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| TERRIBLE MESS THAT OUR PRIMARY EDUCATION IS IN | | | Joginder Singh
Instead of indulging in sloganeering, the Government must make education for all a priority. As a first step, it must address the problem of shortage of teachers and keep a check on fraudulent practices like fake degrees
The educational system in India has passed through various phases with the Government either lying low or taking an active part, at least on paper, to provide quality education to children.
According to the All India Education Survey, conducted by National Council Of Educational Research And Training, which indicates trends from 2002 to 2009, there were 2,532 private unaided primary schools. The Analytical Report for 2011-2012, released by the Department of Public Instruction recently, showed that there are now 10,960 private unaided primary schools.
On the other hand, the number of Government-run primary schools in the same period has less than doubled, from 23,253 to 45,200. Almost the same will be the position in the entire country and all the States.
A national survey of NCERT from 2002 to 2009 has revealed that almost 23 crore children are studying in 13 lakh schools across the country. However, one-fifth of the total primary schools in rural areas still do not have drinking water facility; three out of 10 are without urinal facilities; and half do not have playgrounds.
The data confirms the disquieting fact that girl education continues to be interrupted after primary school with the percentage of enrollment declining at the higher secondary school stage. While there is a maximum increase of 48.13 per cent in girls' enrollment in primary schools, the figure dips to 42.56 per cent for higher secondary levels.
The survey shows that there are more than 13 lakh recognised schools across the country in each habitation, village and urban areas, out of which more than 84.14 per cent are in the rural areas.
Former Human Resource and Development Minister Kapil Sibal said that there was a shortage of 12 lakh Government school teachers. The Unesco Institute of Statistics has gone a step further. In a 2010 report, it said that India would need 20 lakh new teachers by 2015. It is also estimated that in addition to filling existing vacancies, the Government will need to appoint another 5.1 lakh teachers to meet the new pupil:teacher ratio.
Almost 53.2 per cent of India's schools have a poor PTR. The situation is going to get worse with the Right to Education Act seeking to ensure education for all. It is expected to reach out to an estimated 8.1 million out-of-school children in the six to 14 age group. The shortage will be more acute as new Government schools come up to accommodate the students' surge.
Moreover, in our country a large number of people with fake educational certificates, are holding key positions. In one case, a Delhi Law Minister had to spend days in jail over a false degree.
A classic example of the fake degree scam is Bihar, where over 3,000 school teachers, who allegedly used fake degree certificates to get jobs, resigned, apprehending legal action. The Patna High Court refused further general amnesty to those who failed to resign.
According to officials, the teachers resigned following the Patna High Court's directive to the State Government to ask the school teachers, who allegedly used fake degree certificates, to resign or face legal action.
The court had made it clear that school teachers, continuing with their jobs with fake degree certificates even after the deadline to resign was crossed, would be liable to punishment and recovery of the salaries paid to them.
It also directed the Director of the Bihar Vigilance Department to probe the recruitment of nearly 40,000 Government teachers, who allegedly used fake degree certificates to get their jobs.
This malaise prevails not only in Bihar but across the country. Academic dishonesty has become the norm in most of our Government-run institutions. The common thread of cheating runs through all the above forms.
Cheating can take the form of possible answers to the probable questions, looking over someone's shoulder during an examination, or any forbidden sharing of information between students regarding an exam or exercise. Elaborate methods of cheating have been developed over the years.
For instance, students have been documented hiding notes in the bathroom toilet tank, in the brims of their baseball caps, or up their sleeves. Also, the storing of information in graphing calculators, pagers, cellphones, and other electronic devices, is common. Other reported methods include throwing chits containing right answers, or signalling whether the answer is right or wrong.
There have also been cases where students have kept daggers on their answering table to scare the teachers away away from checking malpractices. Such incidents keep happening all over the country, especially north India
Here is a extract from the media, on a Government school education in the national capital. In a girls' senior secondary school, 7,000 students are accommodated in four shifts; each class has 14 sections; six subjects are covered in three-hour classes; and most classes are conducted outdoors because the 69 classrooms are just not enough.
Not surprisingly, the results for Class IX were no different. Out of 1,100 students, 213 students, or just 20 per cent, had been promoted to the next class, leaving 887 behind. Last year for the same classes, approximately 50 per cent students had passed.
The principal of the school said, "Parents know from the beginning that their children will have to take some classes sitting outside. We have been pushing for better infrastructure, but look at the numbers that we are dealing with. We have about 18 permanent teachers and as many as 116 guest faculty members. The pressure on the permanent teachers is immense. Many of the guest teachers miss classes and take leave, too."
"The appointment process of guest teachers begins in July and by the time they start teaching it is almost September, six months of the session are already wasted by then. Some schools don't have teachers even till January-February", said Supreme Court advocate and education activist Khagesh Jha. Slogans like education for all is a hoax when it is the last or no priority for the Government. Here this school comes under the Delhi Government. It is for the simple reason that the students in school do not fall in any category of vote-banks.
As a first step, the Government must throw its weight around on matters of right and wrong. Cease being intimidated by the argument that a right action is impossible because it does not yield maximum profits, or that a wrong action is to be condoned because it pays. Good quality education, will not just help individuals, but will also rejuvenate the country.
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