The stranded generation

Muskan was in Std VI when she knew she wanted to be a police officer. “People fear you,” says this 17-year-old resident of Painchri village, Shimla, her eyes gleaming at the idea of commanding all that respect. “But it’s not possible for me,” she says the very next instant, shaking her head. “I have to support my family at home. There is no one to guide me at school... They don’t know the name of the exam I have to take... they just tell me that it’s hard...”

Muskan was one of the youngsters interviewed by the non-governmental organisation Pratham for its extensive ASER (Annual Status of Education Report), which was released on January 16 this year.

Focusing on the 3-16 age group since it began publishing in 2008, the report this year focuses for the first time on the 14-18 age group — namely, youth on the cusp of adulthood, about to vote and work for the very first time, the first batch of students who have been full beneficiaries of eight years of the Right to Education Act. ASER interviewed 28,323 youth across 26 rural districts in 24 States to map their learning abilities and aspirations.

Muskan and a few others like her who were surveyed by ASER, shared their stories in the short video screened at the launch of the report. They form a sample of the country’s driven youth, full of rather simple and realistic career ambitions (teachers, army officers et al), finding themselves stranded at a crucial crossroad, bereft of a roadmap to move ahead. How did it all go so wrong?

RTE ends at age 14 and the Right to Work kicks in at 18. What are the youth doing in this crucial interim period?

“Here’s the good news: 86 per cent of those in the 14-18 age group are either in school or college. In the 2001 Census, 74 per cent of 18-year-olds were not studying in any educational institution. In 2011 it was 56 per cent. Now that number is 30 per cent,” says ASER Executive Director Wilima Wadhwa.

She points out that Std VIII enrolment has doubled from 2004 to 2014 — 11 million to 22 million. “There is near-universal enrolment for schooling. More and more young people are completing Std VIII. Many of them are first-generation learners (either or both parents have never been to school).”

But enrolment and learning are two separate benchmarks, and the gaping divide between the two, marked by low attendance (just 50 per cent in some States), has remained a classic problem in India. Under the Right to Education’s no-detention policy, students are automatically promoted up to Std VIII, often without any reality checks en route to gauge the actual learning levels.

“What ASER has shown systematically in previous surveys is that kids are behind by three to four grades; 77 per cent in Std VIII cannot pass Std II-level tests. There is nothing in our system to effectively address this disadvantage, once you get left behind... A teacher only teaches to the top of the class in a race to complete the syllabus, and there is no help at home where the parents are illiterate,” says Wadhwa.

Off to school More and more young Indians are completing Std VIII; many of them are first-generation learners

Echoing her, Nitya Ram, founder of Delhi-based start-up QUBE-ED Education Services says that to bridge learning outcomes, teachers need to learn not just how to teach, but rather teach with an understanding of the difficulties and deprivation that many students face at home.

Equally she warns against the harmful impact of the fake BEd degree racket on the education system. “Learning outcomes cannot be bridged unless we revamp our teacher training and crack down on the countrywide fake BEd degree racket. A few years ago, 12,822 students appeared for BEd exams in Agra, and 20,000 students passed!”

This year, the ASER survey shows that learning levels remain a reason for concern even among older youth. The findings are broadly divided into four categories: activity; ability; awareness (including digital technologies); and aspirations.

There’s both good and bad news tucked under each of these headings: 54 per cent of those aged 14-18 are in Std X or below; 25 per cent are in Std XI or XII; but only six per cent are enrolled in undergraduate or degree courses. Seventy-seven per cent of the youth surveyed can read basic text in their own language; 53 per cent of the 14-year-olds can read English sentences. Only 76 per cent could count money correctly; 57 per cent struggle with division problems. While 64 per cent can calculate and make purchase decisions correctly, only 22 per cent could calculate interest repayment correctly. Only 64 per cent knows the capital of India and only 42 per cent could point to their State on the map of India.

The best news, however, is the evident spike in connectivity: 73 per cent of the young people surveyed had used a mobile phone in the past week and 85 per cent had watched TV; 58 per cent had read a newspaper and 46 per cent had listened to the radio. “Now we know that we can get to them. There are ways to communicate! That’s the good news we have to learn to leverage,” says Wadhwa.

Efforts to foster digital and financial inclusion, however, require some serious introspection, if ASER is to be believed — only 28 per cent used the internet; and while 74 per cent of the youth have bank accounts, only 51 per cent have deposited or withdrawn money, and a mere 16 per cent has ever used an ATM.

As much as 60 per cent of the youth wanted to study beyond Std XII. A third of the youth not enrolled in an educational institution did not aspire to any specific occupation and 40 per cent had no role models for the profession they aspired to pursue.

“The education system is losing the plot by not connecting with the youth. If you get left behind, there is no way to catch up. There are 25 million kids in this age group. We must stress further on foundational learning. We have to find ways to deal with learning deficits within the education system,” says Wadhwa.

The findings of the ASER household survey, despite its small sample size, are reflected by even the month-old National Achievement Survey (NAS) report of the Human Resource Development ministry. Only 64.3 per cent in Std III could correctly answer a math question at their level; that figure fell to 54.14 per cent in Std V; and 42.07 per cent in Std VIII. The corresponding numbers for English were not particularly good either: 67.7; 58.43; and 56.7 per cent, respectively.

“Both ASER and the NAS surveys, year after year, show that we’re doing some terrible injustice to our primary school-goers,” says Shailendra Sharma, principal advisor to the directorate of education, Delhi government. If children in Std III are falling behind in math and reading, it only goes to show that we have erred somewhere in building in them strong foundational learning skills and have instead invested our energies in thrusting ‘knowledge’ through our pedagogy.”

Wadhwa advocates a more skill-based learning system, introduced earlier on in school. “Everybody has to pay bills and put food on the table. The largest number of poor people in the world live in India.” The most practical solution to our education and employment crisis is the teaching of vocational skills at the school level, she adds. “How do I know what I like and could be good at? In the West you have something called ‘Shop’ in public schools, where you figure out what you’re good at and learn about diverse professions. Why should vocational skills be only for ‘those disadvantaged people’?” she queries, arguing that honing the ability to be employable is the education that everybody needs.

Sharma believes that vocational training in schools needs to be contextual to the current job market and designed to allow every child to discover his/her interests.

Ram stresses on the need for linkages with industry. For employability training to be relevant, schools need to tie up with employers to find out the exact skills they are looking for. “Most vocational courses don’t fetch you an organised-sector job today because of the lack of industry connect,” she says.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley said in his budget speech that education is a priority area for the government and allocated ₹85,010 crore.

“Being a developing economy, there is not enough fiscal space to increase the expenditure on critical social infrastructure like education,” the Economic Survey stated a month ago. In 2027, India will have the world’s largest workforce, with a billion aged between 15 and 64. And yet, what difference have schemes like Skill India, Digital India, Stand up India and Start Up India made to the country’s youth?

“We’re sitting on a time bomb. Aspirations are high. A growing number of kids are graduating out of Std VIII. They are doing everything they were told to do about finishing school. And yet, the system isn’t equipping them with the skills needed in the organised sector. We’ve had unequal growth for far too long, with the benefits going only to the skilled labour force. But now, the frustration of the unskilled will come out in multiple ways we aren’t prepared to handle,” Wadhwa warns.

Many pathways to learning The best news is the evident spike in connectivity: 73 per cent of the young people surveyed had used a mobile phone in the past week

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