problems of primary education at the rural aria

Condition and direction of school education in rural India-


The situation of schooling in rural India is worrisome

What is in this report-

In this report, based on a survey of nearly three and a half million rural households and 16,000 schools in 596 districts across the country, the data on the access, achievement and basic needs of the schools in primary schools has been prepared.

These figures give some important trends about the interaction of school education with individuals and society.

According to the report, positive growth has been recorded in schools such as enrollment and infrastructure, but the poor condition of students in skills like reading and counting raises questions about the process and impact of schooling.

Change-

The meaningful changes seen in rural areas are the result of the implementation of the Right to Education Act on the ground. This is the reason that almost all government schools have recorded an increase in enrollment. These figures are encouraging, but it would not be appropriate to draw any conclusions about the reality of primary education in villages.

• The enrollment of children in the age group of six to 14 years is about 95%.
• The percentage of out-of-school girls between 11 and 14 years of age is only 4.1.
• In contrast, enrollment figures in private schools ranged between 30–31% between 2014 and 2018.

Enrollment in government schools due to increase in the number of schools, appointment, and training of teachers, improvement in basic facilities like toilets and playgrounds and initiatives to bring children to school since 2009 Right to Education Act Increased

But even today the enrollment percentage of children in one-fourth of government schools is 60 and below. This includes children who are unable to go to school if they do not get the right to free and compulsory education and whose families cannot bear the economic burden of education and who help elders in domestic and agricultural work in exchange for an education.

• It has also been revealed in this report that what is the condition of the achievement of the children coming to primary schools.
• In the year 2008, about 85% of the students studying in class VIII could read only the book of class 2, while in 2018 their number has come down to about 73%.
• In the year 2018 survey, only 44% of eighth-grade children were able to solve the question of dividing by one digit into three digits, while in the year 2012 this figure was 48%.

Children in private schools are better-

Children in private schools are better than children in government schools in terms of children's educational achievement.

The 2018 statistics show that the percentage of children of Class V who possess Class 2 reading skills is 44 in government schools and 66 in private schools.

In its favor, the logic of infrastructure of private schools, monitoring of teachers and dedicated management is not enough. It is sure that the parents of the children of private schools can afford education. Children are gaining skills due to learning both at home and at school On the other hand, private schools in villages are not as comfortable as urban private schools. They charge low fees and are equipped with simple resources. It is lacking in the context of children and parents of government schools.

Cultural difference is also a big reason-

In addition, there is a cultural difference in children's achievement and learning that becomes active before admission to the school. The right to education is also unable to bridge this cultural gap. Here the fact has to be kept in mind that as soon as the parents of the children studying in the private school of the village get a chance. They get their child admitted to the city school. Therefore, India is becoming such a geographical unit, where there is a deep gap in the process and outcome of the education rights in villages in terms of equality and quality of educational opportunities. Wealth and poverty are not the only reasons. Gender, caste, region, language, and religion are also joining them to create a complex structure that is promoting it.

Today, in the situation of villages in the country's economy, it is clear that in terms of employment and livelihood, the villages are not able to stop the people. There is continuous migration of large populations from the villages. When this population goes outside the village, then there will be a crowd of people in the city who need jobs.

But they do not have the capacity to meet the employment conditions of the modern economy. The children who participated in ASAR-2018 and whose achievement statistics emphasize the possibility of their failure in the future are moving away from the goal of self-reliance, as literacy-intensive jobs are currently more available.

Major problems of primary education at the rural level-

• Even today there are rural schools where even basic facilities like rooms and desk-benches are not fully available.
• In many schools, children are seen sitting under the verandahs and trees. During the summer season, children also have to wander for drinking water.
• Toilets have been built in schools, but due to lack of water, it becomes difficult to maintain cleanliness in them.
• Under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, there is a provision to make books available to children free of cost, but there is no better situation in this direction. Even after three months of the commencement of the education session, children studying in first to the eighth grade could not get textbooks.
• The modalities of mid-day meal operations in rural schools are also questioned. A lot of teachers' time is wasted in feeding children in schools. The lack of a concrete plan for the implementation of the mid-day meal scheme at the official level is a major deadlock.
• There are many rural schools in the country where Educet equipment has been installed with the aim of providing better education to children. But these devices installed at a huge cost have become a mere showpiece in most schools.
• The image of rural government schools has become that of the children of poor and illiterate children, who are completely dependent on the mercy of teachers.
• Even today a large part of the education budget is spent on teachers' salaries and administration in schools. Yet India has the largest number of teachers taking leave without permission in the world.
• It is often seen in rural schools that teachers do not come and one in four government schools has some teachers on leave every day.

Education is placed in the concurrent list in the constitution and its main responsibility is on the states. In such a situation, it is necessary that all the states solve their challenges according to their circumstances in their own way. It has happened and different results came out In states where the development of school education was done better, the education-related challenges of poor children were given priority. But even today the situation is that at the primary and secondary level a large part of the middle class sends their children to private schools to get English education.

Rural Aria Compulsory Education-

•  The constitution is promised free and compulsory education. The target of completing it in ten years was also set, which could not be met.
• All children should go to school and everyone should get quality education… These are not two streams but mutually related and unavoidable conditions. One cannot be satisfied by completing any of these.
• Children's failure cannot be blamed only for the institutional reasons for school. Blame is often attributed to a lack of resources and an inefficient attitude of teachers. But it is also certain that the solution to this problem cannot be found by just blaming them.
• The solution to this problem is that instead of doubting the teachers and monitoring their actions, trust them and steps should be taken to make them competent and efficient.
• In addition to reducing the burden of the curriculum, changes in the policy of pass-fail or the plethora of resources on the pretext of child-centered education, one has to consider how to reduce the gap between village and city in the education process.

In order to raise the educational level in rural areas, the standard of primary education will have to be increased. But neither the public representatives nor the officials of the education department show enough interest in this direction. Despite providing many facilities from the government, there is not much change in the situation on the ground.