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Chapter VI

AN ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN UP: PRIMARY AND ELEMENTARY

The Primary Education provides base to the entire pyramid of education

and therefore, is comprised of the largest numbers of schools, teachers and

students. The enrolment ratio is higher at this level and starts reducing

gradually. The contribution of Primary Education to itself, to the socio-

economic development of the country and to the State concerned, is nothing

less than massive. This is the reason that the national mandate for the

development of Primary Education (Article 45 of the Constitution of India) and

the international mandate for the development of Primary Education (Goal -2

of the Millennium Development Goals) are most outstanding and effectively

worded. This is the reason that for a State like UP the task of the development

of Elementary Education and the political underpinning of the processes

assumes vital significance. Consequently, the policy pronouncements for the

development of Primary Education in Uttar Pradesh are governed by both i.e.

the national mandates in form of the Constitutional Provisions and the

international mandates in form of the latest Millennium Development Goals.

There are many indicators to measure the progress of Primary and

Elementary Education. In the present Chapter progress in School education has

been measured in terms of availability of schools, number of schools,

enrolment in terms of Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrolment Ratio

(NER), physical facilities, growth in number of teachers over the years, quality

of education and equality in terms of gender, caste, religion and region in the

State of Uttar Pradesh.

1. Availability of School Facilities

Educational development is directly related with the availability of

school facilities. With many other things, it refers to the obligation of the

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Government to establish schools within the accessible distance for all school-

age going children, without any discrimination. Though the availability of

schools is not sufficient for realisation of the Right to Education but also it

definitely serves as a pre-requisite to exercise this multidimensional right.

1.1 Number of Primary Schools

Table 6.1 Number of Primary Schools (1950-51 to 1999-2000)1

Year 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 1991-2000

Total 31979 40083 62127 70606 77111 96764

Rural 23710 35302 55998 64021 71188 87402

Urban 8209 4781 6129 6585 5923 9228

The (Table 6.1) reflects the growth of Primary Schools from 1950-51 to

1999- 2000. It may be observed that the number of Primary Schools grew from

31,979 in 1950-51 to 40,083 in 1960-61. In the next decade ending with 1970-

71 the number of Primary Schools increased to 62,127 which went up further to

a level of 70,606 in 1980-81. The number of Primary Schools stood at 77,111

in 1999-2000. The rural -urban division of Primary Schools reveals that about

twenty-six per cent schools were in urban areas and seventy-four per cent

schools were found in rural areas. In 1999-2000, the number of Primary

Schools in urban area came down to ten per cent while ninety per cent of the

Primary Schools were situated in rural areas.2

However, the situation is not the same throughout the whole State. It

varies area wise. There are four economic regions of UP, namely, (i) Western

(ii) Central (iii) Eastern and (iv) Bundelkhand. There are vast inter-regional

disparities in respect of development indicators among these four regions and

1 Directorate of Basic Education, “Shiksha Ki Pragati, 2000”, Government of UP, in State

Planning Commission, Human Development Report of Uttar Pradesh,2003, Government of UP, Lucknow, 2003, p. 13.

2 National Council of Educational Research and Training, School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, NCERT, New Delhi, 2003, p. 47.

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education is one of them. The Eastern and Bundelkhand regions are

comparatively more backward as compared to the Western and Central regions.

In spite of all efforts at the Centre and the State levels, the availability of

educational facilities has failed to reach in all the habitations in the

Bundelkhand region of UP. In more than thirty-seven per cent of the

habitations of the region the school facilities have not been provided. In

Chitrakoot district where about fifty per cent habitations are not served by

Primary School shows a dismal picture of the educational development in UP.

(Table 6.2)

Table 6.2 Served Habitations for Primary Stage in Bundelkhand Region of UP3

Banda Hamirpur Jhansi Mahoba Lalitpur Chitrakoot Jalaun Total

Un-served Habitations

735 82 295 73 379 634 100 2298

Total Habitations

1612 604 1046 518 1031 1269 1023 6175

In % 45.60 13.58 28.20 14.09 36.76 49.96 9.78 37.21

2. Enrolments

Enrolment of students seems to be the most important requirement at

Primary Education level where the ratio seems to be well defined. That is why

hundred per cent enrolments in Primary Education are known as

Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE). For specific purposes

attention is also given to Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) as distinct from the Gross

Enrolment Ratio (GER). Here the discussion is based on numerical growth in

enrolments in UP from 1951-2001. First an attempt is made to analyse the

enrolments for classes I-V.

3 National Council for Educational Research and Training, Seventh All India Educational Survey:

Provisional Statistics as on September 30, 2002, NCERT, New Delhi, 2005, p. 234.

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2.1 Enrolment in Classes I-V

Table 6.3 Primary School’s Enrolment, Classes I-V (1950-51 to 1997-98)4

('000s)

Type 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 1996-97 1997-98

Girls 334 787 3867 2774 4068 7708 8414

Boys 2392 3171 6748 6593 7893 10666 10991

Total 2727 3958 10615 9368 11961 18404 19405

Table 6.3 shows that the enrolment in class I to class V has slide up

from 2,727 thousand in 1950-51 to 19,405 thousand in 1997-98, which shows

an increase of about seven fold increase during the said period. The enrolment

of girls has gone up from 334 thousands in 1950-51 to 8,414 thousand in 1997-

98, which demonstrates a twenty-five fold increase in the female enrolment at

this level. The enrolment of boys in Lower Primary classes has increased from

2,392 thousand in 1950-51 to 10,991 thousand in 1997-98, which indicates an

increase of a little more than four and a half times over the reported

period.5These trends suggest that the progress achieved in the enrolment of

girls has been very remarkable, which is a positive sign in the development of

the Lower Primary Education.

2.2 Enrolment in Classes VI –VIII

Table 6.4 Primary School’s Enrolment, Classes VI-VIII (1950-51 to 1997-98)6

('000s)

Year 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 1996-97 1997-98

Girls 69 103 285 391 721 226 2341

Boys 278 446 1095 1413 2026 4627 4639

Total 347 549 1380 1804 2747 6808 6980

4 Directorate of Basic Education, “Shiksha Ki Pragati, 2000”, Government of UP, in Human

Development Report of Uttar Pradesh, 2003, op. cit., p. 14. 5 School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., p. 49. 6 Directorate of Basic Education, “Shiksha Ki Pragati, 2000”, Government of UP, in Human

Development Report of Uttar Pradesh, 2003, op. cit., p. 26.

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Coming to the analysis of data of enrolments given in table 6.4 it is

found that the total enrolment of students in Upper Primary Schools has gone

up from 348 thousands to 6,980 thousands from 1950-51 to 4,639 thousands in

1997-98, which reflects an increase of about seventeen fold during the said

period. As against this the enrolment of the girls in Upper Primary Schools has

jumped up very speedily from 69000 in 1950-51 to 2,341 thousands in 1977-78

but the high gender gap is still exists7

Table 6.5 Status of Girl’s Enrolment (2006-2007)8

Districts/Levels Banda Hamirpur Jhansi Mahoba Lalitpur Chitrakoot Jalaun

Primary Level 32.92 34.42 38.72 34.37 29.70 31.23 38.82

Upper Primary Level

33.96 28.61 34.76 24.87 25.27 28.74 31.63

This is clearer that the districts covered under Bundelkhand region of

UP are characterised by persistence of high gender inequities. The female

literacy rate is observed very low as 34.98%. Though the over all enrolment of

girl has been increased in UP9, the growing enrolment rate is not equal in the

whole State. Whether the girls are at Primary level or the Upper Primary their

enrolment is less than forty per cent. There are disparities in girl’s enrolment

within the districts. At the Primary level, the girl’s enrolment varies from 29.70

per cent to 38.72 per cent. At the Upper Primary level it varies more i.e. from

24.87 per cent to 34.76 per cent. In Jhansi and Jalaun districts the number of

girl’s is comparatively better than the other districts both at the Primary and

Upper Primary levels. The Lowest enrolment of girl’s at the Primary level is in

7 School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., p. 50. 8 National University of Educational Planning and Development, District Report Card 2006-07:

Elementary Education in India Where do we stand?, Vol. 1, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi, 2008, pp. 517-555.

9 National University of Educational Planning and Development, State Report Card 2006-07: Elementary Education in India Where do we stand?, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, New Delhi, 2008, p. 64.

190

Lalitpur district i.e. 29.70 per cent and at the Upper Primary level in Mahoba

district i.e. 24.87 per cent. (Table 6.5) It may be pertinent to point out that in

the Bundelkhand region there is a demand for single sex schools for girls,

especially among rural communities. The outcome of gender disparity has been

a major issue in the State’s pursuit for achieving the goal of Universal

Elementary Education. While female enrolment has increased rapidly since the

1990s, as a result of the implementation of a number of gender specific

programmers, there is still a substantial gap in Upper Primary and Elementary

Schooling.10 The increased female enrolment is, however, compromised by

persistently high rates of drop-out and poor attendance of girls relative to boys.

However, significant increases in girls’ enrolment took place in Uttar Pradesh11

even then the State requires significant increase in enrolment to reach the goal

of Universal Primary Education (UPE). That is why the World Bank Report

stated that in India, “The Gender, regional, community and income disparities

are still serious issues in Elementary Education participation and

attainments.”12

2.3 Attendance Rate in Schools

Enrolling children not guarantees that the goal of universal enrolment

will be achieved. It has been observed that those children who are enrolled do

not attend schools regularly. For instance in India, compared to a GER of

above ninety per cent at the Primary level, the corresponding attendance rate is

only sixty-five per cent.13 The National Sample Survey (NSS), 2004-05

recorded attendance rates separately for male and female children of six to

fourteen age groups. (Table 6.6)

10 Ibid. 11 State Planning Commission, Human Development Report of Uttar Pradesh, 2003, Government

of UP, Lucknow, 2003, p. 13. 12 World Bank, Report on Equity in Enrolment and Completion in Elementary Schooling in India,

WB India, New Delhi, 2003, p. 1 13 Ministry of Human Resource Development, 2001, National Sample Survey ,1998 in State

Planning Commission, Human Development Report of Uttar Pradesh,2006, Government of UP, Lucknow, 2007, p. 33.

191

Table 6.6 Separate Attendance Rate, Male/Female, Rural/Urban (2004-2005)14

Rural Area Urban Area All Areas

Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total

80.6 73.0 77.1 80.3 78.9 79.6 80.3 74.3 77.5

The over all attendance rates of boys is higher than the girls. It is

varying and unequal in terms of gender and area. The girls of rural UP are more

deprived than the urban one. The girls in rural areas fall behind because of the

several socio-economic reasons or lack of parental support but also because of

the atmosphere of schools which is more favorable for the boys than the girls

both in the rural and the urban areas.15 In case of UP it is found that urban girls

are more likely than their rural counterparts to attend school. In contrast, the

boys in urban areas were more likely to work due to increased wage-earning

opportunities and as a consequence less likely to attend school.16 (Table 6.6)

3. Primary Education of Disadvantaged Group

The Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) presents an aggregate picture but a

keen observation of data would reveal that there are the big gaps between the

average performance and the performance of the disadvantaged groups (SC,

ST, minorities and girls). This is because the achievements in education vary

significantly caste wise, group wise and gender wise.

3.1 Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes (SCs/STs)

A number of factors have contributed to the rising enrolment rate

including the introduction of mid-days meals, opening of alternate schools, 14 Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Report on Status of Education and

Vocational Training in India 2004-05. NSS 61stRound (July 2004-June 2005), No. 517 (16/10/3), Government of India, New Delhi, 2006, p. 320.

15 Santosh Mehrotra, Economics of Elementary Education in India: The Challenge of Public Finance, Private Provision and Household Costs, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2006, p. 8.

16 R. Ray “Poverty, Household Size and Child Welfare in India”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 35, No.39, 2000, pp. 3511–3520.

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promoting the participation of Parent Teacher Associations (PTAs) and the

massive enrolment drives around the nation. But in some poor States such as

Uttar Pradesh, however, this mobilisation has failed to translate into positive

change for the excluded population. As Mehrotra wrote, “The gains to the

lowest castes have been entirely of a symbolic nature.”17

Table 6.7 Percentage of Children Attending Schools (2005-2006)18

Percentage of SC

Population

Total Persons

Males Females Scheduled Caste Persons

Males Females

21.1 63.5 68.0 58.3 62.7 67.6 57.1

Table 6.8 Drop-out Rates of SC Students in Class I-V (2005-06)19

Bihar Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

All India

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

52.22 55.84 46.66 51.88 0.23 3.79 49.27 55.12 37.03 35.36

Though there is not a big gap in the number of school attending children

of general and SC population (Table 6.7) but the big drops out rate in the SC

students in class first to fifth still exists as a serious problem in the State. The

drop-out rate of the SC students is highest in Bihar i.e. 55.22 per cent for boys

and 55.84 per cent for girls. This is followed by Uttar Pradesh i.e. 49.27 per

cent for boys and 55.12 per cent for girls. (Table 6.8)

17 Santosh Mehrotra, op. cit., p.1. 18 Registrar General and Census Commissioner Census of India, 2001, Economic Tables, Series II,

Paper -10 of 2001, New Delhi, Government of India. 19 National Coalition for Education, Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of

Elementary Education in India, NCE, New Delhi, 2008, p. 50.

193

Table 6.9 Drop-out Rates of ST Students in Class I-V (2005-06)20

Bihar Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

All India

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

49.71 44.77 52 62.68 18.73 26.44 68.05 72.03 41.1 40.03

The drop-out rate of the ST students is very high in Uttar Pradesh i.e.

68.05 per cent for boys and 72.03 per cent for girls. The drop-out rate is even

high than the Bihar which is educationally more backward than UP.(Table 6.9)

As per the State Government, efforts have been initiated to enrol the children of

ST Community and the children from the other deprived sections. These

children are getting formal education in bridge schools. Similarly, intensified

drives under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) have also bolstered efforts to bring

these children to the schools21.

While Uttar Pradesh comes among those States where nearly sixty per

cent of all the SC children of Primary Schools-going age (six to ten years) are

residing, SC children are disadvantaged educationally. Firstly because of the

old aged social discrimination as, each caste had a specific place in the

hierarchy of social status.22 Secondly they suffer from physical distance as they

often live in hamlets which are on the outer edge of the village. However, in

addition to the physical distance, the ‘social distance’ to the school also needs

to be considered. As the Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE, 1999)

concluded, “In many areas, villages are divided into separate hamlets, and

children from one hamlet may be reluctant or unable to go to school in another

hamlet due to the caste tensions.”23 In Rural areas particularly in the

20 Ibid. 21 Planning Commission, Tenth Five Year Plan, 2002-07, Vol. II, Government of India, New

Delhi, 2003, p. 34. 22 Shah, Ghanshyam, Harsh Mander, Sukhadeo Thorat, Satish Deshpande, Amita Baviskar

Untouchability in Rural India, Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi, 2006, p. 3. 23 Public Report on Basic Education (PROBE), Probe Team India Education Report, Oxford

University Press, New Delhi, 1999, p. 17.

194

disadvantaged States such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the SC tend to be

clustered in particular habitations within villages. If the school is located in the

central part of the village (or where higher castes reside), this presents another

challenge for the SC children in accessing the school. According to a study

conducted in 1995, “The SC/ST families tend to live in colonies removed by a

kilometer or more from the main village. A school in the village within walking

distance for the families in the main village would still be at a distance to these

children.”24Additional analysis based on village level data on the location of

the school and caste composition of the habitations within a village is necessary

in order to draw conclusions related to this issue.

Another element of social exclusion of the SC children from Primary

Education in the State is the extent to which discrimination is practiced by

teachers. While reliable quantitative data are not available related to the

perception or levels of sensitivity of teachers to caste based discrimination,

anecdotal evidences and certain smaller scale qualitative studies suggest that

the teaching practices in the classroom negatively affect the SC children and

result in another ‘push’ factor from Primary Schools.25Teachers in India as well

as in UP are predominantly upper caste and bring their own understandings of

the legitimacy of caste relations into the classroom. The SC children are

expected to run errands and are assigned menial tasks such as sweeping and

cleaning the classrooms. The higher rates of teacher absenteeism were reported

when children were mainly from the SC and Tribal Communities.26 Further,

the social distance between teachers and students is one reason why many

teachers have limited commitment to the educational advancement of their

pupils, as well as have limited understanding of their problems.27 However, in

24 United Nations Children’s Education Fund, Attitudes Study on Elementary Education in India –

A Consolidated Report, UNICEF, New Delhi, 1995, p. 17. 25 V. Ramachandran, (ed.), Gender and Social Equity in Primary Education: Hierarchies of

Access, Sage Publications, New Delhi, 2004, p. 125. 26 Naila Kabeer, Social Exclusion and the MDGs: The Challenge of Durable Inequalities in the

Asian Context, Institute of Development Studies, paper presented at the Asia 2015 Conference, University of Sussex, Brighton, 2006, p. 11.

27 PROBE, op. cit., p. 56.

195

the Approach Paper to the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2007-2012) of the

Government of India, which provided the overall framework for the

Government’s of States to work from 2007-2011, the Government reiterated its

commitment to addressing disparities in education between castes. The

Approach Paper states the following:

“Development and empowerment of socially disadvantaged groups is a commitment enshrined in the Constitution, and education is the most effective instrument of social empowerment. Schemes for the educational uplift of SCs and STs have borne fruit, although the gap between the general population and the SCs and STs is still at unacceptable levels. Some minorities have fallen far behind the national average in education. It will be necessary to go to the root of the problem and examine the reasons for the decline so that remedial measures can be taken during the Eleventh Five Year Plan.”28

In order to address all of the determinants of social exclusion, it is

important for any intervention designed to reduce disparities, to include

strengthening local capacity to manage a comprehensive response. This will

ensure that the approach is context specific and addresses the local particularly

determinants and dynamics of exclusion which exist within a community. This

approach is of particular relevant to caste issues in India in general and in UP

in particular.29

3.2 Minority

The school is still a tough place for minority children in UP. The

Rajinder Sachar Committee which submitted its Report in 2006 was constituted

in March, 2005, for the preparation of a report on the ‘social, economic and

28 Planning Commission, Towards Faster and More Inclusive Growth: An Approach to the 11th

Five Year Plan, Government of India, New Delhi, 2006, p. 64. 29 Shah, Ghanshyam, Harsh Mander, Sukhadeo Thorat, Satish Deshpande, Amita Baviskar, op. cit.,

p. 6.

196

educational status of the Muslim community of India’.30 It suggests the

adoption of suitable mechanisms to ensure equity and equality of opportunity

to Muslims in residential, work and educational spaces. According to Sachar

Committee Report, the status of Indian Muslims is below the condition of the

scheduled castes and the tribes.31 The literacy rate among Muslims is very

poor. About twenty-five per cent Muslim children in the six to fourteen year

age group have either never attended school or have dropped-out.

The Report says that the access to the Government Schools for Muslim

children is limited. The Muslim students go to Madrasas (even only four per

cent), mainly because the Public Primary Schools do not exist for miles. As a

fallout of the Report of the Sachar Committee, the enrolment of Muslim

students at the Primary and Upper Primary levels of education is included in

the Annual Survey of ‘Flash Statistics: Elementary Education in India: Progress

towards Universal Elementary Education (2006 07)’ for the first time. 32 The

Muslim enrolment is presented State wise in this latest survey. The survey

ranks States by the Educational Development Index (EDI) to help in annual

ranking and measuring progress at the District and the State level.

30 Sachar Committee, Report on Social, Economic and Educational Status of Muslims Community

India, Ministry of Human Recourse Development, Government of India, New Delhi, 2006, p. xii.

31 Ibid., p. 213 also see in R. Govinda, Mahdumita Bandhyopadhyaya, Access to Elementary Education in India: Country Analytical Review, The Consortium for Research on Educational Access, Transitions and Equity (CREATE), (NUEPA), UK, New Delhi, 2008, p. 16.

32 This survey for 2006-07 is based on the data received from as many as 1.20 million schools spread over 609 districts across 35 States and Union Territories of India. The survey is also based on District Information System for Education (DISE) was developed by the National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA), New Delhi. The findings of survey were revealed in 2009.

197

Table 6.10 Muslim Students at the Primary and Upper Primary Levels of Education (2006-2007)33

State

Muslim as % of Population

Enrollment % of Muslims at Primary

Level

% at Upper Primary Level

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

8.22 4.29 3.01

Andhra Pradesh 9.17 10 9.11 Arunachal Pradesh 1.88 0.04 0.02 Assam 30.92 30.42 17.39 Bihar 16.53 8.95 6.6 Chandigarh 3.95 2.87 2.39 Chhattisgarh 1.97 0.56 0.84 Dadra and Nagar Haveli 2.96 NR 0.01 Daman and Diu 7.76 0.12 0.55 Delhi 11.72 5.4 7.36 Goa 6.84 4.59 3.67 Gujarat 9.06 4.11 4.25 Haryana 5.78 0.55 0.41 Himachal Pradesh 1.97 1.17 1.09 Jammu and Kashmir 66.97 62.52 60.55 Jharkhand 13.85 7.29 6.3 Karnataka 12.23 13.54 12.39 Kerala 24.7 10.13 9.59 Lakshadweep 95.47 NR NR Madhya Pradesh 6.37 2.3 2.3 Maharashtra 10.6 7.94 5.83 Manipur 8.81 NR NR Meghalaya 4.28 0.04 0.02 Mizoram 1.14 NR NR Nagaland 1.76 0.03 0.02 Orissa 2.07 7.26 6.48 Pondicherry 6.09 5.1 5.13 Punjab 1.57 0.22 0.11 Rajasthan 8.47 2.3 1.38 Sikkim 1.42 0.33 0.28 Tamil Nadu 5.56 3.82 3.95 Tripura 7.95 NR NR Uttar Pradesh 18.5 9.24 7.18 Uttarakhand 11.92 0.31 0.2 West Bengal 25.25 27.92 19.63 West Bengal 25.25 27.92 19.63 All States 13.43 9.39 7.52

33 District Information System for Education (DISE) Flash Statistics: Elementary Education in

India: Progress towards Universal Elementary Education 2006 07, National University of Educational Planning and Development(NUEPA), New Delhi, 2009, pp. 1-609.

198

According the Table 6.10 the States of particular concern are

Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Gujarat,

Maharashtra, and Assam which have a sizable number but very low level of

Muslim enrolment. The Government has proposed a number of schemes to

promote education in Districts where significant population of the Schedules

Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Minorities reside.

3.3 Girls

There has been a significant increase in overall literacy rates and school

participation rates across the country since the early 1990s. The gender and

social disparities have declined with an overall increase in school attendance34.

This is confirmed by the data from various sources including the National

Family Health Survey–II 1998-99, the Reproductive and Child Health Survey

2002-2004, the 2001 Census and the routine monitoring information from the

Department of Education. The country is approaching near Universalisation of

enrolment at the Primary stage. The Gross Enrollment Rate has increased from

ninety per cent in 2003-2004 to ninety-eight per cent in 2004-2005. Similarly,

the NER has risen from seventy-two per cent to eighty-two per cent during the

same period.35 But the educational status of girls is still a matter of great

concern in Uttar Pradesh.36 The reality of girls’ exclusion is further

complicated by caste, religion, ethnicity and age. The girls from the poor, SC,

ST and Muslim communities tend to be much more disadvantaged than their

male counterparts and a larger proportion of girls than boys from these groups

are denied access to schooling. 37 (Table 6.7)

34 R. Govinda, Mahdumita Bandhyopadhyaya, op. cit., p. 26. 35 Planning Commission, Eleventh Five Year Plan, 2007-12, Vol. II, Government of India, New

Delhi, 2008, p. 2. 36 V. Ramachandran, “Reaching the Hardest to Reach: Reflections on DPEP, Equity, Quality and

Local Planning in the District Primary Education Programme”, in V. Ramachandran, S. Shukla, P. Cohen, R. Alexander, M. Mercer (eds.), European Commission, New Delhi, 2001, p. 9.

37 P. Jeffery, R. Jeffery, C. Jeffrey , “Investing in the Future: Education in the Social and Cultural Reproduction of Muslims in UP”, in M. Hasan, (ed.), Living With Secularism: The Destiny of India Muslim, Manohar Publications, New Delhi, 2007, p. 69.

199

As far as the girls belonging to minority community, particularly the

Muslim minority is concerned, there are very few detailed studies on the

schooling of Muslim girls in India, although data shows their relative

educational deprivation as compared to Muslim boys. A study focused on the

schooling of Muslim girls in the Bijnor district of Uttar Pradesh found that the

majority of Muslim girls are educated in religious schools (Madrasas and

Maktabs), rather than being educated in the Government Schools. These

schools often are not equipped with adequate facilities to provide quality

education.38 Uttar Pradesh is widely known for its gender inequalities in

educational attainment, and Muslim girls in this State tend to be educationally

more disadvantaged. The lack of schooling facilities, far places of residence,

the absence of female teachers, parental illiteracy and the lack of a gender-

friendly environment within the schools affect the education of Muslim girls.

The Socio-cultural factors also play their major role in shaping cultural

expectations of schools as institutions appropriate for the participation of girls.

The same Research shows that the ‘Muslim girls were all but absent even in the

Primary Schools in most of the villages of ’UP.39

The Study also found a marked difference in the schooling experiences

of Muslim boys and girls. While only thirteen per cent of Muslim girls attended

co-educational English medium schools, the share of boys in such schools was

around twenty per cent. The disparity is more marked, with nearly three times

as Muslim boys as Muslim girls getting English-medium schooling’.40

Studies also suggest that the educational status of girls varies according

to the State and its pattern of thinking for females.41 According to a research all

boys were found to be performing slightly better than girls in the States such as

Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, while in Kerala and

38 Ibid. 39 Ibid. 40 Ibid., p. 70. 41 S. Reddy, Status of Learning Achievements in India: A Review of Empirical Research, Azim

Premji Foundation, Bangalore, 2004, p. 27.

200

Tamil Nadu no difference could be found in the performance of boys and

girls.42 Similarly, the gender difference in achievement level was not

significant in West Bengal and Kerala.43 The Annual Status of Educational

Report (ASER) study also found a strong correlation between parental

education, particularly the mother’s education, and children’s education. It

states that, “Educated mothers are more likely to send their children to school

and to have healthier and better educated children”. An educated mother serves

as a multiplier when it comes to educating her children.44

Thus above discussion under the sub headings 3.1-3.3 reveals the reality

that the status of Primary Education of the disadvantaged groups in Uttar

Pradesh needs much to be done to achieve the goal of UEE as promised by

India till 2015 as a party to Millennium Development (MDM) Goals, 2000.

Besides the children with disability and the children below the poverty line, are

also lacking in their educational achievements. While the RTE Act, 2009

envisages that the children should be given an equitable education as enshrined

in the Constitution. The economic, social, cultural, linguistic, locational and

disability related barriers should not prevent a child from participating in and

completing their education.45 However, when it comes to implementation, the

reality seems to be making a mockery of the Act. It is to be said that, "Unless a

common school system that encompasses all the Government, the private and

the aided/un-aided schools is envisaged with effective monitoring mechanisms

to ensure quality of education, the Act would not be able to meet its

obligations''.46 The RTE Act, 2009 provides that unaided schools and specific

category schools shall admit at least twenty-five per cent of the strength of

class first or pre-Primary level (as the case may be) with children belonging to

42 S. Shukla, V.P. Garg, V.K. Jain, S. Rajput, O.P. Arora, Attainments of Primary Schools Children

in Various States, NCERT, New Delhi, 1994, p. 79. 43 S.G. Roy, S.K Mitra, S.S. Ray, Achievement Level of Primary Schools Children at the End of

Class IV, Calcutta Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, 1995, p. 44. 44 Pratham, Annual Status of Education Report 2006, New Delhi, 2007, p. 5. 45 Ministry of Law and Justice, The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

(RTE),2009, No. 35, Government of India, New Delhi, 2009, Section 3,4 and 5, p. 3. 46 Times of India (Varanasi), February 8, 2011.

201

disadvantaged groups from the neighbourhood and provide them free and

compulsory education till the completion of Elementary Education.47 But none

of the schools knew how to go about it in the absence of rules and regulations

as the State Government delayed in the notification of model rules for the

implementation of RTE Act. Anyway after the much delay, the Act was

notified by the Government of UP (GOUP) now. Thus one may hope for its

effective implementation. The rules, however, may not be able to help parents

and children this year.48

4. Out of School Children

The problem of low level of enrolment gets accentuated when a very large

number of school going children discontinue or drop-out from schools.The

majority of dropouts are of girl children from socially deprived sections

including minorities/ethnic groups. Despite the large number of children

enrolled on paper, very few complete even the first five years of Primary cycle.

4.1 Never Enrolled Children

Table 6.11 Proportion of Children Age Group 12-14 Never Enrolled in School (1999-2000)49

Area Male (%) Female (%)

Rural 27 68

Urban 19 39

A large number of children either do not enter Primary Schools or drop-

out before completing the schooling cycle. This is more the case with girls and

the other children of disadvantaged categories. It is estimated that only about

twenty per cent of girls enter Upper Primary Schools. The incomplete

47 RTE Act 2009, No. 35, op. cit., Section 12 (1) (c), p. 5. 48 Times of India (Lucknow), January 5, 2011. 49 Ministry of Human Resource Development, District Primary Education Programme (DPEP-

III): State Plan of Uttar Pradesh, March, 1999, MHRD, Government of India, 2000, New Delhi, pp. 46-47.

202

participation in Primary Education could therefore result in a growing number

of adult illiterates. Despite the substantial growth in enrolment, a large number

of children belonging to disadvantaged groups are still not enrolled in Primary

Schools.50 Here again, girls are the worst sufferers as is evident from the

general enrollment ratio (GER). The shortfall in participation can be clearly

understood from the data.51 (Table6.11). Even last year as many as 1,088

children (between six to fourteen years of age) were found to be out of school

during a household survey only in Varanasi. The figures clearly indicating a

high number of drop-outs and children deprived from formal education in the

urban areas of the district.52 The Education Resource Society also conducted a

survey in Bahadurpur Block of Allahabad, in three Gram Panchayat; Kotari,

Ibrahimpur and Faijullapur. According to the Study, forty-three children were

found left the school due to various reasons. 53 Analysis of the existing

situation in UP indicates that the main problem in the education system relate

to access and equity, quality and completion, efficiency and effectiveness of

educational management and planning.

4.2 Drop-out Rates

Table 6.12 Drop-out Rates at Primary Schools in DPEP II in Classes I-V (1980-1994)54

Year Boys (%) Girls (%) Total (%)

1980-81 63.70 80.20 73.30

1990-91 30.67 42.42 34.82

1993-94 19.86 20.08 39.94

50 School Education in Uttar Pradesh: status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., pp. 52-53. 51 Ibid. 52 Times of India (New Delhi), January 5, 2011. 53 Centre for Advocacy on Quality Education, Education Resource Society,

righttoeducation.in/media/center-advocacy-quality-education, Accessed on 30/3/2011 54 District Primary Education Programme (DPEP-III): State Plan of Uttar Pradesh, March, 1999,

op.cit., p. 50

203

There is a remarkable decline in the drop out rates both for the boys and

for the girls from 1980-81 to 1993-94. Among the boys the drop-out rate has

declined from about sixty-four per cent to about twenty per cent while that of

girls has come down shapelier from about eighty per cent to twenty per cent

over the same period. (Table 6.12)

Table 6.13 Drop-out Rates in Classes I-V (2005-06)55

Bihar Jharkhand Madhya Pradesh

Uttar Pradesh

All India

Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls

47.37 45.25 48.55 52.22 1.7 1.39 20.15 7.42 29.52 22.5

The discussion under the sub headings 4.1-4.2 achieves great

significance because the RTE Act, 2009 is desired to address mostly that group

of students who are generally speaking stubborn to remain in school. There are

many economic reasons as well responsible for heavy drop out and that is why

the RTE Act places great responsibility on the shoulders of the State

Governments to increase enrolments and to check drop out rates.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act that promises a right to free and

compulsory education to every child between six to fourteen has completed its

first year on April 1st 2011 but, unfortunately, a number of children of this age

group are still out of school in the Districts of UP. Although the basic

education authorities in State claim that there is no child left out of school in

the Districts of UP, as, “We had identified 1,257 such children during the last

survey conducted in July-August, 2010 and all of them were admitted to

different schools".56 It may sound very pleasant, but the reality is something

else. One can easily see children engaged in roadside dhabas, tea stalls, rag

picking and other 'unhealthy' jobs in the State. They do not go to schools due to

55 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 49. 56 Times of India (Varanasi), March 28, 2011.

204

one reason or the other. The claim of officials itself contradicts the fact that the

school drop-out rate in the Uttar Pradesh is about twenty-five to thirty per

cent.57 Till date, the maximum number of child labourers (about ten lakh) are in

UP. In such a situation, how could the authorities claim that all the children

were brought under the umbrella of RTE Act, 2009?58

5. Special Campaigns for Education

As the data of literacy rate in UP reveals that there is very notable

improvement in literacy rate from 1991-2001. This has been possible mainly

because of several effective interventions which were carried out as special

campaigns for education such as Operation Blackboard (OB), Alternative

Education Scheme (AES), Informal Education System (IES), District Primary

Education Programme (DPEP) and Serva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). Details of

these programmes are available in the earlier chapters while discussing the

Centrally Sponsored Initiatives for the Right to Education and its consequent

implications in implementing these schemes in the concerned State

respectively. Here the attention is focused on the role of SSA and MDMS in

UP which still continue where as many of the programmes have been winds up.

5.1 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA)

The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is not functioning properly in UP.

Peoples Vigilance Committee on Human Rights (PVCHR) alleged that the said

right of children was being violated openly with issues like improper student-

children ratio and lack of proper infrastructure. The PVCHR recently

conducted a sample survey of seventeen Primary Schools in Varanasi,

Sonebhadra and Ambedkar Nagar districts to evaluate the situation. It was

found that only seventy-two teachers were rendering education to 10,125

students. It further added there was no programme to connect child labourers in

57 Ibid. 58 Ibid.

205

those schools.59 A large number of children of this age group are the street

children and engaged in rag picking. Though there is no official data available

on the exact number of such children. However, according to the Vishal Bharat

Sansthan, around 12,000 rag pickers and street children were found in a survey

conducted three years ago.60

5.2 Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS)

The MDMS has been rated as a progressive policy towards encouraging

basic education among the disadvantaged communities and overall retention.

Nevertheless, education campaigners have been critical of its success due to its

schematic nature, poor quality and insufficient spending. The estimated drop

out which has been cited above hints to a gloomy performance of MDM as

medium of bring students back to school. (Table 6.12 and 6.13) the Good

nutritional support to children of tender age is one of the basic conditions to

achieve the goal of free and compulsory Universal Primary Education of

satisfactory quality to all the children below the age of fourteen years by

increasing the enrolment and retention rates of the children simultaneously.

With children from all castes and communities eating together, it is also a

means of bringing about better social integration61 and improved health status

of children. But surprisingly twelve years later The UNICEF Report indicates

that malnutrition is common in India as a whole, but the situation is especially

alarming in the States of Bihar, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar

Pradesh.62

The Edwatch Studies shows that the quality of meal providing under the

Scheme is not of satisfactory level in UP. As around 82.90 per cent schools are

providing khichri, variety of two grains are only providing by 6.20 per cent of

schools and in 10.80 per cent it has been either never provided or not cooked 59 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 98. 60 Times of India (Varanasi), March 28, 2011 61 Eleventh Five Year Plan, 2007-12, Vol. II, op. cit., pp. 3-4. 62 United Nations Children’s Education Fund, Mapping India’s Children: UNICEF in Action, New

Delhi, 2004, UNICEF, p. 9.

206

for sometime. According to the MDM Scheme, each school is allotted 2000

International Normalised Ratio (INR) but in most of the schools it was not

found to be utilised.63 Regarding, the varieties of food grains given to children,

the national norms say that in rotation all children should be given different

varieties amounting to 450 calories with twelve per cent protein. As mentioned

above, there is high percentage of mixed cooking which is cheaper in cost.

Thus, Khichri on the MDM too frequently is a breach of the national

guidelines. Another crucial case in point in term of MDM preparation is that in

seventy-eight per cent schools, MDM was either prepared in classrooms or in

open air producing two serious implications, one; disturbing the regular

teaching and second, unhygienic food it has also seen that only 31.50 per cent

of schools are providing good quality of cooked meal and 57.70 per cent

schools are providing either average or bad quality of meal.64

6. Pupil –Teacher Ratio (PTR)

At the Primary stage of education the capability of a teacher to teach

children effectively is very limited that is why standard norms have been drawn

for PTR in different classes. If the number of students per teacher exceeds and

exceeds substantially, then the effectiveness of teacher declines.

6.1 Students and Teachers

Table 6.14 Number of Students and Teachers in Primary Schools (1950-51 to 1999-2000)65

Type 1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 1991-2000

No. of Students 2727 3958 10615 9368 11962 13404

No. of Teachers 70 99 203 241 266 318

63 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 99. 64 Ibid. 65 Directorate of Basic Education, “Shiksha Ki Pragati, 2000”, Government of UP, in Human

Development Report of Uttar Pradesh, 2003, op. cit., p. 23.

207

The number of students in 1950-51, was 2,727 thousands which went up

to 13,404 thousands in 1999-2000. At the same time the number of teachers in

Primary Schools in 1950-51, went up from seventy thousands to 318 thousands

in 1999-2000. while the number of students in Primary Schools recorded about

five fold increase, in the number of teachers about 4.5 times rise was witnessed

over a period of about five decades from 1950-51 to 1999-2000. (Table 6.14)

This appears to be a plausible reason responsible for adversely affecting the

student-teacher ratio in UP.66

6.2 Comparative Teacher Pupil Ratios

Table 6.15 Pupil-Teacher Ratio (PTR) In the Study States (2005-06)67

Bihar Himachal M P Jharkhand U P National

71 31 69 68 72 62

Only the State of Himachal Pradesh is within the range of Government’s

norm 40:1 PTR. All the other States is having the poor PTR, exceeds from the

national norm. The situation of UP is worst amongst all of them as having the

ratio of 72:1.(Table 6.15) The PTR has to be discussed in close linkage with

the rising school drop-out, underperformance of teachers, low learning level of

students, and the growing apathy of local people to educate their children. The

apathetic perception of communities on making their children educated is also

due to the general experience of a large chunk of educated youths who remain

unemployed which has reduced them to a mass of unproductive generation.

The high PTR is, thus, directly linked to affecting quality learning and is a

stumbling block to the universal enrolment of children and their retention.68

66 School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., p. 48. 67 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric v. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India, op.

cit., p. 91. 68 World Bank, Report on Equity in Enrolment and Completion in Elementary Schooling in India,

op. cit., p. 12.

208

6.3 Single Teacher Schools

While attempt is made to maintain normatively obtain Pupil Teacher

Ratio (PTR) in schools but unfortunately there are a very large number of

single teacher schools, where the concept of PTR becomes virtually meaning-

less. As an another proof of the poor State of Elementary Education in India,

the data shows that the schools rooms in many States have as many as hundred

students to a class, with a single teacher in- charge.69 The 2006-07 District

Information System for Education (DISE), data complied by the National

University of Educational Administration (NUEPA), reveals that Bihar with

ninety-two, Jharkhand seventy-nine and Uttar Pradesh fifty-three have one of

the highest Student Classroom Ratios (SCRs) in Primary Schools.70 The Table

6.16 presents the percentage of Primary Schools with single teacher in UP.

Table 6.16 Percentage of Primary Schools with Single Teacher in UP (1997-2000)71

Districts 1997-98 1998-99 1999-2000 Moradabad 10.4 12.6 14.9 Badaun 12.3 14.5 21.1 Bareilly 4.0 16.3 19.0 Pilibhit 22.1 17.7 26.0 Shahjahanpur 26.5 29.6 38.1 Firozabad 10.9 17.11 20.9 Lalitpur 23.0 34.5 23.7 Kheri 27.5 32.8 38.2 Hardoi 13.8 22.5 24.0 Gonda 27.6 36.0 40.8 Siddharth Nagar 12.6 19.5 37.2 Mahrajganj 16.7 18.0 30.9 Deoria 16.3 14.9 19.5 Sonbhadra 33.5 46.0 63.0 69 Ministry of Human Resource Development, Annual Report, 2000-01, MHRD, Government of

India, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 525-54. 70 Programme Evaluation Organisation, Evaluation Report on Serva Shiksha Abhiyan, Planning

Commission, Government of India, New Delhi, 2010, p. 34. 71 National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA),”An Assessment

Trends in Access and Retention, 2000”, in School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., p. 49.

209

The prevalence of single school teacher is a common occurrence in Uttar

Pradesh. There are a large number of schools across the State where the entire

teaching is managed by a single teacher. The factual position in respect of the

sample of fourteen districts reveals that the incidence of single teacher is

widespread across the districts. It may be noted that in 1999-2000, as much as

sixty-three per cent schools were single teacher schools in Sonbhadra district.

Almost the same figure was 40.8 per cent in Gonda and more than thirty-eight

per cent for Kheri and Shahjahanpur districts. The best performing district as

evident from the table is Moradabad, even where about fifteen per cent schools

in 1999-2000 were single teacher schools.72 What is worrisome is that in

general there is an increasing trend as to the prevalence of single teacher

schools over the period 1997-98 to 1999-2000. The teacher shortages persist

even though a large number of trained teachers around 30,000 are waiting to be

appointed in the State.73 The SSA proposal to provide one teacher for every

class in every school has provided or the opening of new schools in small

habitations, but needs to be examined carefully in terms of its impact on social

inequalities and the quality of education provided in such schools.74

7. Status of Teacher Appointment

The role of a teacher in the entire education system is so outstanding that

the Kothari Commission was of the view that the ‘teachers are the destiny

makers’ in the sense that they are the architects of the future generations. It is

therefore, very obvious that the appointment of teachers and the working

conditions of teachers are pivotal to the educational outcomes and student’s

achievements.

72 School Education in Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Future Perspectives, op. cit., pp. 57-58. 73 D.D. Aggarwal, History and Development of Elementary Education in India, Vol.2, Sarup and

Sons, New Delhi, 2002, p. 110. 74 R. Govinda, Mahdumita Bandhyopadhyaya, op. cit., pp. 19-20.

210

Table 6.17 Status of Teacher Appointment as in 200775

Total Teacher

Sanctioned

Recruitment up to 31st

March, 07

Balance to be

Recruited

233583 224761 8822

This imbalance suggests that the State is not allocating the resources

necessary to fund adequately an expanded education system. Under the SSA

between the period of 2001-09, 156673 Shiksha Mitras (SM) were appointed

though the target was 17119.76 Even further the selection of SM is stopped

against Government Order dated 2nd June, 2010.77 However, basic education

department officials said that, in July 2010, they would have been started the

training of 62,000 Shiksha Mitras. According to them this only indicates that

they are aware that teachers are going to play a very crucial role in the

implementation of RTE.78 The schools, which are targeted for employment of

contract teachers, are those where children from the poorer sections of the

society study. Thus it would exacerbate inequity in the society by creating

classes of Government Schools with different kinds of teachers for different

classes of population.79

7.1 Female Teachers

The recruitment of women teachers is an issue that has become

increasingly important to educational development. This is particularly so

because of the impact women teachers can have on girls’ enrolment. One of the

most compelling arguments for increasing the number of women teachers in

75 Ministry of Human resource Development, “Status of Teacher Appointment: 2006-07”,

Government of India, 2008, in Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric v. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India, op. cit., p. 90.

76 Source: www.upefa.com, Accessed on 23/5/2010 77 Ibid. 78 Virendra Singh Rawat, Right to Education Act: UP Estimates Rs 30k-cr Expenditure, New

Delhi/Lucknow February17,2011,http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/right-to-education-actestimates-rs-30k-cr-expenditure/ Accessed on 24/5 2011

79 R. Govinda, Y. Josephine, Para Teachers in India: A Review, International Institute for Educational Planning, UNESCO, Paris, 2004, p. 42.

211

schools relates to the positive impact that doing so has on girls’ education.

There is evidence to show a correlation between the number of women teachers

and girls’ enrolment. In countries where there are more or less equal numbers

of male and female Primary Teachers, there is close gender parity in student

intake. In contrast, in countries where women constitute only twenty per cent of

teachers, there are far more boys than girls enter school.

Table 6.18 Recruitment of Female/Male Teachers (in per cent, 2005-06)80

Male Teachers Female Teachers

57.6 42.4

Table 6.19 Recruitment of Female/Male Head Teachers (in per cent, 2005-06)81

Male Head Teachers Female Head Teachers

84.5 15.5

In the recruitment of head teachers there is a clear disparity in terms of

teacher’s recruitment, as well. The Edwatch Study revealed certain areas of

weakness in Annual Work Plan (AWP), in appointment of female teachers.

This issue has significantly emerged out to be a very main issue. There must be

strong demand to equal proportion of female/male in teachers’ recruitment as a

basic factor that can retain girl child and create social safety as well. The ratio

of gender distribution in terms of male-female teachers is around 56:42 and in

case of recruitment of the headmasters is 85:16 in the State which is very

alarming. (Tables 6.18 and 6.19) Understanding the gender question, thus,

constitutes a crucial concern. 80 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 88. 81 Ibid., p. 89.

212

7.2 Teacher Absenteeism

One of the very unfortunate facts of Primary Education is that there is

notable number of teachers who were found absent from the duty. This fact has

been documented by several research studies and even Governmentally

Appointed Commission on Teacher (1986), headed by Dr. Rais Ahmad. Even

PROBE Report, 1999 has seriously lamented on absenteeism of teachers in all

the four States where it went for Survey viz. UP, Bihar, MP and Rajasthan.

Another survey, the regular rural Government teachers were found absent at

least one day a week and that in a School in UP they spent only three quarters

of their time in teaching.82 Another unannounced visit to fifteen Schools in

Uttar Pradesh reported that two third of teachers were absent on the day of

visit, while only two out fifteen schools had a full complement of teachers. It

was rare for school to start on time in the morning, or to continue beyond mid -

day83. Why many teachers have limited commitment to the educational

advancement of their pupils, as well as have limited understanding of their

problems.84 The resources show that teacher absenteeism rates were lower in

Schools with better infrastructure and were the student’s parents were more

literate. Both the problems of teacher absenteeism and teacher shortage are

compound in nature that directly affects student enrolment, retention and

quality of education. Untrained and trained a single teacher cannot run the

school properly. Teacher cannot provide individual attention to the students

and must rely on formal didactic methods to manage as many as seventy to

eighty children with varying readiness to learn. The result is low quality

education and high drop-out rates by grades.85

The problem of teacher absenteeism is also associated with a number of

non teaching activities given to the teachers of Primary Schools. As revealed

82 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, Education for All (EFA)

Global Monitoring Report, The Hidden Crisis: Armed Conflicts and Education, UNESCO, Paris, 2011, p. 92.

83 Kevin Watkins (ed.), The Oxfam Education Report, Oxfam, 2000, UK, New Delhi, pp. 112-113. 84 PROBE, op. cit., p. 56. 85 D.D. Aggarwal, History and Development of Elementary Education in India, op. cit., p. 179.

213

by the PROBE team, 1999 the Teachers of UP are many of the times, engaged

in activities other than the teaching such as polio-eradication, election and

census.86 Besides, they were also found involved in drinking tea, gossiping and

teacher politics.87

Reducing absenteeism requires policy intervention that simultaneously

addresses problems such as low pay, poor conditions and low morale among

the teachers, while at the same time will strengthen school governance and the

accountability of teachers to parents88

8. Infrastructural Facilities

Access to Elementary Education does not only mean the availability of

schools but it also means availability of basic facilities in the Primary and

Upper Primary Schools and the first and foremost important facility in this

regard is the building. We can not imagine any schools without building and

further the building should be in proper and usable condition and should have

enough space.

8.1 Availability of Buildings in Primary Schools

Table 6.20 Types of Buildings (2004)89

Pacca Partial Pucca

Kachcha Tent Multiple Type

No Building

No Response

96.14 1.37 0.24 0.04 0.83 1.18 0.21

86 PROBE, op. cit., p. 56. 87 Ibid. 88 EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2011, op. cit., p. 92. 89 NUPEA, “DISE Analytical Report, 2000”, MHRD, Government of India, ”in Yash Aggarwal,

DPEP: Progress Towards Universal Access and Retention, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi, 2001, pp. 30-53.

214

8.2 In Upper Primary Schools

Table 6.21 Types of Buildings (2004)90

Pacca Partial Pucca

Kachcha Tent Multiple Type

No Building

No Response

94.07 1.31 0.08 0.04 1.60 2.57 0.33

As far as the type of school buildings is concerned, all the schools need

pucca building so that it can be used in all seasons. According to data more

than ninety-five per cent schools in State have pucca building including

Primary and Upper Primary Schools. (Table 6.20 and 6.21)

Table 6.22 Civil Work at Primary and Upper Primary Level (2001-2011)91

Year

Primary Upper Primary Additional Classrooms

New Reconstruction New Reconstruction

Target Comp-leted

Target Comp-leted

Target Comp-leted

Target Comp-leted

Target Comp-leted

2001-05 6536 6532 3119 3118 9859 9847 884 870 28781 28768

2005-06 2421 2414 1720 1720 2308 2305 355 346 65398 65391

2006-07 2850 2847 120 119 4000 3993 Nil Nil 82039 82025

2007-08 813 809 - - 5507 5498 - - 31365 31362

2008-09 3014 3003 - - 4398 4377 - - 17310 17300

2009-10 827 821 - - 1126 1121 - - 8784 8782

2010-11 - - - - 1126 1076 - - 8604 8571

90 NUEPA, DISE Analytical Report,2004, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government

of India, New Delhi, 2004, pp. 63-108. 91 www.upefa.com, Accessed on 17/4/2011

215

The mentioned information presents a very progressed and enhanced

graph of construction work from 2001-2010. There is negligible difference

between the completed and targeted work done. (Table 6. 22) But the

described incident brings out a different picture. It is learnt that in Allahabad, a

thousand of girls in a Government school have been studying under a tree for

the last ten years. The building constructed during the British times is now

lying in ruins. It is miracle that the school is still running in this condition. The

Vice- Principal of the Rajkiya Inter College said "We have been telling the

authorities. We have given a letter to the higher authorities many times and

they have also inspected us several times."92 The students are being sat in the

midst of traffic and try to concentrate. The occasional animals and rallies also

pass through those grounds. Studying under the open sky is very noisy.

Students are disturbed by cars or rallies or sometime trucks. In the same view a

student of the same College commented, “We also want to study in a room.

Here under the trees we have crow and feathers dropping on our heads and they

also make a lot of noise".93 A sports teacher commented on a high mood,

“Whatever we do here can be seen from the outside. When there is a Kabaddi

match, then children have to wear shorts and T-shirts and then we have a huge

crowd of onlookers"94 The discussed story belongs to an Inter College of UP

which includes the elementary classes too. The pathetic condition of that

college traces out the fact that how much the State authorities are concerned to

provide for the physical facilities in State.

8.3 Other Infrastructural Facilities in Primary and Upper Primary

Schools

Apart from the building that can be used in all weather the school needs

some basic facilities also. Here data is presented on such basic facilities

provided in Primary and Upper Primary Schools of the State. The Primary

92 A school without roof or walls http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/a-school-without-roof-or-walls-89686, accessed on12/4/2011 93 Ibid. 94 Ibid.

216

Schools need to have certain basic facilities and the Operation Blackboard

Scheme implemented by the Government of India after the National Education

Policy (NPE), 1986, was aimed at making sure that all the Primary Schools of

the country may be able to get these facilities.95

Table 6.23 Percentage of Primary Schools Having Various Facilities (2004)96

Blackboard Drinking Water

Playground Boundary Wall

96.86 94.87 61.45 33.37

The student safety has emerged as a current issue in the schools of Uttar

Pradesh as only 33. 37 per cent schools are having the boundary wall. (Table

6.23)

Table 6.24 Status of Toilet, And Drinking Water Facilities in (2005-06)97

With

Toilets

Without

Toilets

%age

Coverage

With

Drinking

Water

Supply

Without

Drinking

Water

Supply

%age

Coverage

97930 42865 69.56 11528 4705 71.02

The schools of UP are also lacking in terms of basic immunities as

drinking water and toilets. The Schools of UP (both Primary and Upper

Primary) have less number of toilets as 69.56 per cent only. The twenty-nine

per cent schools of UP are without the drinking water facility. (Table 6.24)

95 Ibid. 96 DISE Analytical Report 2004, op. cit., pp. 172-188. 97 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 90.

217

Table 6.25 Books, Electricity, Computer and other Facilities at Primary Stage (2007-08)98

Common Toilets

Girls Toilets

Electricity Connection

Computer in School

Book- bank in School

Ramp in School

Arranged Medical

Check up

65.65 50.76 9.37 2.35 64.99 5.05 45.06

A very less number of schools have the electricity connection. The

status of the facilities relating to the Information and Communication

Technology (ICT) is also very poor as only 2.35 schools have computers in it.

The problem of common toilet is also a matter of great concern. (Table 6.25)

Table 6.26 Medical Assessment Camps (2006-2011)99

Particulars 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

No. Of Camps 800 784 779 886 780

Assess CWSN 61450 50115 48212 48492 45967

Disabled. Certif. 23323 27721 19996 19081 19274

This data shows the frequent arrangement of medical camps in the

schools of UP which is being ambiguous by the fact revealed by another study

pointing out that forty-eight per cent schools have no first aid facilities in

UP.100 (Table 6.26)

8.4 Adequate Teaching Facilities and Material

The teaching aids play a vital role in imparting the quality based

education. Without the use of adequate teaching aids it is impossible to achieve

the goal of quality education. The Uttar Pradesh lacks adequate teaching aids in

a significant number of schools. This is an area which requires immediate

attention. Whether the Government of India has increased the share of

98 Ibid. 99 www.upefa.com, Accessed on 23/12/2010 100 Report of the Edwatch Study: Rhetoric vs. Reality the State of Elementary Education in India,

op. cit., p. 91.

218

Elementary Education or not is another question but inadequate teaching

material will certainly lead to adverse effect on the quality of education. Even

as State excels towards the target of Elementary Education for all, its ICT

capabilities, so far as school education is concerned, remains severely

challenged by low availability of computers in the schools.101

9. Quality of Education

The quality of education is an abstract idea. It stands for excellence and

goodness of education. It is the quality which determines the standard of

education. That is why both national and international organisations have been

concerned about the meaning and measurement of quality in education. The

quality education has been defined with many different frameworks and

theories. UNICEF’s definition of quality in education is accepted by – and

aligned with the global and international community, and recognised for its

“back to basics” approach, comprehensive vision and simple concepts that are

easily adaptable.102 This definition employs five key dimensions of quality:

content, environments, outcomes, processes, and what learners bring. This

framework allows us to think about effective programming to reach all children

and provides a baseline for monitoring quality.

9.1 Measurement of Qualitative Achievements

Table 6.27 Achievements at Primary Level (2000)103

Survey Language Mathematics Mean Standard

Deviation Mean Standard

Deviation Base Line Assessment Survey (BAS)

43.94 14.23 34.50 13.16

Mid-term Assessment Survey (MAS)

44.48 10.88 34.78 12.03

Final Assessment Survey (FAS)

87.98 07.54 87.65 08.73

101 Evaluation Report on Serva Shiksha Abhiyan, op. cit., p. 90. 102 Student Achievement Final Assessment Study, (UP BEP Districts), 2000 in School Education in

Uttar Pradesh: Status Issues and Perspectives, op. cit., p. 12. 103 Ibid., p. 26.

219

The assessment surveys conducted in some Districts of the States, where

basic education project was in operation indicates good results in the

performance of students of class II and class V for which the evaluation studies

were conducted by the SCERT. An example is given here of the achievement

in language and mathematics of class V students. Evaluation surveys were

conducted at three intervals namely Base Line Assessment Survey (BAS), Mid-

term Assessment Survey (MAS) and Final Assessment Survey (FAS). Data

reveals that though there is improvement in the mean value of achievements of

students discipline mainly language and mathematics. This improvement is of

very small degree.104 To see the quality at Primary and Upper Primary levels

pass percentage at the terminal examination is seen. At the VI and VIII grades

near about seventy per cent of the students passed in the examination

conducted by the schools.105

9.2 Awards as Measurements of Quality

Table 6.28 Achievements at Upper Primary Level (2006-07)106

However, it is also observed that very few students could secure sixty

per cent and above marks in these examinations. The children who secure more

than sixty per cent of marks are less than fifty per cent, in all the districts at

both the levels. In addition it is also observed that success rates are lower for

104 Ibid., pp. 26-27. 105 Madhumita Bandhyopadhyay , Ramya Subrahmanian, Gender Equity in Education: A Review of

Trends and Factors, CREATE, NUEPA, New Delhi, 2008, p. 28. 106 National University of Educational Planning and Administration, District Report Cards 2006-

07: Elementary Education in India Where do we Stand?, Vol. II, NUEPA, 2008, New Delhi, pp. 507-576.

Boys

Grade IV/V

Girls

Grade IV/V

Boys Grade VII/VIII

Girls Grade VII/VIII

39.3 38.3 32.5 36.7

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girls in comparison to boys at the Primary level, but at the Upper Primary level

success rate improved and disparity was narrow down. Lowest scored marks at

the Primary level both for the girls and boys are in Latitpur and Chitrakoot

districts. Situation is slightly better at the Upper Primary level. Both forty per

cent of boys and girls scored more than sixty per cent marks, except Lalitpur

district. Generally it is said that the schools with low female teachers have low

girls enrolment and low performance. This is to a large extent true in case of

Bundelkhand Region of UP. In all the districts women teachers’ percentage is

less than fifty per cent.(Table 6.29)

9.3 Pass Percentage at the Primary and Upper Primary Levels

Table 6.29 Achieved Percentages of Boys/Girls, UP, Different Districts 107

Primary Upper Primary

Boys Girls Boys Girls

Bundelkhand Districts

Passed 60 and Above

Passed 60 and

Above

Passed 60 and

Above

Passed 60 and Above

Banda 97.4 35.7 96.6 31.7 98.5 42.4 98.6 49.0

Hamirpur 98.2 47.8 98.1 42.2 97.4 46.3 98.3 46.9

Jhansi 97.1 46.0 96.7 45.0 96.7 38.5 96.3 41.6

Mahoba 98.3 37.2 98.4 35.2 97.6 43.7 98.7 50.6

Lalitpur 97.4 22.4 97.6 20.6 96.6 16.2 97.3 18.5

Chitrakoot 98.2 28.4 98.1 22.4 98.1 47.8 98.7 44.9

Jalaun 98.2 38.7 97.6 33.6 98.5 35.9 98.9 37.1

107 Ibid.

221

10. Financing and Expenditure

As the system of education in Uttar Pradesh is moving ahead financial

requirements are rising very rapidly. In India the largest responsibility of

financing education rests on the shoulders of the State Government. A look at

the budgetary provisions for education in UP shows, that massive amounts are

budgeted for Primary Education. The related data with regard to SSA budget

are given research suggests that a large number of female and the SC/ST

children attend the Government Schools (including formal and non-formal),

while the children from upper castes and boys are more likely to attend Private

Schools. It was also found that the Government Schools mainly cater to under-

privileged children, including the SC groups, ST groups and girls. In recent

years there has been a move towards both the private and the Unrecognised

Schools, for those groups who can afford them. The expansion of the Private

Unrecognised Schools is both a reflection of the great demand for education

amongst diverse populations as well as a reflection of the lack of adequate

facilities in the Government Schools. This sector is diversifying into a wide

range of fee-charging schools, many of which may also be affordable for

poorer households. This indicates that parents, irrespective of their socio-

economic background, demand quality education and better educational

facilities to help their children learn.108

RTE Act, 2009 categorically says that while admitting a child, no

School or person shall subject the child or his/her parents to any "screening

procedure".109 It defines the term "screening procedure" as a method for

admission of the child in preference over another.110 The MHRD underlined

that there shall be no profiling of the child based on parents' educational

qualifications, no testing and interviews for any child/parent. The selection

108 A.C. Mehta, Elementary Education in India, Where Do we stand? Analytical Report, New

Delhi, NIEPA, 2005, p. 33 also see in R. Kumar, S. Santra, A. Mukherjee, T. Banerjee, M. Kundu “Public-Private Interface in Primary Education: A Case Study of West Bengal”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. 40, No. 15, 2005, pp. 1550-1555.

109 RTE Act 2009, No. 35, op. cit., Section 13 (1), p. 6. 110 Ibid., Section 2 (o), p. 2.

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would be done on a random basis. Schools should put the policy in public

domain, publicise it widely and place it in their prospectus explicitly. The

admission should be made strictly on this basis.111

But rat race for Nursery admissions can be easily seen even in year,

2011 too. Anxious applicants (parents) are busy preparing their child for the

test .But all the trouble could have been avoided if the UP's Education

Department officials acted on time to implement the Right to Education (RTE)

Act. There is no uniform policy and a significant majority of schools admitted

that they would base their decision on "interaction" with the parents.112 Fancy

Statements like "if there was an environment for education in the family or not"

gave interactions a unique mandate for the schools. Pressure on the child and

his/her parents because of admissions cannot be explained in words. Parents

send kids to kindergartens, pre-schools etc only to ensure that the child puts

his/her best foot forward at these interaction.113 Because of the less financing

and utilisation of the share for Elementary Education the Government Schools

are not able to overcome their poor quality constraints; consequently the people

of the State are loosing their faith with them.

10.1Budget under SSA

Table 6.30 Budget and Expenditure under SSA 2009-10 114

(Rs. in crores)

Total Budget Allocation Budget Available Expenditure

3870.25 3870.25 3250.34

111 Times of India (Lucknow), 5 January, 2011 112 ibid. 113 Ibid. 114 Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Board, Education for All, 2009-10, Government of Uttar Pradesh,

Lucknow, 2010, p. 41.

223

Table 6.31 Budget and Expenditure under SSA 2010-11115

(Rs. in crores)

Total Budget Allocation Budget Available Expenditure

6794.64 6039.73 5113.92

It is evident from the Table number 30-31 that the State Government

is not capable to utilise the allocated budget. According to the GOUP data

itself the availability of the funds was hundred per cent even then the

Government could not utilise the total available funds, though the

difference was not major116. The aggregate picture of the financing Primary

Education in Uttar Pradesh is ideally presented by SSA Budget. The full

budget allocation often falls in line with special allocations for schemes like

SSA. That is why the above table has been given by way of elastration.

10.2 Financial Implications of RTE, Act (2009)

The implementation of RTE Act requires a spend of 2,04,000 crore over

the next five years. According to the official sources Uttar Pradesh will have to

spend 54,000 crore over five years. While the Centre has to spend sixty-five

per cent of this, the State has to pay only thirty-five per cent.117 Besides, Uttar

Pradesh has estimated an expenditure of 30,000 crore more in implementing

the Right to Education Act 2009 across the State,118 In addition to this arround

30,158 crore would be needed further for appointing teachers, school staff and

creating necessary infrastructure for three years under the regulation of the

Act.119 The Government of Uttar Pradesh has asked the Centre to give it more

funds to implement the provisions of the Right to Education (RTE) Act. In a

115 http://www. upefa.com, Accessed on 14/3/2011 116 Evaluation Report on Serva Shiksha Abhiyan, op. cit., p. 48. 117 Kavere Bamzai, “Hard Act to Follow”, India Today, Vol. 23, No. 45, 2011, pp. 19-22. 118 Ibid. 119 Times of India (Varanasi), February 18, 2011.

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letter written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chief minister Mayawati has

asked for ninety per cent funding by the Centre, against the accepted formula of

sixty-five per cent financial aid. Urging the Centre to reconsider the sharing

pattern, Chief Minister in her letter, said, you may “reconsider the Centre-State

sharing pattern to fully benefit from the RTE Act, towards which utmost

allocations are already being made.120 However, there is a limit to which State

finances can be stretched. Kindly therefore, revisit the basis for the Centre-

State sharing. States with large six to fourteen age group population should be

allocated a 90:10 sharing pattern”.121 As per official estimates, a sum of 14,000

crore is needed annually to implement the RTE in UP. The present pattern of

sharing is 65:35, which translates into UP providing 4,900 crore. A 90:10,

share would mean that MHRD will have to allocate a sum of 12,600 crore to

the State.122Till the time, Centre and State settle the issue; total adoption of the

RTE Act in the State could be a distant dream. The Project Approval Board

(PAB) refused to make any sanctions till the UP Government notified rules for

the implementation of RTE.123 On the question that why the State notification

of RTE is pending the Government officials said "notification of anything takes

time."124 However the delay in notifying the rules to implement the Right To

Education Act translated into a loss of 5,000 Primary Schools, 1,000 upper

Primary Schools and uniforms for 1.7 crore children amounting to over 1,500

crore.125 On a positive note, UP has got more than last year. "A total of 7,747

crore has been sanctioned for the State. And this is about 2,000 crore more than

last year. Sources claim that the State had submitted projects worth over 9,250

crore. Education Department officials were not really happy over this.

According the officials the “losses are beggar than the gain”. About seventy per

cent of the funds would go in salary and training of teachers while another ten

120 The Times of India (Lucknow), May 9, 2011. 121 Ibid, May 6, 2011. 122 Ibid. 123 Ibid. 124 Ibid. 125 Times of India (Lucknow), May 10, 2011.

225

per cent would go for construction activities. What is left for children is too

little.126

After a long tussle with the Centre over sharing of expenditure, the Uttar

Pradesh Government has finally started working on the implementation of the

Right to Education Act. The Basic Education Department has been asked to

speed up work on finalising rules for the implementation of the Act as well as

for conducting eligibility tests for appointing teachers. The Government is keen

to appoint 80,000 teachers before the Assembly elections are announced.127

Thus the enactment of one of the legislative mandates for education in

India and UP, the Right to Education Act (RTE), 2009 is different from what

was expected from Article 45 under the Directive Principles of State Policy

(DPSP) in the Constitution of India. The most important difference is in the

RTE Act with regard to the compulsory education to children from six to

fourteen, while Article 45 Stated, ‘free and compulsory education for all

children up to the age of fourteen’. This difference in the RTE and the

Constitution of India has massive implications in the implementation of this

Act.

This chapter has comprehensively dealt with the access to Primary

Education which has increased substantially due to the growth in the number of

schools, number of teachers and particularly female teachers. Because of these

facilities the numbers of students have gone up in Primary Schools and Gross

Enrolment Ratio (GER) has been improved substantially at both Lower

Primary and Upper Primary levels. The attraction of female teachers has

resulted additional enrolment of girls in Primary Schools the attendance rate is

still a problem because the drop out rates are high for which several economic-

social and cultural reasons are responsible. While average GER shows

remarkable improvement, the same for disadvantaged groups still looks very

126 Ibid 127 Indian Express (New Delhi), 20th June, 2011.

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poor particularly Schedule Caste (SC), Schedule Tribe (ST), minorities and

girls in some regions.

The Constitutional Mandate for educational development was an

important instrument in UP for educational demand in the beginning. More

recently the Right to Education (RTE) Act is likely to impact on educational

scenario of the State. The delayed notification is viewed as a matter of serious

concerned. While the Government efforts have been note worthy, drop out

rates are still very high and in many cases really worrisome. The dropout rates

increase in case of disadvantaged groups of the population. Among the special

campaign of education, SSA has lasted long and therefore, impacted

effectively. Among the many factors governing quality of education, TPR has

been of utmost significance along with physical facilities and quality of

education. The appointment of teachers and the regularity of teachers in

schools leave much to be desired. Finally the responsibility of the Central and

the State Governments in financing school education still remains high and dry.