Study slide: Dreams die first

Dreams deferred. That's perhaps the best way to describe India's education system. Consider this: more than 13 crore children study in primary school — Class I to V. That means nearly all of India's children between 6 and 11 years are now in school. In the next stage, Class VI to VIII, the number drops dramatically to about 5.5 crore. By Class IX-X, the number halves again to 2.8 crore. By Class XI-XII , student strength is down to 1.6 crore. By the time you reach the top of the pyramid and look at universities and colleges, enrolment is down to just about 11% of what it was in primary school. Which means just one in 10 toddlers in kindergarten makes it to college.

Perhaps more important for an emerging 'superpower' is the status of technical education: the skilled workforce needed to man the shop floor. Just 20 lakh students go to polytechnics and industrial training institutes after finishing school at Class XIII, X or XII.

In other words, roughly 80 to 90% of the country's young are getting left behind in our education system, their dreams deferred to some distant and unclear future . Of these, barely 55 lakh still pursue their dream by enrolling in the distance education system, which at least offers the satisfaction of a degree or diploma.

Who gets left behind?

Economically and socially disadvantaged sections constitute the bulk of those who cannot complete their education. They are the poor, dalits, tribals, women and rural people. These are overlapping categories, but data is stark on their continued rejection by the education system. For the poor, fees get more and more prohibitive as they move up the educational pyramid. Also, poor families can't afford to spare a son or daughter to 'waste' time in classrooms — they have to start earning for the family.

In rural areas, more than 51% of the poorest section of population is illiterate and only a minuscule 0.4% study beyond higher secondary. Among the richest, about 23% are illiterate but nearly 9% have completed post-school studies.

In urban areas, 42% of the poorest are still illiterate; the proportion of illiterates among the richest is only 7%. Just 1.5% of the poorest manage to complete higher studies while the figure is 42% for the richest.

Women tend to get left behind, although the gender gap has rapidly reduced over the years. Past discrimination against women is visible in literacy rates: according to Census 2011, among those aged above 7, there are 17.6 crore illiterate women compared to about 9.7 crore men. In the 5-29 age group, 57% males were enrolled in an educational institution as opposed to 50% females, as per an NSSO study of 2007-08.

By Class VIII, the dropout rate for the country is 43%: two out of five kids who started school quit by the time they reach Class VIII. If that is a disastrous number, it's even worse for dalits (53%) and tribals (63%). In some large states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan , more than 50% of dalit children do not study beyond Class V.

Why this mess?

Education in a country the size of India — with its huge backlog of neglect under colonial rule — required hefty and sustained government intervention. Surprisingly , the visionary leadership post-Independence failed spectacularly in allocating sufficient resources for education. The neglect continued down the years.

Many argue that the government has at last, 66 years after Independence, realized the importance of education and is channelling money into the sector. The reality is different. Total combined spending on education by central and state governments is projected at just short of 3.8% of GDP for 2010-11 . It is about 11% of all government spending. Compared to, say, 1951-52 , when government spent 0.6% of GDP (8% of total public expenditure ), this is an improvement. But education spending had already reached this level 20 years ago, in 1991-92 . In fact, as a share of total government spend it was higher then — over 13%.

What this means is that despite India's high growth trajectory, essentials such as education for all are not getting adequate resources. Not only does this restrict access to education, it also affects quality. There is only one way this plays out — higher costs.

According to the NSSO report of 2007-08 , average annual spending by a family on technical education of their son or daughter is Rs 19,989 if they go to a government institute, and a large Rs 38,675 in a private, unaided institute. How many of the poor can afford this?

These averages are much higher in urban areas where the bulk of technical training institutes are located. Studying in a private, unaided urban institute entails spending Rs 43,058 on average. Of course, this average hides the range between top-class institutions and the others.

A faltering government system does not fulfil the dreams of those seeking a better future. So they're forced to seek expensive options in the private sector. This includes formal education, such as private schools, colleges and universities, and the shadow education system of tuitions and coaching classes.

Recent studies show that families are cutting down on food to ensure a better education for their children. Between 1999 and 2009, expenditure on food increased by about 70% among rural families and 78% among urban ones. But spending on education jumped up by as much as 378% in rural areas and 345% in urban areas, according to an NSSO report.

Question of quality

The government's eagerness to churn out numbers has had an unfortunate casualty — quality of education. A 2011 survey of learning outcomes of schoolchildren by Pratham revealed that 60% of Class III children could not read simple words that they should have learnt in previous classes. In Class V, 70% of children were not able to "comfortably and fluently read a Class 3 level text".

A similar problem was seen in maths. A quarter of children in Class III were unable to solve numerical one-digit problems they were taught in Class I. The same problem given in words (requiring application of knowledge) had 80% of the children groping in the dark.

The Pratham study found that even simple teaching methods like using teaching aids or displaying children's work on walls or using local examples were not followed in most schools. The most common method of "teaching" was either writing on a blackboard or reading aloud from a book. The survey showed that just one thing — introducing teaching aids — improved children's performance noticeably.

Although a new curricular framework for the country was adopted in 2005, it's only been lip service so far. Untrained and de-motivated teachers ignore it, as do statelevel textbook publishers and syllabus makers . The number of teachers required for implementing Right To Education across the country is huge, estimated at 20 lakh, and standards of teacher education are being lowered in order to hastily fill the gaps. A study by the National University of Educational Planning & Administration found that of the 47 lakh elementary schoolteachers , nearly a quarter haven't studied beyond Class VIII. And another quarter have not gone beyond Class XII.

Make an impact

The TOI Social Impact Awards honours people and organizations who battle enormous odds to improve the lives of disadvantaged people. Last year, 11 NGOs, corporate houses and government departments won the prestigious Award. For this year's Awards applications are being received till October 23, 2012. Apply now through the simple, online form at http:// timessocialawards. com.timesofindia.indiatimes.com For our millions of readers, who may not be in the race for awards, this is an opportunity to learn about what is going on in the voluntary sector - and to make your voice heard. Here's how: Go to the Awards website www.timessocialawards.com. Nominate an organization you know is doing excellent work. Also, follow the entries and vote for those you think deserve to win. Join the 'Social Impact Awards' community on Facebook, comment and debate. Share with your friends. Follow @toisocialawards on Twitter.

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Study slide: Dreams die first

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