On the International Women’s Day, Ambarish Rai, national RTE forum convener said more than 60 million children were out of school and its various activities. The condition of the girl child’s education is at dangerously low levels as 30 % of girls from poor families have never entered a physical classroom and its boundaries. India being the country which basks on the glory of having the world’s youngest population also has the largest number of children out of school and exposed to hazardous situations.
Data Analysis is in the following:
English:
Around 38 % of boys and 36 % of girls are unable to read basic vocabulary and sentence formation.
Arithmetic and Mathematics:
42 % of girls and 39 % of boys are deficient at basic subtraction and addition. A staggering 25 % of boys and girls can’t read the Standard 2 level textbook and notes. We are celebrating March 8 as the International Women’s Day to honour women and their achievements and on the other side, the girl child and its future in the country seem dark.
Hard Data
Around 40 % of adolescent girls aged 15-18 apparently have not seen a school in their lifetime. Girls from poorest families approximately 40 % have never stepped inside the classroom and school surroundings. Teachers’ training is dismal as 17.5 % of elementary and 14.8 % of secondary teacher’s posts remain vacant. Only 70 % of primary school teachers are adequately trained to teach students with their available skill sets.
The attitude of Government and allocation of funds to educational budget
The Icheon Commission of Education (2015) and Kothari Commission of the 1980s had recommended at least 6 % of GDP to be allocated towards the educational sector but numbers tell a different story. Currently, the government is spending only 2.7 % of GDP on education which is lower than 3.1 % that was spent in the 2012- 2013 financial year.
Annual status of Education (ASER) reports year after year comes as a reminder of our dysfunctional system where data shows that secondary level mathematical foundation and reading abilities have declined to poor category and average achievement scores of Class five students have declined in all subjects between 2011 to 2014.
The kind of resources the government spends on manpower and maintenance of Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navoday Vidyalyas even if half of these resources are spent on other government schools, the entire system could be a better place.
(Image Courtesy: India Today)
