1. L E A R N I N G
Primary education lacking in quality
72 ALIVE I MARCH 2014
of students in Class 8, who can do
divisions, has declined by almost 23
per cent during the same period.
The study is done every year by
Pratham Education Foundation, con-
sidering various norms of develop-
Q
uality education is being com-
promised in our country at the
root of our education system –
primary education. The government
elementary education system is pro-
viding weak results, despite huge
injection of money in the system and
higher enrollment of children in all
states of India. Many children, study-
ing in class 5, hardly do basic arith-
metic of class 2-level. Majority of
class 8 students in government
schools do not know table of 1 to 20
correctly.
The learning level among school
students is found to be decreasing in
almost all primary and middle class-
es. The above findings have surfaced
in the Annual Status of Education
Report (ASER) for 2013.
The learning level of pupils in gov-
ernment schools has been on a decline
since 2005. This year shows worse
results on the development of chil-
dren. The proportion of all children in
Class 5, who can read a class 2-level
text, has declined by almost 15 per
cent since 2005. Similarly, the number
ment of children at schools in India.
There was a point-based evaluation
system in the study. The study clari-
fies that, while, in 2005, 3 out of every
5 students in standard 5 were able to
read the text-books prescribed for
class 2 pupils, only 1 out of 2 is up to
the task now.
The positive outcome of the study
is that the enrollment level in schools
has made significant strides, with 97
per cent of children now in schools,
compared with 93 per cent in 2005. It
seems India’s elementary education
system is working on the theme of
schooling, not learning, which is
more important for the student as
well as the nation.
The children intake has improved
and now more and more children are
linked to the schools under big edu-
cation schemes of the Indian
Government like the Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan and Right to Education pro-
grammes. But all efforts and money
have only brought out greater num-
bers of children to school premises,
not any quality education to them.
Ill-equipped primary education system may not yield the desired result,
that is, all-round development of our children. I by Abhishek Kumar
FFaauullttyy SSyysstteemm
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s misplaced pri-
ority arises from the faulty design of the
Right to Education aimed for basic level edu-
cation in India. Like other social sector refor-
mation from the government, the Right to
Education Act has not been designed well.
This has resulted to a waste of money for
last few years. According to a study by the
accountability initiative group of the Centre
for Policy Research, an increase of Rs1,000
in per student allocations raised the number
of students in class 3 to 5 but its only 0.2%
students read well a class-1 textbook.
Although, the education laws have been
initiated with a noble intention of promoting
learning levels but since the authorities mea-
sured only enrolment rate of children with
schools, we achieved success only on that
point. The actual aim of education, i.e,
learning enhancement is getting a miss in
current education system.

2. RReeaassoonnss ffoorr
uunnddeerrddeevveellooppmmeenntt
The crisis of learning is taking
place in the education system due to
several reasons. The first and fore-
most reason for the low level of learn-
ing is lack of adequate infrastructure.
Many states face a severe shortage of
teachers. The main complaint is
about the poor quality of institution-
al support for the teachers’ profes-
sional development.
It is believed that, if these gaps are
filled, children will learn well. The
adequate number of teachers, their
more and more participation in the
student activity, and improved level
of teaching are essential for improv-
ing the learning level of students.
Another reason for learning fail-
ure is mismatch of textbook curricula
and teachers’ activity. The overall
activities laid down in the textbook
are hardly met by a teacher in the
school. Going back to the typical
standard 5 classroom, try to imagine
the challenge for the teacher.
In our typical school, the standard
5 teacher uses the 5th standard text-
book, trying to cover the material
and activities that the textbook lays
out. But whom should the teacher
teach? And how it should be done?
Should the teacher focus on those
children, who have basic skills, who
are more likely to attend school regu-
larly and are, therefore, easier to
teach? What should the teacher do
with the other half of the class, who
are not even at standard 1 or 2 level?
This is a problem faced by almost all
primary school teachers.
There is need to fill the gap in the
level of curricula and the standard of
teachers and availability of resources.
The 3 basic parameters of learning
– reading, writing and arithmetic –
have been chosen for the evaluation
of a student’s learning. A decline is
found on all the above parameters.
In arithmetic, only half of all stan-
dard 5 children can do a basic 2-digit
subtraction problem, with the arith-
metic operation of borrowing — a
skill that is expected in standard 2. Of
the children, who have these basic
skills, many have higher-level capa-
bilities, too. But for the half, who
have reached standard 5, and do not
have the fundamental skills of read-
ing or arithmetic, there are very seri-
ous risks of not gaining much from
continuing in school and completing
8 years of schooling.
Using ASER figures, it is estimat-
ed that, over 100 million children in
India are 2 or more years below their
grade-level. A same kind of research
report in 2012 showed that children
were performing far below the level
that is expected of them.
The same kind of evaluation pre-
sented more grim results in 2013. It
can be said that the present govern-
ment fails in its aim of human devel-
opment, despite huge taxing to com-
mon man to fund education.
All over the country, private insti-
tutes are getting the major chunk of
child students and these institutions
are flourishing in the real sense. The
private schools are contributing more
in the success of children and they
are far ahead of the state-run primary
schools. It is a matter of embarrass-
ment for the state governments.
ALIVE I MARCH 2014 73
Courtesy: ASER 2013

3. Just an overambitious curriculum
cannot lead students to the level of
excellence. On the other hand, it
delinks children and teachers from
the matters prescribed.
Researchers Lant Pritchett and
Amanda Beatty write, in their paper
on over-ambitious curriculum, “If the
official school curriculum covers too
much, goes too fast and is too hard,
compared with the initial skill of the
students and the ability of the schools
to teach, this can produce disastrous
results. An over-ambitious curricu-
lum causes more and more students
to get left behind early and stay
behind forever.”
Unlike problems of access and
inputs, that are visible, the situation
of low learning worsens quietly with-
in the classrooms and schools and is
invisible to the world outside. Indian
educationist must look into this
before placing their idea of education
to children in entire India. There
should be an approachable link
between the school curriculum and
the students in the school.
TTeeaacchhiinngg aanndd tteeaacchheerrss
On the one hand, there is a huge
gap in the teacher - student ratio. The
number of teaching staff is far less
than the present demand. On the
other hand, the available teachers’
level of teaching is not up to the mark
in government schools. They are not
properly trained. Lack of proper
training and competency puts them
at the level from where they are not
able to give the children what is
expected from them in the 21st centu-
ry education scenario.
Another problem for the govern-
ment teachers is their engagement
with non-teaching assignments. The
government gets many of its works,
aimed at grassroots or village level,
done by the staff designated for
teaching. It is the government’s
teacher community that does the cen-
sus and other surveys. It is the com-
munity of government teachers, who
facilitate the midday meal scheme in
all schools. A precious part of school
time of teachers goes for midday
meal scheme on all school days.
Designating separate staff for mid-
day meal works would save precious
time of teachers, who are recruited
mainly for teaching.
Studies done in various schools, in
rural India, show that contract-based
teachers, along with old, regular
teachers, provide more qualitative
teaching in comparison to only regu-
lar teachers. Now, regular teaching
staff constitutes less than 20 per cent
of the total teaching community. A
new study of 200 schools in Andhra
Pradesh has found that, teachers on
contract, who come to class more
often than tenured teachers (who are
sometimes paid 5 times more), give
better results.
LLeeaarrnniinngg ffoorr aallll
The government should make
cumulative efforts to tackle the issue
of lower scale of learning in elemen-
tary education in India. To help all
children in standards 3, 4 and 5, reach
the level expected of them at their
grade, there is a triple challenge: 1)
basic skills need to be built, and built
fast and in a durable way; 2) these
children have to be enabled to be able
to cope with what is required of them
for the grade in which they are study-
ing; 3) to alleviate this double chal-
lenge, by the end of standard 2, chil-
dren need to have developed founda-
tional skills of reading, writing, arith-
metic and independent thinking also.
It should not allow children to finish
standard 5 without these very basic
skills, that will enable them to go for-
ward in the education system and in
their own life also.
As primary education falls in the
realm of the state, all states must
declare the learning goals for the chil-
dren and articulate properly their
plans for achieving higher learning
outcomes.
The nation’s inclusive growth can
be achieved only when its building-
blocks – the children – are given qual-
ity education as a priority. I
74 ALIVE I MARCH 2014
Heaters for idols
As per the news appearing in the
news papers as well as on news
channels the idols of the presiding
deities in many of the prominent
temples in North India are being
provided woollen garments and
blankets as well as electric heaters
and blowers to save them from bit-
ing cold of the winter! Un-believable
indeed when so many humans
exposed to the vagaries of the ele-
ments die for want of any means of
protection year after year!
—Mrs Krishna Bajaj
SSHHAACCKKLLEESS OOFF SSUUPPEERRSSTTIITTIIOONN
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CCoonnttrraacctt tteeaacchheerrss iimmpprroovvee
oouuttccoommee
A study done in 200 schools in Andhra
Pradesh has found that induction of contract
teachers improved learning outcomes. The
teachers recruited on contract are younger in
age and give more time to school activity in
comparison to regular teachers who are older
in age and are paid 4 to 5 times more.
The study finds that learning outcomes
improve through addition of contract teach-
ers and it gains importance in the light of
the requirement under the Right to Education
law to reduce the student to teacher ratio,
from 40:1 to 30:1.
The rise in the share of contract teachers
in all public schools from 6% in 2003 to
30% in 2010 has been crucial as it was
speculated whether it would contribute edu-
cation level positively or negatively. After all
it showed positive for enhancement of learn-
ing outcome.