- The literacy rate in India is gradually heading northwards is indisputable. However, the pace of the literacy rate is nothing to rave about is an inalienable fact poorly reflecting the lack of thrust, impetus, and urgency to address the matter by the powers-that-be. Despite seven-and-a-half decades after gaining independence, our education system is bogged down by a lack of intent to provide fillip at par with the global standards speaks volumes about our misplaced priorities. Not a day passes without ever mentioning the pathetic state of affairs surrounding the country’s education plight. The absence of trained teachers, lack of quality infrastructure, and general lack of motivation are some of the glaring reasons bogging the education system across the country.
PC: digitalLEARNING Network
- We all know how debilitating the pandemic-induced restrictions created havoc on the learning abilities of children over the last two years. To gain lost grounds vis-à-vis learning challenges, it is incumbent that the authorities leave no stone unturned in provisioning desired levels of educational infrastructure, including appointments of teachers for covering huge vacancies. A recent report emanating from Uttar Pradesh on the education scenario made a distressing reading. As you are aware, midday meals are no doubt a great education innovation in India, well-fed children learn better, and for poor parents, a free meal for their child is an incentive to send the child to school. But what if there are no lessons to be learned?
- As reported in newspapers, it was upsetting to note how Shiksha Mitra Neelam Rathore manages students aged 6 to 12 years at a Firozabad, UP government primary school all by herself. Paradoxically, records show a healthy enrolment even as this school has become only a midday meal booth, and there are hundreds of others like it across UP. Most worryingly, the problem extends across several states as well. Last year a Unesco analysis of the Unified District Information System for Education (U-DISE) data found around 7% of schools to be single-teacher schools, with as many as 89% of these in rural areas. Likewise, of the 19% of schools that were estimated to have vacancies, 69% were in rural areas.
PC: Admin
- Bihar at 56%, Jharkhand at 40%, and UP at 33% topped the vacancies table. The moot point to ponder over here is wouldn’t a single qualified teacher be better than an untrained para-teacher? Yes, but not if the teacher has to cook meals. As usual, the UP education minister promised of appointing permanent teachers sooner than later. But until this happens, students at these schools will go without learning anything. The lack of incentive for state-level politicians for improving local schools is a reason too. You see, welfare, quotas, and public works draw more votes. The government is effectively a local government where improving schools should be a greater incentive as parents are voters too. Hopefully, meaningful action should ensue on the matter.
