Educating India

The Annual State of Education Report 2017 , brought out by Pratham tells us that India’s young — the 125 million between 14 and 18 years of age — are ill-equipped to read, write or do even basic arithmetic. Recent policy efforts such as Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, mid-day meals scheme, Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Education Act have certainly lifted enrolment levels, but now the biggest challenge is raise the level of teaching. It is revealing that the gender divide in cognition levels worsens with rise in age, as girls are often compelled to drop out of school for a variety of reasons. The 2017 report, called ‘Beyond Basics’ as it explores the educational levels of teenagers (and not children of 6-14 years as in earlier ASER reports), also delves into their ‘awareness’ and ‘aspirations’. Both these categories are deeply gendered; as many as 76 per cent of teenage girls have no access to the computer or internet, as against 49 per cent in the case of boys, an aspect to be noted, as the Centre pushes for Digital India. Generally speaking, boys expressed their wish to join the army or police, while girls wished to be teachers; gendered choice of careers remains the norm for society at large, with just upper crust service sector jobs breaking stereotypes. The aspiration levels of those out of school (about 15 per cent of the teenage population) are significantly lower — this affirms the old maxim that education ‘broadens horizons’ and lifts ability, possibilities and confidence. The report, like its earlier versions, is a wake up call to those who take India’s ‘demographic dividend’ for granted.

The situation calls for a shift in policy priorities, as pointed out by Economic Survey 2016-17. The Survey says that while interventions such as remedial education and conditional cash transfers are “promising”, focusing entirely on increasing the number of teachers and making building and computers are not. However, there is now an urgent need to focus on creating excellence among educators. Centre and State spending on education must increase from 3.2 per cent of GDP, inching up closer to the global norm of above 5 per cent. Vacancies in teaching posts should be plugged. It may be worth capitalising social sector expenditure, instead of squeezing salaries in a bid to curb the revenue deficit.

The report refers to a lack of interest in pursuing education in agriculture. This aspect should be looked into, as part of an effort to lift farm prospects. Cognition skills could improve when rural students can relate to the subject matter. Farm sector and education reforms can go hand in hand.