UNIVERSALISATION OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (A STATUS PAPER)

 ACCOMPLISHMENTS SO FAR

UNIVERSALISATION OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (UEE)

At the time of Independence, India inherited a system of education which was not only quantitatively small but also char- acterised by structural imbalances. Only fourteen per cent of the population was literate and only one child out of three had been en- rolled in primary school. The low levels of participation and literacy were aggravated by acute regional and gender disparities. As education is vitally linked with the totality of the development process - education being "the basic tool for the development of consciousness and reconstitution of society," in the words of Mahatma Gandhi - the reform and restructuring of the educational system was recognised as an important area of state intervention.

The need for a literate population and universal education for all children in the age group of 6-14 was recognised as a crucial input for nation building and was given due consideration in the Constitution as well as in successive Five Year Plans. This has resulted in a manifold increase of spatial spread, infrastructural facilities, increased coverage of various social groups; but the goal of providing basic education to all could not be achieved.

Access : Growth of Facilities

There has been a spectacular increase in elementary education during the post-Independence period. The elementary education system of India has expanded into one of the largest in the world. The number of primary schools increased from 209,671 in 1950-51 to 572,541 in 1992-93; the corresponding increase in upper primary schools was from 13,596 to 153,921. These 726,462 schools together with 2.7 lakhs non-formal education centres enrolled 150 million children as compared to 22.3 million in 1951. Universal provision of education has been substantially achieved at the primary stage (classes IN). According to the Fifth AR India Education Survey (1986), 94.5 per cent of the rural population had schools within a walking distance of 1 km. and 83.98% of the rural population have an upper primary school within a walking distance of 3 km. The survey estimated that there were 31,815 habitations in the country which had a population of 300 or more but did not have a primary school within the walking distance of one

kilometre. Most of these habitations are situated in educationally backward states such as Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

Enrolment

Since Independence, there has been a substantial increase in enrolment at all levels of education. Enrolment at the primary stage increased about five fold from 19.2 million to 105.37 million in 1992- 93; the increase in the upper primary stage is far higher from 3.1 million to 38.7 million.

The gross enrolment ratios of children in the age group 6-11 increased from 42.6 per cent in 1950-51 to 105.7 per cent in 1992-93. Likewise, the gross enrolment of 11-14 age group increased from 12.7 per cent in 1950-51 to 67.5 per cent in 1992-93. An analysis of the enrolment data reveals that the population of children moving up from the primary to upper primary stage has been increasing steadily, from 16.3 per cent in 1950-51 to 36.72 per cent in 1992-93.

While the gross enrolment ratios (GER) at the primary stage in the country as a whole and in most of its states exceed 100 per cent there are quite a few states where the ratio is considerably lower. These include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, and Meghalaya. At the upper primary stage these states and in addition, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and Sikkim have GERs lower than the national average. Most of these states have literacy rates lower than the national average. There is thus a strong regional dimension of UEE.

The problem. gets more complicated as the drop-out rates, though declining, continue to be high. Nearly half the children who entered Class I drop out before reaching Class V, and two-thirds of the children dropout before reaching Class VIII. Regional disparities also abound in rates of the dropouts.

Gender Disparities

As with any educational indicator, gender disparities are conspicuous in regard to enrolment and retention. Girls' enrolment 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. The rate of growth of enrolment of girls has been higher than that of boys but disparities still persist - girls still account for only 45.7 per cent of the enrolment at the primary stage and 37.73 per

Reasons For Children Dropping Out of School

The 42nd round of the National Sample Survey (July 1986-June 1987) provides valuable information on the reasons for non-enrolment and dropout. Nonavailability of schooling facilities seems to account for only about 10 percent of the "never enroled" in rural India and about 8 percent in urban India; the difference between the sexes is very small in rural areas but somewhat larger in the urban sector

However, nearly 30 percent of the persons surveyed, both in rural and urban India, gave the reason for "never enroled" as being "not interested". The difference between the sexes here is large: a larger proportion of "never enroled" females gave this reason in comparison with the males. The reason for being "not interested" could be considered as a demand side constraint to access: some authorities however, consider it as a supply side constraint rooted in poor facilities and quality of education.

Domestic Restraints

About 52 percent of urban males and 29 percent of urban females could not avail of the educational services because of participation in household economic activity and other economic reasons. Attending to domestic chores restrained around one percent of the males, both in rural as well as urban India, from ever enroling as students. Nevertheless, this reason was one of the major demand side constraints on access to education for the females: for 9.9 percent of them in the rural and 10.7 percent. of them in the urban sector Most of the young females are denied access to education because they look after their siblings besides performing a variety of domestic, housekeeping chores. Significantly, the proportion of currently "not enroled" decreases with the increase in per capita household income.

A little over one-fourth of all "drop-outs " in rural as well as urban India gave "not interested in education/further study" as the reason for discontinuance of education - with the proportion among females being somewhat higher - 33.3 percent as against 26.5 percent for males in areas and 28.5 percent as against 23.6 percent for males in urban areas. Another 16.3 percent of rural and 20.3 percent of urban "dropouts" cited 'failure' to pass examinations as the reason for discontinuance. Again, it is a Moot point whether this is a supply side constraint due to the poor quality of eduction services or a demand constraint, or a combination of both.

cent at the upper primary stage. The drop-out rates of girls at the primary as well as the upper primary stage are higher than those of boys.

Regional disparities are also conspicuous. High female literacy states (above 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 status (40-50 per cent) enrolment of girls appears to be satisfactory at the primary level. The situation in low female literacy states (20-40 per cent) causes concern. These states have more than half of the country's population, with just four of them (Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan) accounting for 40 per cent of the country's population.

Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

According to the 1991 census, the population of Scheduled Castes (SCs) was 138.2 million (16.33 per cent) and that of Scheduled Tribes (STs) 67.8 million (8.01 per cent) of the country's population.

Both SC and ST populations are not homogeneous target groups in all respects. There are wide variations between different SC and ST groups regionally. Thus SC girls in Kerala are likely to be better placed than non-SC boys in some of the more backward states and districts.

Because of the affirmative policies of the government, the enrolment of SCs and STs has increased considerably at the primary stage. The participation of SCs and STs is now more or less in proportion to their share in population at the primary level. Drop- outs, though declining over the years, are significantly large. Gender disparities are very conspicuous among SCs and STs also.

Handicapped Children

Handicapped children are a distinct target group where basic learning needs have to be catered to by special programmes. Handicapped children would include those who are orthopaedically handicapped, those with hearing impairments, visual impairments, the mentally handicapped and others. NPE, 1986 called for integration of "the physically

and mentally handicapped with the general community as equal partners to prepare them for normal growth and to enable them to face life with courage and confidence."

The POA, 1992 estimates that about10.39 million children with disabilities are to be provided education in the school system. Out of these, about half a million require vocational training.

The statistics on participation of these children are not firm. At the end of 1991-92 about 30,000 disabled children were availing of special benefits under the scheme of Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC). In addition, about 60,000 children with mild disabilities received resource support without special benefits. A large number of children with disability are also receiving education in 1,035 special schools.

Learning Achievement

If the fact that half the children drop out before reaching Class V is shocking, far more shocking is the level of learning achievement of those remaining in school. A sample study of learning achievements of students was conducted in 48 districts as part of the DPEP. In the final year of primary schooling, in none of these districts the maximum average score for reading skills was higher than fifty two per cent; the achievements in arithmetic were worse.