PRIMARY EDUCATION
Findings of the first survey The First All India Educational Survey was conducted with 31 March 1957 as the date of reference. According to the findings obtained then, 59.7% of the rural population in the country was served by primary schools or primary sections within habitations of residence. Again, 83.09% of the population was served by primary sections either in the habitation of residence or nearby. The word 'nearby' had a specific connotation which meant a convenient walking distance of one mile except in some areas where the limit had been fixed at 1.5 miles. It was proposed that after the implementation of the recommendations of that survey, 99.03% of the rural population would be served by primary sections either in the habitations of resi- dence or in nearby habitations.
Findings of the second survey Out of 9,82,251 rural habitations identified in the Second Survey, 3,73,086 (37.98%) had primary sections in them. Taking together the habitations with schooling facilities in them and those having it within a walking distance of one mile 8,56,816 (87.23%) were served by primary sections. In terms of population 71.48% of the rural population had primary sections in their own habitation and 94.96% was served by primary sections, located either in the habitation of residence or within a walking distance of one mile.
Findings of the third survey If the figures of the Third Survey have to be compared with the figures of the earlier two surveys, some limitations have to be kept in mind. In those two surveys, the criterion for considering a habitation to be served by a primary section was that a child would require one mile to walk to and fro the school. in the Third Survey, this criterion has been changed to 1 km. Consequently, the comparison will not be very accurate because of different units of distance measurement used in different surveys. Out of 9,53,734 habitations identified in the Third Survey, 4,22,766 (44.33%) have primary sections in them. In all, there are 7,20,809 habitations which are served by primary sections within the habitation itself or by a school located within a walking distance of 1 km. There are 94,433 habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 km. In terms of population, 76.12% of the rural population is served by a primary section located in the habitation of residence. Observing the criterion of 1 km walking distance, 90.34% of the rural population is served by primary sections either located in the habitation of residence or within a walking distance of 1 km. On the other hand, 3.42% of the rural population is not served by a primary section located within a walking distance of 2 km.
STATEMENT 2
Habitations and population according to primary schooling
facilities available at varying distances in rural areas
Habitations having Population having
primary sections at primary sections at
Distance varying distances varying distances
Number Percentage Population Percentage
1 2 3 4 5
Within the
habitation 4,22,766 44.33 35,42,23,069 76.12
0.1 - 0.5 km 1,11,158 11.66 2,67,23,413 5.74
0.6 - 1.0 km 1,86,885 19.60 3,94,80,661 8.48
Sub-total 7,20,809 75.59 42,04,27,143 90.34
1.1 - 1.5 km 47,474 4.98 1,07,54,678 2.31
1.6 - 2.0 km 91,018 9.53 1,82,93,611 3.93
Beyond 2 km 94,433 9.90 1,58,91,937 3.42
TOTAL 9,53,734 100.00 46,53,67,369 100.00
PRIMARY EDUCATION 15
Out of 3,838 habitations in the population slab '5000 and above', 3,690 habitations have a primary section located in them and 3,754 (97.81%) are served by primary sections located either in the habitation itself or within a walking distance of 1 km, meaning thereby that there are 84 habitations which are not served by any primary section if the criterion of 1 km distance is applied. In the earlier surveys, the distance criterion at primary stage was 1 mile and in terms of kilometres 1.5 km would be nearer to that unit (1 mile). In this slab, 3,781 habitations are served by primary sections on a distance criterion of 1.5 km, thus leaving 57 habitations which are not served. Thus, 98.51% of the habitations in this slab are served by primary sections located either in them or within a walking distance of 1.5 km. Increasing this distance criterion to 2 km, 99.77% of the habitations in the slab are served by primary sections within a distance of 2 km.
Population-wise 98.19%, 98.75% and 99.34% of the population are served by primary sections located within a walking distance of 1 km, 1.5 km and 2 km respectively.
In the population slab '2000 to 4999', 28,724 habitations out of a total of 30,188 have primary sections located in them and 29,700 habitations (98.38%) are served by primary sections located in the habitation itself or within a walking distance of 1 km. On the criterion of 1.5 km, this would increase to 29,831 (98.82%) and further increase to 30,022 (99.45%) if the distance is increased to 2 km. 95.89 % of the population in this slab is served by primary sections within the habitations and 98.45% within a distance of 1 km and this percentage rises to 98.89% when the distance is increased to 1.5 km. This percentage is further raised to 99.49% if the distance is further raised to 2 km.
In the population slab '1000 to 1999', there are 82,728 habitations out of which 75,867 have primary sections located in them and 80,482 (97.29%) are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 km. There are 81,153 (98.10%) habitations which are served by primary sections within a distance of 1.5 km and further there are 82,017 (99.14%) which are served within a walking distance of 2 km. In terms of population 97.39%,98.22% and 99.19% of the population of this slab are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 km, 1.5 km and 2 km respectively.
There are 1,74,142 habitations in the population slab '500 to 999'. Of these, 1,40,166 habitations have a primary section located in them. The number of habitations in this slab which are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 km is 1,61,835 (92.93%) and this accounts for 93.26 % of the population of this slab. On a distance criterion or 1.5 km, 1,65,102 (94.81%) habitations are served by primary sections and these account for 95.07% of the slab population. Further increasing the distance to 2 km, 1,70,061 (97.65%) habitations are served by primary sections and thus 97.83% of the slab populution is served by primary sections.
In the population slab '400 to 499', there are 73,354 rural habitations of which 48,113 have primary sections located in them. 64,255 (87.60%) habitations accounting for 87.73%. of the population in the slab are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 km. By increasing the distance to 1.5 km, 66,831 (91.11%) habitations are served by primary sections and these cover 91.17% of the slab population. 70,532 (96.15%) habitations are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 2 km and the population thus served is 96.14% of the slab population.
In the population slab '300 to 399', there are 93,714 rural habitations of which 46,728 have primary sections in them. 74,372 (79.36%) are served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 km and these account for 79.66% of the slab population. Comparable figures for distance criterion of 1.5 km and 2 km are 79,329 (84.65%) and 86,995 (92.83%) habitations, and 85.02% and 93.08% population respectively.
For the lower population slabs, the position is naturally not so good.
In all, of the 9,53,734 habitations in the country, 4,22,766 have primary sections in them and these serve
STATEMENT 3
Habitations and population in various population slabs
served by primary sections in them or within a
walking distance of 1 km in rural areas
Population Total no. of Habitations served Population
slab habitations served
Number Percentage percentage
1 2 3 4 5
5000 and above 3,838 3,754 97.81 98.19
2000 to 4999 30,188 29,700 98.38 98.45
1000 to 1999 82,728 80,482 97.29 97.39
500 to 999 1,74,142 1,61,835 92.93 93.26
400 to 499 73,354 64,255 87.60 87.73
300 to 399 93,714 74,372 79.36 79.66
200 to 299 1,25,167 89,902 71.83 72.20
100 to 19 1,77,923 1,12,077 62.99 63.33
Below 100 1,92,680 1,04,432 54.20 56.28
TOTAL 9,53,734 7,20,809 75.58 90.34
16 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
76.12% of the population. There are 7,20,809 (75.58%) habitations served by primary sections within a distance of 1 km and thus a population of 90.34% is served. If the distance criterion is increased to 1.5 km, 7,68,283 (80.56%) habitations are served and these account for 92.65% of the population. In case 2 km is the distance criterion, then 8,59,301 (90.10%) habitations are served and the population served is 96.58%. Thus as far as provision of educational facilities is concerned, mostly the small-sized habitations are left out.
STATEMENT 4
Habitations and population in various population slabs
served by primary sections in them or within a
walking distance of 1.5 km in rural areas
Population Total no. of Habitations served Population
slab habitations served
Number Percentage percentage
1 2 3 4 5
5000 and above 3,838 3,781 98.51 98.75
2000 to 4999 30,188 29,831 98.82 98.89
1000 to 1999 82,728 81,153 98.10 98.22
500 to 999 1,74,142 1,65,102 94.81 95.07
400 to 499 73,354 66,831 91.11 91.17
300 to 399 93,714 79,329 84.65 85.02
200 to 299 1,25,167 97,565 77.95 78.21
100 to 199 1,77,923 1,24,868 70.18 70.50
Below 100 1,92,680 1,19,823 62.19 64.28
TOTAL 9,53,734 7,68,283 80.56 92.65
STATEMENT 5
Habitations and population in various population slabs
served by primary sections in them or within a
walking distance of 2 km in rural areas
Population Total no. of Habitations served Population
slab habitations served
Number Percentage percentage
1 2 3 4 5
5000 and above 3,838 3,809 99.77 99.34
2000 to 4999 30,188 30,022 99.45 99.49
1000 to 1999 82,728 82,017 99.14 99.19
500 to 999 1,74,142 1,70,061 97.65 97.83
400 to 499 73,354 70,532 96.15 96.14
300 to 399 93,714 86,995 92.83 93.08
200 to 299 1,25,167 1,12,235 89.67 90.16
100 to 199 1,77,923 1,51,562 85.18 86.23
Below 100 1,92,680 1,52,068 78.92 80.53
TOTAL 9,53,734 8,59,301 90.10 96.58
Habitations and population not served at present The problem of habitations and population not served is discussed in three paragraphs with 1 km, 1.5 km and 2 km as the distance criteria.
With the distance criterion of 1 km, there are 2,32,925 (24.42%) habitations which are not served by primary sections. Though a large majority of these habitations, that is 19.85%, lies in the population slab 'below 300', the others are in higher slabs. In the population slab '5000 and above', there are 84 habitations which are not served by primary sections followed by another 488 in the slab '2000 to 4999'. The population not served by primary sections is 9.66%.
STATEMENT 6
Habitations not served by primary sections either in them or within
a walking distance of 1 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the habitations
Population slab Number of habita- Habitations in the slab In the Not served by primary In rural areas
tions in the slab not served by primary slab section in them or in the country
section in them or within 1 km
within 1 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 3,838 84 2.19 0.04 0.01
2000 to 4999 30,188 488 1.62 0.21 0.05
1000 to 1999 82,728 2,246 2.71 0.96 0.24
500 to 999 1,74,142 12,307 7.07 5.28 1.29
400 to 499 73,354 9,099 12.40 3.91 0.95
300 to 399 93,714 19,342 20.64 8.30 2.03
200 to 299 1,25,167 35,265 28.17 15.14 3.70
100 to 199 1,77,923 65,846 37.01 28.27 6.90
Below 100 1,92,680 88,248 45.80 37.89 9.25
TOTAL 9,53,734 2,32,925 24.42 100.00 24.42
PRIMARY EDUCATION 17
STATEMENT 7
Population not served by primary sections either in their own habitations or within a
walking distance of 1 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the population
Population slab Population of habi- Population in the slab In the Not served by primary In rural areas
tations in the slab not served by primary slab sections in them or in the country
sections within 1 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 2,79,60,686 5,06,687 1.81 1.13 0.11
2000 to 4999 8,30,79,372 12,90,192 1.55 2.87 0.28
1000 to 1999 10,94,82,596 28,51,858 2.60 6.35 0.61
500 to 999 11,59,92,919 78,25,447 6.75 17.41 1.68
400 to 499 3,14,58,821 38,62,025 12.28 8.59 0.83
300 to 399 3,19.55,926 65,00,401 20.34 14.46 1.40
200 to 299 2,98,95,117 83,10,649 27.80 18.49 1.79
100 to 199 2,47,64,924 90,81,061 36.67 20.22 1.95
Below 100 1,07,77,008 47,11,906 43.72 10.48 1.01
TOTAL 46,53,67,369 4,49,40,226 9.66 100.00 9.66
Considering 1.5 km as the distance criterion, there are 1,85,451 (19.44%) habitations which are not served by primary sections. Here also a major chunk is contributed by habitations in the lower slabs. The population not served according to this criterion is 7.35%.
STATEMENT 8
Habitations not served by primary sections either in them or within a walking distance of 1.5 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the habitations
Population slab Number of habi- Habitations in the slab In the Not served by primary In rural areas
tations in the slab not served by primary slab sections in them or in the country
sections in them or within 1.5 km
within 1.5 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 3,838 57 1.49 0.03 0.01
2000 to 4999 30,188 357 1.18 0.19 0.04
1000 to 1999 82,728 1,575 1.90 0.85 0.17
500 to 999 1,74,142 9,040 5.19 4.87 0.95
400 to 499 73,354 6,523 8.89 3.52 0.68
300 to 399 93,714 14,385 15.35 7.76 1.51
200 to 299 1,25,167 27,602 22.05 14.88 2.89
100 to 199 1,77,923 53,055 29.82 28.61 5.56
Below 100 1,92,680 72,857 37.81 39.29 7.64
TOTAL 9,53,734 1,85,451 19.44 100.00 19.44
18 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
STATEMENT 9
Population not served by primary sections either in their own habitations or within a walking distance of 1.5 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the population
Population slab Population of habi- Population in the slab In the Not Served by primary In rural areas
tations in the not served by primary slab sections in them or in the country
sections within 1.5 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 2,79,60,686 3,49,533 1.25 1.02 0.08
2000 to 4999 8,30,79,372 9,26,152 1.11 2.71 0.20
1000 to 1999 10,94,82,596 19,49,544 1.78 5.70 0.42
500 to 999 11,59,92,919 57,23,971 4.93 16.74 1.23
400 to 499 3,14,58,821 27,78,492 8.83 8.13 0.60
300 to 399 3,19,55,926 47,88,493 14.98 14.01 1.03
200 to 299 2,98,95,117 65,15,289 21.79 19.06 1.40
100 to 199 2,47,64,924 73,04,503 29.50 21.37 1.56
Below 100 1,07,77,008 38,49,571 35.72 11.26 0.83
TOTAL 46,53,67,369 3,41,85,548 7.35 100.00 7.35
STATEMENT 10
Habitations not served by primary sections either in them or within a walking distance of 2 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the habitations
Population slab Number of habi- Habitations in the slab In the Not served by primary In rural areas
tations in the slab not served by primary slab sections in them or in the country
sections in them or within 2 km
within 2 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 3,838 29 0.76 0.03 0.003
2000 to 4999 30,188 166 0.55 0.18 0.02
1000 to 1999 82,728 711 0.86 0.75 0.07
500 to 999 1,74,142 4,081 2.34 4.32 0.43
400 to 499 73,354 2,822 3.85 2.99 0.30
300 to 399 93,714 6,719 7.17 7.11 0.70
200 to 299 1,25,167 12,932 10.33 13.69 1.36
100 to 199 1,77,923 26,361 14.82 27.92 2.76
Below 100 1,92,680 40,612 21.08 43.01 4.26
TOTAL 9,53,734 94,433 9.90 100.00 9.90
With the criterion or 2 km, there are 94,433 (9.90%) habitations which are not served by primary sections and this accounts for 3.41% of the population. 29 habitations with a population of '5000 and above' each do not have primary sections even within a walking distance of 2 km. It is difficult to state without further detailed examination whether schools would be required in these habitations or not because of peculiar characteristics of the individual habitations or why schools were not provided in them earlier. It
PRIMARY EDUCATION 19
STATEMENT 11
Population not served by primary sections either in their own habitations or within
a walking distance of 2 km in rural areas
Col. 3 as percentage of the population
Population slab Population of habi- Population in the slab In the Not served by primary In rural areas
tations in the slab not served by primary slab sections in them or in the country
sections within 2 km
1 2 3 4 5 6
5000 and above 2,79,60,686 1,83,523 0.66 1.15 0.04
2000 to 4999 8,30,79,372 4,28,832 0.52 2.70 0.09
1000 to 1999 10,94,82,596 8,84,850 0.81 5.57 0.19
500 to 999 11,59,92,919 25,17,975 2.17 15.84 0.54
400 to 499 3,14,58,821 12,13,776 3.86 7.64 0.26
300 to 399 3,19,55,926 22,13,657 6.93 13.93 0.48
200 to 299 2,98,95,117 29,42,897 9.84 18.52 0.63
100 to 199 2,47,64,924 34,08,617 13.76 21.45 0.73
Below 100 1,07,77,008 20,97,810 19.47 13.20 0.45
TOTAL 46,53,67,369 1,58,91,937 3.41 100.00 3.41
has been observed that at times there are habitations of adult labour population where schools for children may not be needed. There of course, the need may be of some non-formal education centres for the labour group but not of primary schools meant generally for children. Of the 94,433 habitations, not served at present by primary sections in them or within a walking distance of 2 km, 84.62% are in the slab 'below 300' including 43.01% in the slab 'below 100'. In terms of population, not served by primary sections, 53.17% reside in these small habitations. Thus the major problem of expanding schooling facilities would be the provision of primary schools in some form or other for these very small habitations where majority of the people are economically backward and cannot send their children to hostels for primary education.
Considering the schooling facilities separately among various States and Union Territories, it is found that in many areas a situation of near universal provision of schooling facilities has been obtained. There are States like Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu and Union Territories of Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Mizoram and Pondicherry where less than 1% of the rural population remains unserved by primary sections within a distance of 2 km. In addition, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Nagaland, West Bengal and Goa, Daman and Diu are the other States and Union Territories where more than 98% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 km. The States and Union Territories which are lagging behind in providing these facilities within a distance of 2 km to less than 90% of the rural population are Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, A & N Islands, Arunachal Pradesh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In subsequent paragraphs the position of individual States regarding provision of schooling facilities at primary stage is discussed.
INTER-STATE COMPARISONS
Andhra Pradesh There are 53,231 rural habitations with a population of 3,76,33,301. Of these habitations 56.85% are in the slab 'below 500' and these account for 17.01% of the population. On March 31, 1957, 89.89% of the population was served by primary sections. At the time of the Second Survey (31.12.1965), this percentage rose to 97.42%. With the changed distance criterion of 2 km walking distance, the present survey figures reveal that 98.20% of the population has been provided primary education facilities. The total number of habitations which are not served by the primary sections is 7,217 of which, 1,187 are having a population of '300 or more'. The bulk of habitations, not served, belong to the slab 'less than 300' and their number is 6,930.
20 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATION SURVEY
Assam There are 29,442 rural habitations with a population of 1,37,45,522. Of these habitations, 68.22% accounting for 33.03% of the population are in the slab below 500'. Number of habitations with a population of 'less than 100' is 4,303. In this State the number of small habitations is very large. In the First Survey, i.e. on 31 March, 1957, 82.91% of the population was served by primary sections. At the time of the Second Survey 93.33% of the population was served by primary sections. According to the present data 98.53% of the population is served by primary sections either located within the habitation of residence or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres. In all, there are 964 habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. Of these, 870 belong to the slab below 500' and 778 are in the slab 'below 300'. If 186 habitations which are not served at the moment by any primary section and which have a population of 300 or more, can be given a primary school, the problem which will remain unsolved will be that of very small habitations only. For these habitations, i.e. those 'below 300', methods other than formal schooling may have to be adopted in order to help children receive education.
Bihar Total number of rural habitations in Bihar is 1,04,326 and of these 65.41% are in the slab 'below 500' whose population is only 27.05%. Thus, Bihar has also a large number of small habitations. According to the First Survey, 85.90% of the rural population was served by primary sections within a walking distance of one mile. At the time of the Second Survey, with the same distance criterion the percentage of population served by primary sections rose to 97.13% which included 67.13% served by primary sections in their own habitations. According to the present survey, 98.62% of the population is being served by a primary section either in the habitation of residence or by a primary section located in a habitation within a distance of 2 kilometres. Out of 4,365 rural habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres, 4,089 belong to the slab 'below 500'. The major problem of provision of educational facilities at primary stage is of the habitations numbering 3,675 with a population 'below 300'. Presuming that 690 habitations which have a population of 300 or more will be provided with primary schools, some more habitations from the slab 'below 300' will also be covered.
Gujarat There is one peculiarity about Gujarat. The primary schools cater to classes I to VII and, therefore, the comparable middle classes are included in primary sections only. There are 23,069 rural habitations with a population of 2,04,88,671. The proportion of small habitations, i.e. in the slab 'below 500' is 43.74% which is relatively low. These habitations account for 12.78% of the population. At the time of the First Survey there was no separate state of Gujarat and in the erstwhile state of Bombay 91.58% of the population was served by primary sections. At the time of the Second Survey 97.70% of the population was served by primary sections. Strangely enough the percentage of population served by primary sections at the time of the Third Survey is 96.86% which is lower than what it was at the time of Second Survey. Even though the distance criterion has been changed from 1 mile to 2 kilometres, the percentage of population served has gone down which should have normally increased. Of the total number of 2,597 habitations not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres, 2,305 belong to the slab 'below 500'. There are 1,883 habitations in the slab 'below 300' which are not served by any primary section. By providing primary schools in 714 rural habitations having a population of '300 or more', some more habitations from lower stabs will be served by these additional schools and the percentage of population served by primary sections will be further increased.
Haryana Haryana State came into being on 1st November, 1966. As such, no data are available for comparison regarding earlier surveys. It was carved out of the erstwhile state of Punjab. At the time of the Second Survey 96.54% of the rural population in Punjab was served by primary sections. In the present state of Haryana there are 7,257 rural habitations of which 2,237 have population of 'less than 500' each. The total population in rural habitations is 89,39,968. Rural population in habitations in the slab 'below 500' constitutes 6.39% of the total rural population. Thus, majority of the population is staying in larger habitations only. The population not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres is 0.46% only. As a matter of fact 98.24% of the rural population has a primary section either within the habitation of the residence or within a distance of 1 kilometre. Thus, provision of schooling facilities at primary stage has almost reached the saturation point. There are only
PRIMARY EDUCATION 21
50 habitations which have a population of 300 or more and are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. If schools are provided in these 50 habitations, some of the smaller habitations which are unserved yet will also be covered by these schools and the State would be almost free from the need of any further provision of schooling facilities at the primary stage.
Himachal Pradesh This state has an abundance of small sized habitations. Out of a total of 31,052 rural habitations, 30,157 (97.12%) are in the slab 'below 500'. The number of habitations in the slab 'below 300' is 28,695 which constitutes 92.41% of the total number of rural habitations. Thus the problem of provision of schooling facilities is more acute in the State because of small sized habitations. At the time of the Third Survey, 16.69 % of the rural population residing in 8,570 habitations was not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres, 175 habitations in the slab '300 or more' do not have primary sections within a walking distance of 2 kilometers and 48 out of these are in the population slab of 500 or more. From the criterion of walking distance of 1 kilometre only 65.37% of the population is served by primary sections. Thus the State faces an uphill task of provision of schooling facilities at the primary stage.
Jammu and Kashmir There are 13,732 rural habitations with the total population of 40,62,494. This State also has a problem of small sized habitations. 83.80% of these habitations are in the slab 'below 500'. The number of habitations in the slab 'less than 300' is 9,388 which constitute 68.36% of the rural habitations. Populationwise 49.66% of the rural inhabitants are in the habitations of size less than 500. 29.62% of the rural population is residing in habitations in the slab 'below 300'. At the time of the First Survey, 71.18% of the population was served by primary sections and this figure increased to 94.58% at the time of the Second Survey. In the present survey 93.36% of the rural population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. On the criterion of 1 kilometre only 85.20% of rural population is served by primary sections. The total number of rural habitations not served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres is 2,085 and out of these 2,029 (97.31%) are in the population slab 'less than 500'.
Karnataka There are 40,392 rural habitations with a population of 2,37,12,267. Of these, 62.34% are in the slab 'below 500'. At the time of the first survey, that is, 31st March, 1957, 91.75% of the population in this state was served by primary sections. On 31st December, 1965, that is, at the time of the Second Survey, 97.30% of the population was served by primary sections. In the present survey 98.5% of the population is served by primary sections either within the habitation of residence or within a distance of 2 kilometres. The number of habitations that are not served by primary sections at present is 2,778 of which 2,684 (96.62%) are in the slab 'below 500'. There are 2,526 habitations which are not served at the moment by any primary section and these belong to the slab 'below 300'. Bulk of the habitations which are not served by any school are in this population slab.
Kerala There are 6,315 rural habitations with a population of 1,92,01,349. Only 8.44% of these habitations are in the slab 'below 500'. At the time of the Second Survey 10, 124 rural habitations had been identified and there is a fall in the number of rural habitations in this State. The one peculiarity of the State is that it has not many habitations of small size. At the time of the First Survey 90.49% of the population was served by primary sections and this figure rose to 92.57% at the time of the Second Survey. At present 97.30% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. There are only 501 habitations which do not have a school within a distance of 2 kilometres. With the distance criterion of 1 kilometre the population served by primary sections is 92.60%. The peculiarity of the State is that the habitations which are not served by primary sections tend to be of larger size. Out of 501 habitations, which are not served at the moment, only 189 belong to the population slab 'below 500' and the remaining ones are in the higher slab of population. There are four habitations in the population slab '5,000 and above', 69 in the slabs '2,000 to 4,999', 107 in the slab '1,000 to 1,999' and 132 in the slab '500 to 999'which are not served by any school within a distance of 2 kilometres. If these habitations get schools, the problem of smaller habitations also will be solved to some extent.
Madhya Pradesh There are 1,07,903 habitations in the State with a population of 3,75,89,151. Of these, 70.22% are in the
22 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
population Slab 'below 500' and these account for 39.13% of the rural population. In terms of area Madhya Pradesh is the largest state in India and has a high proportion of small-sized habitations. On 31 March, 1957, 67.79% of the population was served by primary sections located within a walking distance of 1 mile. At the time of the Second Survey 87.88% of the population was served by primary sections. With the changed distance criterion of 2 kilometres 93.3% of the population is served by primary sections. Considering the distance criterion of 1 kilometre only 85.8% of the population is served by existing primary sections. Of the 17,753 habitations which are not served by any school within a distance of 2 kilometres, 17,636 (99.34%) are in the slab 'below 500'. Thus, it is a problem of provision of schooling facilities in small-sized habitations which poses a problem to the State. The number of habitations in the slab 'below 300' which are not served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres is 15,371. These habitations may need some extra effort for the education of the children residing in them.
Maharashtra There are 65,650 rural habitations with a population of 3,67,42,533. In the Second Survey 65,195 rural habitations had been identified. Of these 65,650 habitations, 43,678 (66.53%) belong to the population slab 'below 500' and these account for 24.13% of the rural population. At the time of the First Survey in the erstwhile state of Bombay 91.58% of the population was Served by primary sections within a walking distance of 1 mile. This figure rose to 97.47% at the time of the Second Survey. At present 98.76% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres and 95.94% is served by a primary section within a distance of 1 kilometre. In all there are 3,611 habitations, which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and of these 3,575 (99.00%) are in the slab 'below 500'. Thus, it is essentially a problem of provision of schooling facilities in these smaller habitations in the state and for this, methods other than formal schooling may have to be adopted.
Manipur At the time of the first survey 24.88% of the population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile. In 1965, at the time of the Second Survey this percentage rose to 94.50. At present 96.57% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres and 95.98% is served by primary sections within a distance of 1 kilometre. The total number of rural habitations in the State is 2,345 with a population of 9,67,227. Of these, 1,747 (74.49%) are in the population slab 'below 500'. The total number of habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres is 272 of which 269 are in the population slab 'below 500'. There are only 36 habitations with a population of 'more than 300' which do not have a school within a distance of 2 kilometres.
Meghalaya For Meghalaya comparable data for the First and Second Survey are not available because the state was earlier a part of the erstwhile state of Assam. As such, comparisons with earlier figures are not possible. There are 4,841 rural habitations with a population of 9,80,030 of which 4,515 (93.27%) are in the population slab 'below 500'. 87.55% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. 83.66% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 1 kilometre. In all there are 1,235 habitations which do not have a primary section within a walking distance of kilometres and of these, 1,228 are in the slab 'below 500'. Habitations which do not have a primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and are having a population of 'more than 300' are 47 in number. Thus the problem is only of provision of educational facilities for small habitations.
Nagaland There are 1,431 rural habitations in Nagaland with a population of 5,14,850. Of these, 1,149 are in the population slab 'below 500' and these constitute 80.29% of the total number of habitations. 48.13% of the population is staying in these small-sized habitations. At present 98.98% of the population is served by primary sections or schools within a distance of 2 kilometres. On the criterion of 1 kilometre distance 96.25% of the population is served by primary sections/schools. There are only 30 habitations which are not served by any school within a distance of 2 kilometres and of these, 28 are in the population slab 'below 500'. Thus the problem of provision of schooling facilities is not a significant one in this state.
Orissa There are 64,194 rural habitations with a population of 2,14,15,288. At the time of the Second Survey the, number of rural habitations identified was 68,369. 51,240 (79.82%) are in the population slab 'below 500'
PRIMARY EDUCATION 23
thus the state has a large number of small habitations. At the time of the First Survey, that is on 31 March, 1957, 87.41% of the population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile. On 31st December, 1965, this figure rose to 91.61%. At present 95.81% of the population is served by primary sections located in the habitation of residence or within a distance of 2 kilometres. On the criterion of 1 kilometre distance 90.54% of the population is served by existing primary sections. The number of habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres is 8,425 and of these. 8,255 (97.98%) are in the population slab 'below 500'. Thus a large number of habitations which are not served by primary sections are small sized ones. The total number of habitations with a population of '300 or more' are 504 in number which are not served by any primary section. If a provision is made for schooling facilities in these habitations, some additional habitations would also be covered by these schools. Even after this about 7,000 to 7,500 habitations would remain without educational facilities which is a serious problem.
Punjab The new state of Punjab came into being after data collection for the Second Survey. This will not permit comparisons with the data for the erstwhile Punjab state which included Haryana and parts of the territory that have been transferred to Himachal Pradesh. At present there are 13,156 habitations with a population of 1,10,29,986. Of these, 5,822 (44.25%) are in the slab 'below 500'. There are only 207 habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and the population in these habitations is only 0.25% of the total rural population. Thus the problem in the State is not that of provision of additional facilities but is more of additional enrolment.
Rajasthan There are 40,074 rural habitations with a population of 2,29,10,268. Of these, 23,813 (59.42%) are in the slab 'below 500' and these account for 21.76% of the rural habitations. The total number of habitations identified in the Second Survey was 50,533. On 31st March, 1957, 66.40% of the population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile. At the time of the Second Survey, that is, 31.12.1965 this figure rose to 89.86%. At present 91.38% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. The precentage of population served within a distance of 1 kilometre is 82.91. There are 7,046 habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. Of these, 5,893 (83.64%) are in the slab 'below 500'. There are quite a few habitations with large population which do not have educational facilities within a distance of 2 kilometres. For example, there are 16 habitations in the slab '5000 or more', 56 in the slab '2000 to 4999', 137 in the slab '1000 to 1999' and 944 in the slab '500 to 999. These habitations, particularly, the ones in the first two slabs, need a special enquiry as to why these have been left without provision of educational facilities. Rajasthan has to open quite a number of schools at primary stage in order to cater to its population.
Tamil Nadu There are 43,355 rural habitations in the State having a population af 2,86,81,229. Of these, 24,790 (57.18%) are in the slab 'below 500' accounting for 20.64% of the population. At the time of the First Survey, that is, 31st March, 1957, 94.65% of the population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile. The Second Survey figure was 97.23%. At present 99.35% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. With the criterion as 1 kilometre 93.10% of the population is served by primary sections. In all 1,562 habitations are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. And all these habitations belong to the group 'below 300'.
Tripura There are 6,050 rural habitations in Tripura with a population of 15,54,446. Of these, 5,244 (86.68%) are in the slab 'below 500'. And these account for 47.48% of the population. On 31st March, 1957, 84.44% of the population was served by primary sections. On 31.12. 1965 this percentage rose to 88. At present 94.76% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. Percentage of population served within a distance of 1 kilometre is 82.35.825 habitations are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and out of these, 821 are in the slab 'below 500'. There are only 31 habitations with a population of '300 or more' which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. Thus the problem of provision of further facilities is confined to smaller habitations.
Uttar Pradesh There are 2,37,321 rural habitations with a Population of 7,98,62,847. Of these, 1,93,065 (81.35%) are in
24 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
the slab 'below 500' and these account for 43.76% of the rural population. Thus, it is seen that a very large number of habitations are small-sized. On 31.3.1957, 71.18% of the population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile. On 31.12.1965 this per- centage rose to 94.58. At present 94.90% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. Thus the progress during the period intervening the Second and the Third Surveys is negligible considering that the criteria in the Third Survey is also changed. The population served by primary sections within a distance of 1 kilometre is 81.50% only. There are 19,764 habitations which are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and of these, 18,242 (92.30%) are in the slab 'below 500'. 4,149 habitations with a population of 300 or more each are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. Thus the State has to put in more effort for opening new schools for provision of schooling facilities at primary stage.
West Bengal There are 52,270 rural habitations with a population of 3,57,75,402. Of these, 28,473 (54.47%) are in the slab 'below 500' and account for 18.51 % of the population. The First All India Educational Survey was not conducted by West Bengal. At the time of the Second Survey 67,703 rural habitations were identified. At that time 97.55% of the rural population was served by primary sections within a distance of 1 mile and the State occupied the second highest figure regarding this percentage and was next only to Gujarat. At present 98.74% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. The population served within a distance of 1 kilometre is 94.23%. In all 1,868 habitations are not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres and of these, 1,707 (91.38%) are in the slab 'below 500'. There are 557 habitations with the population of 300 or more each which have no primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. If these habitations are provided with primary schools, some more will be covered by these schools and the problem of provision of schooling facilities at this stage will be further solved.
Union Territories There are 9 Union Territories in all of which Delhi has been treated as completely urban. Of the remaining 8, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep and Pondicherry are the 3 territories where 100% of the rural population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. In Mizoram 99.76% of the population has schooling facilities within the habitation of residence. There is one habitation with the population of 731 (0.24%) which does not have a primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres. If a school is provided there, this territory will also be in the category of the other three mentioned earlier.
In Goa, Daman & Diu 98.4% of the population is served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. Thus, there also the problem of provision of schooling facility is not acute.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli has 13.60% of its population which is not served by primary sections within a distance of 2 kilometres. The number of habitations in this category is 79.
Andaman & Nicobar Islands have 17.96% of the population not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres.
Arunachal Pradesh is the only territory where the proportion of population not served by any primary section within a distance of 2 kilometres is very high, that is, 50.97%. This particular area has a difficult terrain which hinders educational growth.
SCHOOLING FACILITIES IN RURAL HABITATIONS
PREDOMINANTLY POPULATED BY SCHEDULED CASTES There are 65,715 rural habitations which are predominantly inhabitated by Scheduled Castes. Educational facilities available in them are discussed in a slabwise pattern.
Population slab 'below 100' There are 16,086 rural habitations in this slab which have a predominant Scheduled Caste population. Of these 1,109 have facilities for Class I in the habitation of residence of the children. Another 8,085 habitations have facilities for Class I within a distance of 1 kilometre. There are 2,798 habitations in this slab which do not have any educational facilities within a distance of 2 kilometres. Thus 82.61 % of the habitations have educational facilities for Class I within a distance of 2 kilometres though this percentage decreases slightly in the higher classes up to the Fourth Class. After the Fifth Class this percentage falls rather sharply. This can be anticipated as the size of the habitations is very small.
Population slab 100 to 199 There are 12,203 rural habitations in the slab which are predominantly populated by Scheduled Castes. Of these, 1,487 have schooling facility for Class I within
PRIMARY EDUCATION 25
the habitation and in all 10,499 have schooling facility for Class I either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres. Considering the position for Class V, the upper limit of the primary stage, 832 habitations have facility for this class within the habitation. In all 9,413 habitations have schooling facility for Class V either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres.
Population slab 200 to 299 There are 9,263 rural habitations in the slab and of these, 2,425 have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation. 8,200 habitations have schooling facility for Class I either within the habitation or in the neighbouring habitation within a distance of 2 kilometres. For Class V, 1,547 habitations have the facility within the habitation and a total of 7,358 habitations have this facility either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres.
Population slab 300 to 399 There are 6,888 habitations in this slab predominantly populated by Scheduled Castes. Of these, 2,905 have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation and a total of 6,358 have this facility either within the habitation or in a neighbouring habitation within a distance of 2 kilometres. For Class V, 1,633 habitations have schooling facility-within the habitation. A total of 5,605 habitations have schooling facility for Class V either within the habitation or within a distance of 2 kilometres.
Population slab 400 to 499 There are 6,550 habitations in this slab which are predominantly populated by Scheduled Castes. Of these, 3,082 have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation. The total number of habitations having facility for this class either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres is 6,295. For Class V, 1,735 habitations have schooling facility within themselves. An additional 3,650 habitations have this facility within a walking distance of 2 kilometres.
Population slab 500 to 999 There are 10,114 habitations in the slab having a predominant population of Scheduled Castes. 4,958 habitations have schooling facility for Class I within themselves whereas the total number of habitations having this facility either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres is 9,400. For Class V, 2,970 habitations of this slab have schooling facility within the habitation. The number of habitations having this facility either within the habitation or within a walking distance of 2 kilometres is 8,608. It may be mentioned here that in this slab there are 170 habitations which do not have schooling facility for Class I even within a distance of 8 kilometres. These need special consideration.
Population slab 1000 to 1999 There are 3,424 habitations in this slab predominantly populated by Scheduled Castes. Of these, 2,736 have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation with a total of 3,364 habitations being served by some schools for this class either within the habitation or within a distance of 2 kilometres. For Class V, 1,932 habitations have a school within themselves and the total number of habitations served by a school for Class V within a distance of 2 kilometres including the ones having a school within themselves is 2,946.
Population slab 2000 to 4999 There are 1,063 habitations populated predominantly by Scheduled Castes. 852 of these habitations have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation. The total number of habitations having this facility within a distance of 2 kilometres is 1,035. For Class V, 501 habitations have this facility right within the habitation and the total number of habitations served at this level is 823.
Population slab 5000 and above The number of habitations populated predominantly by Scheduled Castes in this slab is 119. Of these, 80 have schooling facility for Class I within the habitation. All the 119 habitations are served by some school for Class I within a distance of 2 kilometres. Up to Class IV these habitations are served by some school within a distance of 2 kilometres. For Class V, 102 habitations have schooling facility within themselves and another 10 have this facility within a distance of 2 kilometres. The number of habitations not having any schooling facility for Class V within a distance of 2 kilometres is 7.
Villages, scheded caste population and primary schools There are 3,47,857 villages in the country where the proportion of Scheduled Caste population is up to 15%. Of these, 52.10% have independent primary schools in them. In villages where the Scheduled Caste population is between 16 to 30 percent, 65.9% have independent primary schools. As the proportion of
26 THIRD ALL-INDIA EDUCATIONAL SURVEY
Scheduled Caste population increases, the proportion of villages having schools in them decreases. There are 11,967 villages where more than 90% of the population belong to Scheduled Castes. Of these, 3,526 have independent primary schools in them which account for 29.46% of the villages in this category. In the country 54.80% villages have independent primary schools in tHem. For all categories of villages where the Scheduled Caste population is more than 45%, in no category the percentage of villages having independent primary school exceeds the all India proportion.
STATEMENT 12
Proportion of scheduled caste population in villages and existence of independent primary schools
Villages having primary schools
Proportion (in percentage) Total no. of villages Number Col. (3) as % of
of scheduled castes in Col. (2)
villages
1 2 3 4
Up to 15 3,47,857 1,81,215 52.10
16-30 1,16,193 76,675 65.90
31-45 53,440 31,922 59.73
46-60 23,503 11,891 50.59
61-75 10,750 4,490 41.77
76-90 7,510 3,400 45.27
More than 90 11,967 3,526 29.46
2
TOTAL 5,71,220 3,13,019 54.80
Villages, scheduled tribe population and primary schools Villages having Scheduled Tribe population up to 15% number 4,20,042 and of these 58.57% have independent primary schools. This percentage falls in the categories where the Scheduled Tribe population is from 16 to 60 percent. It rises again for the two categories where the proportion is 61 to 75 per cent and 76 to 90 percent. In the last category where the Scheduled Tribe population is more than 90%, the proportion of villages having primary schools falls to 35.71 % again.
STATEMENT 13
Proportion of scheduled tribe population in villages and existence of Independent primary schools
Villages having primary schools
Proportion (in percentage) Total no. of villages Number Col. (3) as % of
of scheduled tribes in Col. (2)
villages
1 2 3 4
Up to 15 4,20,042 2,46,021 58.57
16-30 43,488 19,574 45.01
31-45 23,007 10,780 46.86
46-60 18,743 8,524 45.48
61-75 11,689 6,354 54.36
76-90 12,619 6,899 53.67
More than 90 41,632 14,867 35.71
TOTAL 5,71,220 3,13,019 54.80
PRIMARY EDUCATION 27
PRIMARY SECTIONS Primary sections in India include first 4 or 5 years of schooling according to the pattern of classes in a State or Union Territory. A section may be an independent primary school or the primary stage classes in a middle or secondary or higher secondary school.
The schools have been divided into 12 categories
1. P Schools - Schools having primary classes only.
2. M Schools - Schools having middle classes only.
3. S Schools - Schools having secondary classes only.
4. PM Schools - Schools having primary and middle classes.
5. MS Schools - Schools having secondary and middle classes.
6. PMS Schools - Schools having secondary, middle and primary classes.
7. HS Schools - Schools having higher secondary or intermediate, junior college or pre-university classes only.
8. MHS Schools - Schools having higher secondary and middle classes.
9. PMHS Schools - Schools with higher secondary, middle and primary classes.
10. Intermediate colleges with secondary classes.
11. Intermediate colleges with secondary and middle classes.
12. Intermediate colleges with secondary, middle and primary classes.
Thus, a primary section may be an independent primary school or a part of a PM school or a part of PMS school or a part of a PMHS school or a part of an intermediate college which has secondary, middle and primary classes in it.
STATEMENT 14
Percentage distribution of primary sections in primary schools or as part of senior schools (recognised)
Area Total No. of Primary schools Primary sections Primary sections Primary sections Primary sections Total
primary sec- as percentage of of PM schools of PMS schools of PMHS schools of intermediate
tions total number of as percentage of as percentage of as percentage of colleges as per-
primary sections total number of total number of total number of pri- centage of total
in the area primary sections primary sections mary sections in number of primary
in the area in the area the area sections in the
area
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Rural 4,73,754 87.42 11.18 1.13 0.26 0.01 100.00
Urban 57,113 72.80 19.62 4.30 2.91 0.37 100.00
TOTAL 5,30,867 85.85 12.09 1.47 0.54 0.05 100.00