the urban areas in the States, the highest average per pupil is 7 sq. ft. in Assam, Gujarat, Kerala, Madras and Orissa and the lowest is 4 sq. ft. in Andhra Pradesh.
Schools running in Shifts 9. A school is taken to be running in shifts if either some classes are working in the morning and some in the evening or when there are two parallel sets of classes working in two shifts. In case two schools with different names are using the same premises at different times, the schools are not considered to be running in shifts. This information has been tabulated for the schools and not for sections separately. It was not considered appropriate to collect the information for sections because in the case of PM schools where primary classes meet in the morning and middle classes in the evening, the school is running in shifts but P and M sections are meeting separately in one shift each.
10. Among the P schools in rural areas, 18,077 schools, i.e. 5.09 per cent are running in shifts. The percentages of M and S schools running in shifts in rural areas are extremely low. In the case of PM schools 2,652 out of 52,213, i.e. 5.08 per cent are running in shifts. As regards MS and PMS schools running in shifts in rural areas, their numbers are relatively small.
11. In the urban areas, 4,022 P schools out of 31,900, i.e. 12.61 per cent are running in shifts. In the case of PM schools, the number is 2,068 out of 9,668, i.e. 21.39 per cent. The percentages are also high for MS and PMS schools, i.e. 19.99 per cent and 11.97 per cent of the schools respectively are running in shifts. It thus appears that a fairly good proportion of schools in urban areas are running in shifts (Tables 218-219).
Schools using shared buildings 12. Besides the phenomenon of schools running in shifts, there is the other phenomenon of schools sharing buildings between themselves. The percentages of schools using shared buildings in rural areas are very low, but in the urban areas they are fairly high. In the urban areas, 11.28 per cent of the schools are sharing buildings between themselves (Tables 218-219).
Ownership of School Buildings 13. A school which is partly accommodated in its own building and partly in a rented building is considered to have two buildings. A school running in the open air is taken to be without a building of any type. Therefore, the total number of buildings is not likely to tally with the total number of sections at a particular stage.
Ownership of buildings of Primary Sections in Rural Areas 14. The total number of primary sections in rural areas is 4,11,047 and the total number of school buildings for primary sections is 3,86,851. The number of buildings for primary sections is less than the number of primary sections in the rural areas. Assuming that in the rural areas the number of primary sections with more than one building each is not significant, then about 24,196 primary sections are without buildings. They are either open air schools, or they are in structures (e.g. tents, etc.) which have not been considered as buildings by the respondents.
15. In rural areas 66.97 per cent of the buildings of primary sections belong to school managements, 7.26 per cent are hired and 25.77 per cent are available to schools on a rent-free basis. The fact that about one-fourth of the buildings for primary sections in rural areas are available on a rent-free basis indicates that the contribution of the community in this regard has been substantial.
16. Of the buildings occupied by government primary sections in rural areas, 64.65 per cent are owned by the government. Similarly, of the buildings occupied by primary sections under local bodies in rural areas, 67.53 per cent are owned by local bodies. The corresponding percentages for private aided and private unaided institutions are 67.12 and 70.37 respectively. Thus, the proportions of buildings owned by the different managements are more or less uniform in the rural areas.
SCHOOL BUILDINGS 91
STATEMENT 70
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTIONS OF PRIMARY SECTIONS ACCORDING TO THE OWNERSHIP OF SCHOOL
BUILDINGS UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS
Ownership of buildings
Management Owned Rented Not owned but rent free Total
Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Government 64.65 47.48 7.23 37.66 28.11 14.86 100.00 100.00
Local body 67.53 51.73 8.38 39.98 24.09 8.29 100.00 100.00
Private aided 67.12 53.91 2.71 34.11 30.17 11.98 100.00 100.00
Private unaided 70.37 39.49 1.96 49.25 27.67 11.26 100.00 100.00
All managements 66.97 50.89 7.26 38.36 25.77 10.75 100.00 100.00
Ownership of buildings of Primary Sections in Urban Areas 17. The number of primary sections in urban areas is 44,634 and the number of buildings for primary sections is 43,713. In urban areas also the number of school buildings for primary sections is less than the number of primary sections. It is possible that this is on account of the fact that some primary sections run in tents, in the open air or in structures which have not been considered as buildings by the respondents. The exact number of primary sections without buildings is not known. Assuming that the number of primary sections with more than one building is not large, the number of primary sections without buildings in urban areas is estimated as about 1,000. In the urban areas, 50.89 per cent of the buildings of primary sections are owned by the school managements, 38.36 per cent are rented and 10.75 per cent are not owned by the school managements, but are available to them on a rent-free basis. The extent of community participation in the matter of school buildings in urban areas is much less than that in rural areas. 18. Of the buildings occupied by government primary sections in urban areas, 47.48 per cent are owned by the government. Similarly of the buildings occupied by primary sections under local bodies in urban areas, 51.73 per cent are owned by local bodies. The corresponding percentages for private aided and private unaided institutions are 53.91 and 39.49 respectively.
19. Compared to 7.26 per cent of rented buildings for primary sections in rural areas, 38.36 per cent of the buildings in the urban areas are rented. The percentage of rented buildings for primary sections in urban areas is, therefore, fairly high. This percentage is the highest in the case of private unaided institutions where 49.25 per cent of the buildings are rented.
Ownership of buildings of Middle Sections in Rural Areas 20. The total number of middle sections in rural areas is 76,103. The total number of buildings occupied by middle sections is 70,750. The number of buildings is less than the number of middle sections, by 5,353. Assuming that in rural areas, the number of middle sections occupying more than one building each is nil or insignificantly small, the number of middle sections without buildings is about 5,353. The middle sections without buildings would be either open-air sections or structures which are not considered buildings by the respondents. In rural areas 74.16 per cent of the buildings of middle sections are owned by the school managements. The corresponding percentages separately for government, local body, private aided and private unaided institutions are 79.01, 64.39, 89.27 and 83.84 respectively. In middle sections in rural areas 10.88 per cent of the buildings are rented and 14.96 per cent are not owned but are available to the schools on a rent-free basis.
Ownership of buildings of Middle Sections in Urban Areas 21. The number of middle sections in urban areas is 20,829. The total number of buildings for middle sections is 18,265, which is 2,564 less than the number of middle sections. About 12.3 per cent of the middle sections in urban areas appear to be without buildings. This is a fairly high percentage. It is possible that the schools without buildings are in structures such as tents
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STATEMENT 71
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTIONS OF MIDDLE SECTIONS ACCORDING TO THE
OWNERSHIP OF SCHOOL BUILDINGS UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENTS IN RURAL AND
URBAN AREAS
Ownership of buildings
Management Owned Rented Not owned but rent free Total
Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Government 79.01 71.87 8.76 21.82 12.24 6.31 100.00 100.00
Local body 64.39 63.97 14.87 30.95 20.75 5.08 100.00 100.00
Private aided 89.27 66.72 5.24 27.30 5.49 5.98 100.00 100.00
Private unaided 83.84 49.91 3.20 39.53 12.95 10.56 100.00 100.00
All managements 74.16 65.96 10.88 27.99 14.96 6.05 100.00 100.00
STATEMENT 72
PERCENTAGE DISTRIBUTIONS OF SECONDARY SECTIONS ACCORDING TO THE OWNERSHIP OF
SCHOOL BUILDINGS UNDER DIFFERENT MANAGEMENTS IN RURAL AND URBAN AREAS
Ownership of buildings
Management Owned Rented Not owned but rent free Total
Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban Rural Urban
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Government 80.08 83.09 6.44 11.56 13.48 5.35 100.00 100.00
Local body 65.59 71.19 10.86 21.53 23.55 7.28 100.00 100.00
Private aided 71.58 61.31 22.41 34.66 6.00 4.03 100.00 100.00
Private unaided 83.76 60.11 6.37 33.15 9.87 6.74 100.00 100.00
72.19 66.79 16.94 28.34 10.86 4.86 100.00 100.00
etc. which have not been considered as buildings. It has been found that 65.96 per cent of the buildings for middle sections are owned by the school managements, 27.99 per cent are rented and 6.05 per cent are not owned but rent-free. The percentage of rented buildings is the highest in the case of private unaided institutions
Ownership of buildings of Secondary Sections in Rural Areas 22. The number of secondary sections in rural areas is 16,285 and the number of buildings for secondary sections is 16,654. The number of buildings is more than the number of secondary sections. This is because some of the secondary sections have more than one building. In the case of secondary sections in rural areas, 72.19 per cent of the buildings are owned by the school managements. The corresponding percentages for government, local body, private aided and private unaided institutions are 80.08, 65.59, 71.58 and 83.76 respectively. The percentage of rented buildings is 16.94. This percentage is the highest in the case of private aided institutions where 22.41 per cent of the buildings are rented. In the case of buildings for secondary sections, 10.86 per cent are not owned by the school managements but are available to the schools on a rent-free basis.
Ownership of buildings of Secondary Sections in Urban Areas 23. In the urban areas, the total number of secondary sections is 10,598. The number of school buildings for secondary sections is 10,958. This indicates that the number of buildings for secondary sections in urban areas also is more than the number of secondary sections. This is because some secondary sections have more than
SCHOOL BUILDINGS 93
one building. In urban areas 66.79 per cent of the buildings of secondary sections are owned by school managements. The corresponding percentages for government, local body, private aided and private unaided institutions are 83.09, 71.19, 61.31 and 60.11 respectively. The percentages of buildings owned by private institutions are rela- tively low. 28.34 per cent of the buildings are rented. These per- centages are high for private institutions. In the case of private aided institutions, 34.66 per cent of the buildings are rented while in the case of private unaided institutions, 33.15 per cent of the buildings are rented. Only 4.86 per cent of the buildings are not owned by the school managements but are available to them on a rent- free basis.
Playground facilities for Primary Sections in Rural Areas 24. The playground is an important part of a school plant. It was, however, difficult to collect information regarding this item because criteria for playgrounds for primary, middle and secondary sections in rural and urban areas had not been developed. It was feared that an area which might be considered a playground by one headmaster might not be considered as playground by another headmaster in identical conditions. It was also difficult to decide whether in the case of a large school with a playground large enough for 20 to 25 students only it could be assumed that playground facilities were available in the school. In the urban areas, the schools tend to be relatively larger and it was decided not to collect information regarding playgrounds for schools in urban areas. As regards rural areas, it was felt that, by and large, primary sections are very small and even a small piece of land could be used for indigenous games, etc. It was, therefore, decided to get some data about playgrounds for primary sections in the rural areas. However, no information regarding playgrounds for middle and secondary sections in the rural areas has been collected because at this stage regular team games are very important and small plots would not serve the purpose of playgrounds.
25. There are playground facilities in 1,85,044 primary sections in rural areas, i.e. 45 per cent. These include 28.64 per cent of the primary sections that have their own playgrounds and 16.37 per cent that have facilities for playgrounds which in this case are not owned by the school managements. It is surprising that even in rural areas where land is supposed to be available in plenty and playgrounds of large size are not required for children in primary classes, 55 per cent of the primary sections are without playgrounds of any kind. The percentages of primary sections with playgrounds vary from State to State. The percentage is the highest in Madras where 76.68 per cent of the primary sections have playground facilities and the lowest in Jammu & Kashmir where only 14.38 per cent of the primary sections have playground facilities. The difficulties in the case of Jammu & Kash- mir are understandable. The State is composed mostly of hilly areas and plain plots for playgrounds would be rare. In Bihar, however, only 25.89 per cent of the primary sections in rural areas have play- ground facilities. The percentages are also low in Assam, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Mysore, Uttar Pradesh, Pondicherry, Goa, Daman & Diu, Himachal Pradesh and Laccadive, Minicoy & Amindivi Islands (Table 224).
Hostel facilities for students in Secondary Sections in Rural Areas
26. Information has also been collected regarding secondary sections in rural areas that have hostel facilities in their own villages. These include hostels in the schools and also hostels managed by other agencies. Out of 16,285 secondary sections, 4,584 sections, i.e. 28.15 per cent have hostel facilities in their own villages. There is large variation in the percentages of secondary sections having hostel facilities in the various States. In Orissa, 77.33 per cent of the secondary sections have hostels in their own villages. This is the highest percentage among all States. In Jammu & Kashmir, on the other hand, only nine secondary sections, i.e. 3.47 per cent, have hostels in their own villages. The percentages are low in most of the States. Among the Union Territories also, there is considerable variation. The percentages are low in almost all the cases. In Laccadive, Mini- coy & Amindivi Islands, however, all the three secondary sections have facilities for hostels in their villages.
27. Out of 27,41,605 students, 1,56,658, i.e., 5.71 per cent are residing in hostels in the rural areas. This percentage is very low. The individual percentages are also low in almost all the States except Orissa and West Bengal where they are relatively high. In Orissa 21.04 per cent of the pupils of secondary sections in rural areas live in hostels. The corresponding percentage in West Bengal is 14.47 (Table 225).