Insights EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : Needed, education data that engages the poor parent – INSIGHTSIAS

 

Source: The Hindu

• Prelims: Current events of national importance(Different social service Schemes, NEP, ASER report, NCERT)
• Mains GS Paper I & II: Social empowerment, development and management of social sectors/services related to Education etc.

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Media writings in recent years have variously highlighted the marked fall or improvement in learning outcomes, depending on the dataset being referred to the Annual Status of Education Report(ASER) which is led by the nongovernmental organization(NGO) Pratham, or the National Achievement Survey (NAS) which is led by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
• According to ASER 2019 data, Rajasthan was among the bottom five States in learning levels, while in NAS 2017, Rajasthan was among the top performers.

 

Puucho ON THE ISSUE

Context

Annual Status of Education Report (ASER):

• The survey is facilitated by Pratham Education Foundation, and is the oldest survey of its kind in the country.
• It is regarded for the range of insights it provides on levels of foundational learning at the elementary level.
• It uses Census 2011 as the sampling frame and continues to be an important national source of information about children’s foundational skills across the country.
• ASER 2018 surveyed children in the age group of 3 to 16 years and included almost all rural districts in India and generated estimates of foundational reading and arithmetic abilities of children in the age group 5 to 16 years.
• ASER 2019 reported on the pre-schooling or schooling status of children in the age group 4 to 8 years in 26 rural districts, it focused on the “early years” and laid emphasis on “developing problem-solving faculties and building a memory of children, and not content knowledge”.
• ASER 2020 is the first ever phone-based ASER survey and it was conducted in September 2020, the sixth month of national school closures.

 

ASER 2021 report:

• Increasing Enrollment in Government School:

1. There was an unprecedented jump in government school students, and a 10-year low in private school enrolments.
2. A clear shift from private to government schools — from 64.3% in 2018 to 65.8% in 2020, to 70.3% in 2021.
3. A fall in private school enrollment from 28.8% in 2020 to 24.4% in 2021.

1. It has reported a growing dependency on private tuition classes.
2. Students from poor families are dependent more than ever on private tuition.

1. There exists a stark digital divide, which carries the risk of severely affecting the learning abilities of primary grade students.
2. Almost a third of all children in Classes I and II did not have a smartphone available at home.

• Problems with New Entrants:

1. The pandemic has left the youngest entrants in India’s formal education system particularly vulnerable.
2. 1 in 3 children in Classes I and II have never attended an in-person class.

• Learning Gap:
  4% teachers flagged the problem of children being “unable to catch up” as one of their biggest challenges.
• Positive Trend: The report captured a decline in the proportion of children not currently enrolled in the 15-16 age group. This is one of the sections which faces the highest risk of dropping out.

 

National Achievement Survey(NAS) 2021:

• It is a nationwide survey to assess the learning outcomes and health of the education system.
• Undertaken by the Ministry of Education.
• The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted NAS 2021.
• The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) designed an assessment framework and tools for NAS-2021.
• It provides a system-level reflection on the effectiveness of school education.
• It collects information on relevant background variables such as school environment, teaching processes, and student home and background factors.
• It covers all the schools including Government schools (both State and Central government), Government-aided schools, and Private schools across India.
• It was conducted in 22 mediums of instruction that covered English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Hindi, Malayalam, Marathi, Manipuri, Mizo, Punjabi, Odia, Telugu, Tamil, Bodo, Urdu, Garo, Konkani, Khasi, Bhutia, Nepali, and Lepcha.
• It was conducted in different subjects for different grades:

1. Grade 3 and 5: Language, EVS, and Mathematics
2. Grade 8: Language, Science, Mathematics, and Social Science
3. Grade 10: Language, Science, Mathematics, Social Science, and English.

 

Solutions to remove discrepancies in Data:

• Data should be linked with a vision of school education which addresses the anxieties and aspirations of parents, and is actionable at the level of governance closest to them, i.e.the local administrative and political system.
• A national level policy is just as an inspiring education vision. Ideally, it should encompass the essence of the vision of the people.
• Community based consultative bodies such as the school management committees and parent teacher committees to facilitate plans like District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) and Sarva ShikshaAbhiyan (SSA)
• Vision has to be by local political actors and become a central part of local politics which involves both formal actors such as political party workers, and nonformal ones such as community leaders.

 

Constitutional Provisions related to education:

• Part IV of Indian Constitution, Article 45 and Article 39 (f) of Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP), has a provision for state-funded as well as equitable and accessible education.
• The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1976 moved education from the State to the Concurrent List.
• Article 21A: It provides free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The 86th Amendment in 2002 made education an enforceable right under Article 21-A.
• Article 39(f): It provides that children are given opportunities and facilities to develop in a healthy manner and in conditions of freedom and dignity and that childhood and youth are protected against exploitation and against moral and material abandonment.
• Article 45: The State shall endeavor to provide, within a period of ten years from the commencement of this Constitution, for free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years.
• ARTICLE 46: The State shall promote with special care the educational and economic interests of the weaker sections of the people, and in particular, of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, and shall protect them from social injustice and all forms of exploitation.

 

Related Laws:
Right To Education (RTE) Act, 2009:

• It aims to provide primary education to all children aged 6 to 14 years and enforces education as a Fundamental Right.
• It also mandates 25% reservation for disadvantaged sections of the society.
• It states that sharing of financial and other responsibilities between the Central and State Governments.
• It lays down the norms and standards related to:

1. Pupil Teacher Ratios (PTRs)
2. Buildings and infrastructure
3. School-working days
4. Teacher-working hours.

 

Government Initiatives:

• National Education Policy 2020.
• Samagra Shiksha (SS) 2.0
• NIPUN Bharat Mission
• PM Poshan Scheme
• Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE).
• Performance Grading Index

 

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020

• Announced by the Ministry of Education.
• Recognising Importance of Formative years: It adopted a 5+3+3+4 model for school education starting at age 3, the policy recognises the primacy of the formative years from ages 3 to 8 in shaping the child’s future.
• Departure from Silos Mentality: It breaks the strict division of arts, commerce and science streams in high school.
• The Confluence of Education and Skills: Introduction of vocational courses with an internship. This may nudge the vulnerable sections of society to send their children to school.
• More Inclusive Education : The NEP proposes the extension of the Right to Education (RTE) to all children up to the age of 18.
• Allowing Foreign Universities: The document states universities from among the top 100 in the world will be able to set up campuses in India.
• Hindi vs English Debate: NEP, once and for all, ended Hindi versus English language debate; instead, it emphasizes on making mother tongue, local language or the regional language the medium of instruction at least till Grade 5, which is considered the best medium of teaching.

 

Way Forward

• When data is connected with a locally developed and politically owned vision of school education that it will move beyond the administrator and the activist. Social welfare is about people, and their participation has to be simple, intuitive and energetic.
• Ensure universal access and, in keeping with letter and spirit of the RTE Act, provide good-quality free and compulsory education to all children in the age group of 6 to 14 year.
• Increase enrolments at higher levels of education and raise the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) at the secondary level and Senior Secondary level.
• Improve learning outcomes that are measured, monitored and reported independently at all levels of school education with a special focus on ensuring that all children master basic reading and numeracy skills by class 2 and skills of critical thinking, expression and problem solving by class 5.
• Strive Towards Universalisation of Education: There is a need for the creation of ‘inclusion funds’ to help socially and educationally disadvantaged children pursue education.
• Bridging Digital Divide: If technology is a force-multiplier, with unequal access it can also expand the gap between the haves and have nots.
• Need For Cooperative Federalism: Since education is a concurrent subject (both the Centre and the state governments can make laws on it), the reforms proposed can only be implemented collaboratively by the Centre and the states.

 

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Unequal access to education can expand the gap between rich and poor. Critically analyze steps taken by the government to make education accessible to all. (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)