The condition of government schools has come to light, Dalit-Bahujan children are being affected.

The report shows that about 8 percent of the schools in the country have only one teacher. Teachers lack training in modern educational methods. And they struggle to employ interactive and engaging teaching techniques. (Report by Sushil Manav)

About 8-10 years ago, there was a survey that class 8 students studying in government schools could not read Hindi, could not solve questions, did not know the English alphabet, did not know counting and counting etc. Along with this, there was a rumor in the upper caste community that children go to primary and secondary government schools only to get registered. Later people also started saying that if mid-day meal is abolished then not even a single child will be seen in government schools.

Obviously the middle income group had already shifted their children to private schools. Those in the lower income group, especially those in daily wage occupations, even those with decent incomes, immediately removed their children from government schools and sent them to private schools. In such private schools whose fees were slightly less. In schools with low fees i.e. three hundred to five hundred rupees per month. There is a severe lack of basic infrastructure in these schools. The entire school runs in barely three-four rooms. Teachers also do not conform to the required standards of teaching. That means their education is intermediate or graduate and they do not have any training or degree in teaching. What’s more, these schools don’t even have any recognition.

The target of these schools is the Dalit-Bahujan class, who want to get their children educated in English medium private schools. But they do not have that much income.

On January 18, a survey report has again come out regarding the level of education of the children who go to school in the village, which has been done by a non-governmental organization ‘Pratham Education Foundation’. It is described as an annual citizen-led household survey. The report titled ‘Beyond Basics’ focuses on children in the age group of 14-18 in rural areas who study in classes 8-12. The survey has four points. For example, what are the activities of children towards education, what are their aspirations, what is their level of awareness in general and how aware are they to learn common things.

From this report it emerges that in which activities the teenagers of rural India are engaged and how many have access to smartphones and for what purpose they are using it.

The report claims that 25 percent of rural youth in the age group of 14-18 are unable to read Class 2 level text in their regional language. Only 76 percent of girls and 70.9 percent of boys can read at a Class 2 level. At the same time, more than 50 percent of the youth are not able to solve the subtraction of one to three digits at the level of class 3 and class 4. Unable to divide three digit numbers by one digit numbers. The report shows that only 41.1 percent girls are able to tell time compared to 51 percent boys. About 43 percent of youth cannot read English sentences. Only 57.3 percent of the students were able to read sentences in English and only about three-fourth of them were able to understand their meaning.

Picture of a primary school in Purvanchal, Uttar Pradesh

The report also shows that boys have a better percentage than girls in reading English and solving arithmetic problems. The report claims that at the time of admission in class 11th, girls choose subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics etc. less than boys. The survey also revealed that 55 percent of Class 11 students take Arts and Humanities stream. Only 5.6 percent youth are taking vocational training.

What else is in the report?

The report also shows that 86.8 percent of students in the age group of 14-18 are enrolled in educational institutions. Among the youth who are not enrolled in any school, the highest number are 18 year old youth, which is 32.6 percent. Whereas among those who are not enrolled, 14 year old children are the least at 3.9 percent. That means 32.6 percent students aged 18 years are not studying. However, the survey report says that 23.6 percent girls and 24.4 percent boys in the age group of 17-18 years left their studies midway. Investigating the reasons for this, the report says that the most common reason for girls dropping out of school is family constraints. While the most common reason among boys is lack of interest. Compared to sons, daughters are more inclined to continue further studies after 12th. However, this decision is not in the hands of the daughters but in the hands of the family.

? The survey said that the number of boys working outside the home along with studies is 33.7 percent, whereas in the year 2017 this figure was 41.6 percent. The number of girls working outside the home along with studies is 28 percent whereas in 2017 this figure was 45.1 percent. It has been said in the survey that in the minds of boys, there is a desire to earn money as soon as possible and in times of financial crisis, sons start working to pay their school fees.

It is noteworthy that under the New Education Policy-2020, talks were made to promote digital education. Regarding digital access and gender inequality of rural youth, this survey shows that 90 percent of the youth have smartphones in their homes. Whereas 43.7 percent boys and 19.8 percent girls have their own smartphone. Despite this, boys were found to lack digital skills. In the survey, boys performed better than girls in performing phone related tasks. The survey has claimed that social media and smartphones have more influence on the minds of youth and 91 percent children are active on social media.

The report points to these reasons

Talking about the reasons for the problem, the report states that about 8 percent of the schools in the country have only one teacher. Teachers lack training in modern educational methods. And they struggle to employ interactive and engaging teaching techniques, which has impacted students’ understanding of basic arithmetic concepts and their ability to read. Limited access to textbooks and learning materials has hindered students’ ability to practice and reinforce basic skills outside the classroom. Students from low-income families face challenges such as inadequate infrastructure, lack of educational support at home and limited access to extra-curricular activities that enhance their basic skills. In areas where the language of instruction is not in the students’ native language, students face challenges in understanding the curriculum and expressing themselves. Whereas students from tribal areas find difficulty in studying English. The survey shows that both student and teacher attendance in schools has remained stable. The attendance figure of children is 72 percent. Whereas the attendance figure of teachers is 85 percent.

It is noteworthy that digital literacy is not included in the school curriculum. And students are not prepared with the digital skills to be part of the modern workforce. Assessment has primarily focused on memorization rather than critical thinking, leading to students preferring rote learning rather than understanding fundamental concepts.

The UNESCO report – ‘2021 State of the Education Report in India – No Teacher No Class’ also claims that there are 1,10,971 schools in India where there is only one teacher. 89 percent of these schools are in rural areas.

Government rejected the report

However, the Central Government has rejected this report and said that it is wrong to present the picture of the country by conducting a survey in some districts. This report is based on conversations with 34,745 students from 1664 villages in 28 districts of 26 states. The survey covered 2 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, and one district each of other states, while there are about 797 districts across the country.

It is noteworthy that this report was first published in the year 2005. A total of 16 reports have been received so far.

Such reports do not solve the problem but encourage migration.

? Kiran, a social worker who works for the education and welfare of children living in the slums of Prayagraj city, says – “You see that cities are continuously expanding. Cities are expanding. The corporate is also expanding in the vast area. He is expanding his school branches. All the big private schools located in Allahabad city have opened three to four branches within a radius of just five to 10 kilometers. So they want children in these. The already open schools are sufficient for the number of children in the city. Where should the children be brought to the new schools opening every day, now their target is the children of rural areas.

Kiran further says that instead of finding a solution to the problem, such reports publicize the problem so much that people migrate from villages to cities even for primary and secondary education.

Even the most expensive school does not guarantee that children do not have to take separate tuition.

Sushil Kumar, who gives home tuition to children in Rajendra Nagar, Ghaziabad, adjacent to Delhi, says that he gives tuition to children studying in schools like Delhi Public School, Holy Angels School, Rayon International. These are counted among the best private schools of the city. The monthly fee of these schools is Rs 5-8 thousand per month. Children get admission in these schools only after the entrance examination. That means, through the entrance examination, they filter out bright children and take them. Despite this, not a single school guarantees that the children studying there will not need additional tuition or coaching. The bottom line is that the situation is more or less the same everywhere. The only difference is that such schools are run by corporates, hence no survey report comes on them.

Educationist Rohit Dhankhar says that our basic infrastructure is very weak. Most of the schools do not have as many teachers nor as many rooms as required. After the new education policy comes, there is a fear among teachers that their school may be closed. So they hold meetings in the village to ensure that as many children as possible come to school. The villagers raise questions whether there is a guarantee that studies will take place. A dialogue has started between teachers and parents. Hopefully, things will improve in the times to come.

The government is closing government schools little by little

In big states like Uttar Pradesh, the education system of primary schools rests on the shoulders of contractual workers like Shikshamitra. Who live in extreme social insecurity. They are given a very nominal salary and only for 11 months. Apart from this, they are made to do things like census, voting, administering polio drops, reciting Ramayana and Saptashati in temples, lighting lamps etc. In this way they spend all their energy and time in other works. The second reason is that under the new education policy and economic policy, the government wants to end the government basic education system along with cutting the education budget. On January 7, 2024, a news was prominently published that 832 schools in various districts of Haryana would be closed. There are a total of 7349 children in these schools. They will be shifted to other schools.

Actually, the Education Department had asked for a list of such schools where the number of students is 20 or less. The question is why does a teacher need more than 20 students to teach?

Similarly, 29,281 government schools have been closed in Madhya Pradesh in the last five years. According to the website of the Department of School Education and Literacy, Government of India, the number of schools in Madhya Pradesh was 1,21,976 in the year 2015-16, which decreased to 92,695 by the year 2021-22.

The Unified District Information System for Education, a unit of the Central Education Department, provides data on schools in the country every year. According to the UDISE Report 2018-19, the number of government schools in the country has decreased and the number of private schools has increased. Another shocking fact is that during the Corona epidemic, there were more admissions in government schools than in private schools, because many parents had to face financial problems during the Covid period, due to which they removed their children from private schools and sent them to government schools. Put in school.

However, from the above data recorded in various reports, it is clearly evident that the opportunity of students of Dalit-Bahujan class to get education with one scheme is continuously ending. In such a situation, the question arises that are the government schools of the country only for Dalit-Bahujan children and because of this the quality of these schools is being ignored?

Courtesy: Hindi News

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