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EDUCATION STATUS REPORT GUJARAT PRIMARY, MIDDLE, AND SECONDARY EDUCATION Working Paper | October 2013 Prepared by Anju Gupta, Independent Development Consultant Catalyst Management Services (CMS) | CEI - India

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Page 1: Status of elementary education in gujarat

EDUCATION STATUS REPORT – GUJARAT

PRIMARY, MIDDLE, AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

Working Paper | October 2013

Prepared by

Anju Gupta, Independent Development Consultant

Catalyst Management Services (CMS) | CEI - India

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CONTENTS

ABBRIVIATIONS……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..3

1. INTROCUTION………………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

2. LITERACY IN GUJARAT………………………………………………………………………………………………….7

3.STATUS O F ELEMENTRAY EDUCATION IN GUJARAT……………………………………………………8

4. BUDGET ALLOCATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………..9

5. GUJARAT COUNCIL OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (GCEE) & PROJECTS…………………...11

6. NUMBER OF SCHOOLS………………………………………………………………………………………………14

7. ENROLLMENT IN PRIMARY AND UPPER PRIMARY SCHOOL……………………………………16

8. ENROLLMENT…………………………………………………………………………………………………….............19

9. EDUCATION DEVELOPMENT INDEX……………………………………………………………………………24

10. ASER 2012…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………29

11. CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………………………………………34

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Abbreviations

ASER Annual Status of Education Report

Avr. Average

BRCs Block Resource Center

CRC Cluster Resource Center

DISE District Information system for Education

DPEP District Primary Education Programme

EBBs Educationally Backward Blocks

ECE Early Childhood Education

EGS Education Guarantee Scheme

Enr. Enrollment

GER Gross Enrollment Ratio

Govt. Government

GPI Gender Parity Index

ICDS Integrated Child Development Scheme

KGBV Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalay

MIS Management Information System

MHRD Ministry of Human Resource Development

NLM National Literacy Mission

NER Net Enrollment Ratio

NPE National Policy of Education

NPEGEL National Program for Education of Girls at Elementary Level

OBC Other Backward Caste

P. Primary

PTR Pupil-Teacher Ratio

Pvt. Private

POA Program of Action

RTE Right To Education

RMSA Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan

SC Schedule Caste

Sch. School

SCR Student Class-room ration

SEMIS Secondary Education Management Information System

Sec./H.Sec. Secondary/ Higher Secondary

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ST Schedule Tribe

SSA Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan

TLM Teaching learning Material

Unrec. Unrecognized

UP Upper Primary

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Education is the true alchemy that can bring India its next golden age. Our motto is

unambiguous: All for knowledge, and knowledge for all.

-The President of India: Shri Pranab Mukherjee

1. Introduction

Education is one of the most powerful instruments for reducing poverty and inequality and lays

a foundation for sustained economic growth. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

which include eight goals were framed to address the world's major development challenges

including Primary Education. In all regions, inequalities in access to education continue to pose

major barriers to fully attaining the MDG 2 target of ensuring that, by 2015, children

everywhere, boys and girls alike, can complete a full course of primary schooling. Globally, 123

million youth (aged 15 to 24) lack basic reading and writing skills; 61 per cent of them are young

women. Too many children are still denied their right to primary education. In 2011, 57 million

children of primary school age were out of school, down from 102 million in 2000. More than

half of these out-of school children live in sub-Saharan Africa. Significant and substantial

progress has been made in meeting many of the MDG targets - including primary education.

However, progress in reducing the number of children out of school has slowed considerably

over time. Stalled progress means that the world is unlikely to meet the target of universal

primary education by 2015.

The youth literacy rate (literacy rate of the 15- to 24-year olds) has shown an appreciable

increase from 61.9% (1991) to 84.1% (2011). The literacy rate of female youth has increased

remarkably from 49.3% in 1991 to 79.9% in 2011, compared to that of males (73.5% in 1991 to

88.6% in 2011). The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER)1 was 85.4% in 1990 to 107 in 2011 and it is

remarkably risen 22 points in a time span of 21 Years. The Net Enrollment Ratio (NER)2

increased by almost 11 points from 84.9% in 2000 to 95.5% in 20103. Similar to the trend

observed for the youth literacy rate, the NER for girls increased from 77% in 2000 to 94% in

2010, versus 92% (2000) to 97% (2010) for boys. The primary completion rate of both boys and

girls has increased significantly from 55% in 1992-1993 to 95% in 2010. The primary school

completion rate in the year 2011 is 91% for boys and 90% for girls4.

The role of Universal Elementary Education (UEE) for strengthening the social fabric of

democracy through provision of equal opportunities to all has been accepted since the

inception of our Republic. With the formulation of National Policy on Education (NPE), India

1 GER which refers as number of children enrolled in Primary School, regardless of age expresses as a percentage of the total

number of children of official primary school age 2 NER refers as the proportion of school children in the age group of 6-11 years enrolled in grades I-V to the population of

children in the same age group 3 http://www.unicef.org/sowc2012/pdfs/SOWC-2012-TABLE-5-EDUCATION.pdf

4 http://data.worldbank.org/topic/education

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initiated a wide range of programmes for achieving the goal of UEE through several schematic

and programme interventions, such as Operation Black Board, Shiksha Karmi Project,

LokJumbish Programme, Mahila Samakhya, District Primary Education Programme etc.

Currently, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is implemented as India's main programme for

universalizing elementary education. Its overall goals include universal access and retention,

bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels

of children. SSA provides for a variety of interventions, including inter alia, opening of new

schools and alternate schooling facilities, construction of schools and additional provisioning for

teachers, periodic teacher training and academic resource support, textbooks and support for

learning achievement. These provisions need to be aligned with the legally mandated norms

and standards and free entitlements mandated by the RTE Act.

In India, considerable progress has been made in the field of basic universal education, gender

equality in education, and global economic growth. The Government of India is deeply

committed to achieving a universal elementary education (UEE) of satisfactory quality. Indeed,

the 86th constitutional amendment makes elementary education a fundamental right for every

child in India. Too many children are still denied their right to primary education, if current

trends continue the world will not meet the goal of universal primary education by 2015. In the

year 2010 India’s total public expenditure per student in primary education is 7.3% of the GDP

percapita5. The same year India spends 13.8% of the GDP percapita for secondary education,

i.e. 2010 the public spending on education is 3.3% GDP. The Government of India spends 10.5%

of the total Government expenditure for education in the financial year 2010 – 2011. It includes

government spending on educational institutions (both public and private), education

administration, and subsidies for private entities (students/households and other private

entities). If you compare the percentage of Government expenditure on education with other

countries, we are far behind most of the other countries. The Government of India has

implemented a range of initiatives to ensure that schooling is indeed accessible to all children.

Over the past decade, India’s annual budget for elementary education has risen steadily, and

currently Rs. 21,000 Crores. Basic school infrastructure has been put in place across the

country: classrooms and toilets have been built, in many states thousands of teachers have

been hired, and most villages now have a school within one kilometer.

The major achievements in the 11th Five Year plan in Education are increased access to primary

education to 99% and upper primary, to 95% in 2012. Remarkable achievements are also made

in the area of Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) and Net Enrollment Ratio (NER). GER percentage in

primary (Std. I – V) is 119% and Upper Primary (Std. VI – VIII) is 81%. GER in Elementary level (I –

VIII) is 104. The NER in primary (I – V) is 100% and Upper Primary (VI – VIII) is 62% and it shows

an NER at elementary level (I – VIII) is 81%.

5 http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.XPD.PRIM.PC.ZS/countries

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The main focus on 12th Five year plan as follows:

a) Learning Outcomes and Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

b) Ensuring Residual Access and Equity – Regional, Social & Gender

c) Pre-Primary Education for School Preparedness

d) Teacher Education on a Mission Mode

e) School Leadership Development &

f) Integration of Sports and Physical Education

2. Literacy & Gujarat

Literacy is one of the important indicators of social development. Knowledge is linked with

literacy and a formal education. And economic growth is related to degree of literacy. Thus

literacy is one of the important needs of life as well as future development of a particular

region.

The literacy rate in Gujarat has seen an upward trend and is 79.31% as per 2011 population

census. Compared to the situation in 1951, the improvement in literacy in Gujarat is

phenomenal. From literacy rates of barely 29 and 12 per cent for men and women, respectively

according to 1951 Census, they have increased to 87.23% for males and 70.73% for females by

2011. Of that, male literacy stands at 87.23% while female literacy is at 70.73%. In actual

numbers, total literates in Gujarat stands at 41,093,358 of which males were 23,474,873 and

females were 17,618,4856. There are some of the districts in Gujarat have comparatively higher

literacy rate such as Surat (85.53%), Ahmedabad (85.31%), Anand (84.37%), Gandhi Nagar

(84.16%) and Navsari (83.88%). Dohad is the district has the literacy rate of 60.60% and stands

first from the bottom. The male and female literacy rate in Dohad is 72.14% and 49.02%

respectively.

In India literacy rate has a significant association with religion and caste. The proportion of

literates is lower among the Muslims than that among Hindus. Similarly proportion of literates

is lower among the people belongs to Scheduled Caste and Tribes. The main reason for lower

proportion of literates among the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes is that they were

deprived of educational facilities for generations. According to Scheduled Castes sub plan,

Government of Gujarat 2011 – 2012, the population of Scheduled Caste in Gujarat is 35.93

Lakhs (7.09%). The Scheduled tribe population in the state is 8,917,174 (14.8%)7.

6 http://www.census2011.co.in/census/state/gujarat.html 7http://www.tribal.gov.in/WriteReadData/CMS/Documents/201306110208002203443DemographicStatusofScheduledTribePopul

ationofIndia.pdf

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2.1 SC & ST Literacy Rate

Category Literacy Rate

Gujarat Country’s Average

SC Male 74.20% 73%

SC Female 51.30% 52.1%

SC Total 63.50% 62.8%

ST Male 74.20% 70.7%

ST Female 52.70% 52.1%

ST Total 63.50% 61.6%

Source: Govt. of India, NSSO, Primary Data (2009 – 2010)

3. Status of Elementary Education in Gujarat

Gujarat, the birth place of Mahatma Gandhi, is a state situated in the western part of India and

shares its northwestern boundary with Pakistan. Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh

and Maharashtra are the neighboring states of Gujarat. Gandhinagar is the capital

and Ahmedabad is its largest city and the main commercial hub of the region. Gujarat houses a

wide variety of industries and is considered one among the best industrialized states of the

nation. Gujarat is also home to some of the prestigious educational institutes of the nation.

Gujarat Population Census Data shows that it has Total Population of 6.03 Crores which is

approximately 4.99% of total Indian Population.

The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, has, without doubt, become a major milestone to

ensure that children aged 6 to 14 are able to get free and compulsory education. However,

initially, Gujarat was one state which seemed extremely subdued in implementing it. In January

2012, it was one of the three states – West Bengal and Karnataka were the other two – who

had failed to come up with rules to implement the Act. This came to light when the

Government of India asked West Bengal, Gujarat and Karnataka to notify RTE rules in order to

begin implementing the Act.

3.1 Administrative Structure of Primary Education – Gujarat8

8 http://gujarat-education.gov.in/ssa/about_department/management_structure/state_level.htm

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4. Budget Allocation9

India’s elementary education budget has increased more than two fold since 2007-08, from Rs.

68,853 Crores to Rs. 147,059 in 2012-13. In 2012-13, the average allocation per student in

India’s government elementary schools was Rs. 11,509 for the same period. In the current

Financial Year 2013 – 2014, The Government of India’s allocation for Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is

Rs. 27,258 Crores10. The above table presents the per student allocation on elementary

education across India. It compares major states in India and India. Per student budgetary

allocation towards primary education in Gujarat increased – in FY 2011-12 it was Rs 13,562,

9 http://www.accountabilityindia.in/sites/default/files/state-report-cards/paisa_report_2012.pdf 10

http://www.accountabilityindia.in/sites/default/files/ssa_2013-14.pdf

General Council

(Review Implementation, Consider Annual & Audit Report, Amend Rules)

Executive Committee

(Responsibilities for Project implementation, Frame Financial & Service Regulations, Power to Enter into Contracts

State Project Director

(Executive Officer of the Society, Project implementation & Administartion, coordination with Edu. Depts. & Others

State Level Office, SPD, Addl. SPD, Secretary, F & AO, Office Incharge

Technical Support Gujarat Council of Educational Research & Training

(GCERT), Mahila Samakhya, Text Book Board

05000

10000150002000025000300003500040000

Gujarat Kerala HimachalPradesh

Bihar Jharkhand India

FY 2011 - 2012 13562 35721 28344 4332 6675 10946

FY 2012 - 2013 14607 37667 29785 5516 5669 11509

Per Student Allocation

FY 2011 - 2012 FY 2012 - 2013

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which went up to Rs 14,607 in FY 2012-13, which was a rise of seven per cent. The allocation

remained considerably lower than 15 states in India including smaller states. These are the

states in first 3 position which have been doing extremely well in per student allocation for

education such as Goa, Kerala and Himachal Pradesh allocated Rs. 45,867, Rs 37,667 and Rs

29,785 per student, respectively, in 2012-1311.

4.1 Budget Outlay of Education – Gujarat

Total Budget of Education Department Rs. 13752.4985 Crores

Total Budget of the State 101135 Crores

Percentage of Education out of Total budget of the State 13.06%

The total budget expenditure for education department was Rs. 12042.67 Crores in year 2010-

11 and the revised estimates in 2011-12 is to be Rs. 13261.29 Crores and budget estimate for

education department is Rs. 13752.4985 Crores. The budget estimates of year 2012-13 suggest

that the government has made outlay of around 60.81% for primary education. (I to VIII). The

outlay for secondary education is Rs.3351.08 Crores (30.25%). The Higher and University

education will have an outlay of Rs. 820.10 Crores (7.40%), followed by adult education Rs. 3.41

Crores (0.03%), the other expenditure including scholarship or distribution of books etc. has an

outlay of Rs. 162.2421 Crores (1.46%).

4.2 Component wise Allocation12 (% share in Total Allocation)

Gujarat government allocated 15 per cent of the amount on school teachers, including their

salaries, in 2010-11, which reached 34 per cent in 2012-13. On school infrastructure, including

11 Allocations in 2011-12 are based on Revised Estimates (RE); Allocations in 2012-13 are based on Budget Estimates (BE). 12 PAISA 2012 Report

Teachers School Children Management Quality & Misc

2010 - 2011 15 53 14 13 6

2011 - 2012 22 52 9 12 5

2012 - 2013 34 48 7 8 3

15

53

14 13 6

22

52

9 12 5

34

48

7 8 3

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Components & Allocations

2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012 2012 - 2013

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civil works and maintenance, the amount remained high – it was 52 per cent of the budget in

2010-11 and 48 per cent in 2012-13. However, it is the other three sectors – children, creating

resource centres for better management of schools, and quality education – that have suffered.

On children, the allocation went down from 14 per cent in 2010-11 to seven per cent in 2012-

13; on creating resource centres it went down from 13 to eight per cent, and on quality

education and community mobilization, it went down from six to three per cent.

5. Gujarat Council of Elementary Education (GCEE) &

Projects13

Gujarat Council of Elementary Education (GCEE), formerly known as Gujarat Council of Primary

Education (GCPE), registered on 8th Nov, 1995, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and

Bombay Public Trusts Act, 1950. The Gujarat Council of Elementary Education was established

as a state level society for implementing District Primary Education Programmes, Phase II in the

districts of Banaskantha, Panchmahal and Dangs. To ensure effective functioning at state level,

the State Project Office was set up at Gandhinagar on 1st Nov, 1996. Gujarat Council of Primary

Education (GCPE) has grown from an agency implementing a project in just three districts to an

organization implementing several different projects in primary education sector in the state,

viz. DPEP II & IV, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, NPEGEL & KGBV. It has successfully completed

implementation of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP- II) in Banaskantha,

Panchmahal and Dang in June 2003 and DPEP-IV in Sabarkantha, Surendranagar, Kutch,

Jamnagar, Bhavnagar and Junagadh in June 2005.

5.1 Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is Government of India's flagship programme for achievement of

Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) in a time bound manner, as mandated by 86th

amendment to the Constitution of India making free and compulsory Education to the Children

of 6-14 years age group, a Fundamental Right. SSA is being implemented in partnership with

State Governments to cover the entire country and address the needs of 192 million children in

1.1 million habitations. In Gujarat, under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), all the 27 districts and 7

Municipal Corporations in Gujarat are being covered.

5.2 The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV)

The Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme was launched by the Government of India

in August, 2004 for setting up residential schools at upper primary level for girls belonging

predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minorities in difficult areas. The scheme of the KGBV ran

as a separate scheme but in harmony with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), National

13 http://gujarat-education.gov.in/education/

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Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) and Mahila Samakhya (MS) for

the first two years, but has since 1st April, 2007 merged with the SSA programme as a separate

component of that programme. There are 89 KGBV in the state and 6655 girls are benefitted by

the programme.

5.3 Computer Aided Learning

The Computer Aided Learning Program (CAL) creates an environment, where learning and

assessment is fun and the opportunities to learn is equitable among the rural and urban

children. The CAL is primarily introduced in rural government elementary schools covering

classes 1 to 8 to attract and retain children and also in the process, enhance the quality of

learning by making “Learning Play”, “Assessment Fun” and “Equal knowledge for all”. CAL

objective is sought to be achieved through story based, animated cartoons, interactive games

and riddles with the use of multimedia features. Spontaneous, self-initiated and self-regulated,

the three critical aspects that make an activity play are integrated in CAL to make Learning Play

and use of cartoons, story line and music is intended to make CAL as self-initiated and engaged

in learning. The coverage of the CAL Programme in Gujarat, there are 20502 schools providing

computer labs across the state.

5.4 National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level

(NPEGEL)

Universalization of Elementary Education entails a special thrust on girls' education as well as

greater rigor in planning, targeting and actual implementing the interventions designed.

Statistics reveal that despite the efforts that have been made, gender disparities persist in

enrolment of girls, especially in rural areas and among disadvantaged groups. The disparity is

more acute in the enrolment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, especially at upper

primary level.

Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has limited financial provisions for girls' education in the form of free

textbooks and innovations at district levels. Thus, National Programme for Education of Girls at

Elementary Level (NPEGEL) has been formulated for providing additional support for education

of underprivileged/disadvantaged girls at elementary level. NPEGEL is a part of SSA and will be

implemented under its umbrella but as a distinct and separate gender component plan of SSA.

Under the umbrella of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Mission (SSAM), it is implementing National

Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) in 1584 clusters of 78 rural

Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) and 39 clusters of 13 urban slums in 21 districts.

5.5 Early Child Care Education (ECCE)

Early Child Care Education is a feeder and support programme to primary schooling and is the

first step in the education ladder. In Gujarat to solve the problem of sibling care of girls and for

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providing linkages between primary and pre-primary education ECCE centers are opened where

Aaganwadis do not exist within one kilometer area or habitations not served by ICDS. During

the year, 2450 ECCE centers were operational by Gujarat Council of Elementary Education,

enrolling 53,195 numbers of children. All the children in the age group of 3-6 are mainstreamed

to Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE). There are 2450 ECCE Centres in Gujarat. In that

1785 ECCE Centres run by SSA and 665 Centres managed by NPEGEL.

5.6 Pragna – An Activity Based Learning Approach

Pragna is an activity based learning approach to convert a classroom to a more holistic and

learner based way of working with children through the day, throughout the year. The

classroom is a child friendly place for children where they would love to come and learn. It is a

place where the material is within their reach and they also have freedom to use their material

as per their need. With regards the coverage of this programme, there are 3748 schools across

the state in the academic year 2012 – 2013.

5.7 Class Room Process - Pragna

5.8 Building as Learning Aid (BaLA) / Inclusive – Building as

Learning Aid (i-BaLA)

BaLA (Building as Learning Aid) is an innovative concept towards qualitative improvement in

education, through developing child-friendly, learning and fun based physical environment

building in school infrastructure. BaLA is a way to holistically plan and use the school

infrastructure. It incorporates the ideas of activity based learning, child friendliness and

Group I

Teacher Supported

(Children Require Full Support of the

Teacher) Group II

Partially Teacher Supported

(Children Require Partial Support of

the tEacher

Group III

Peer Learning

(Children Learn with Peers)

Group IV

Partially Peer Learning (Children

Learn Through Partial Peers

Support

Group V

Self Learning

Children Learn Through Self

Group VI

Assessment

(Assessment of Children by the

Teacher)

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14

inclusive education for children with special needs (CWSN). At the core, it assumes that the

architecture of school can be a resource for the teaching-learning processes. This concept was

originally developed by Vinyas, Centre for Architectural Research & Design with support from

UNICEF. It is now implemented across the state in all districts in more than 1620 Model Schools,

since 2006 by SSA Gujarat.

6. Number of Schools

Gujarat education system follows a uniform pattern of elementary education i.e. the Std 1 – IV

(Primary) and Std. V – VII (Upper Primary). According to DISE Date 2011 – 2012, there are 40746

schools including Primary, Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools.

Government is the major provider of elementary education. In Gujarat 33,496 Elementary

Schools run and managed by the Government and 7444 school run by the private

managements.

6.1 Number of Schools by Management

10823

28643

813 350 116 1

Number of Schools - Gujarat (40746)

Primary Only Primary with Upper Primary Primary with UP & Sec. / H.Sec

Upper Primary Only Upper Primary with Sec. / H. Sec No Response

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15

[VALUE] (0.03%)

[VALUE] (1.66%)

[VALUE] (79.82%)

[VALUE] (0.21%)

[VALUE] (1.72%)

[VALUE] (16.46%)

[VALUE] (0.10%)

Number of Schools by Management (40746) All Government Management - 33518 (82.26%)

All Private Management - 7191 (17.65%)

Dept. of Education Tribal / Social Welfare Dept.Local Body Others

6.2 Number of Schools by Category

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The ratio of Primary to Upper Primary Schools in Gujarat is 1.36 as against the country’s

average of 2.07%. The number of Primary Schools per 1000 Child Population (6 to 11 Years) is 8

and the India’s average of 10 Primary Schools for every 1000 Child Population. The upper

primary schools is also have a close proportion. i.e. 9 Schools per 1000 Child population as

against the average of all states (8 – 1000 children of the age between 11 – 14 Years). From

2002 – 2003 to 2011 – 2012 period the state of Gujarat 5296 Primary Schools in the state and

stood 14th position in establishing new primary schools in the country (All States / India: 239495

New Government Primary Schools were opened in this period).

7. Enrolment in Primary and Upper Primary School14

State /

Country

Primary

School

Upper

Primary

Primary

(All Govt.

Management

and % )

Primary

(All Private

Management

and % )

Upper Primary

(All Govt.

Management

and % )

Upper Primary

(All Private

Management

and % )

Gujarat 5858019 2518948 4210871 1639127 1757636 754126

India 137099984 61955154 91650493 41898099 37745355 22965970

14

DISE 2011 – 2012 Flash Statistics

11.81

72.51

10.55

3.8 1.34

Percentage of School by Category

Primary Only Primary with Upper Primary

Primary with UP & Sec. / H. Sec Upper Primary Only

Upper Primary with Sec.. / H/ Sec

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17

In the year 2011 – 2012 the enrolment in Government schools (Primary) declined as compare to

the year 2010 – 2011. The enrolment in Private management schools increased in the same

period in the primary section. But the number of students enrolled in the upper primary section

in both Government and Private Management has increased in the academic year 2011 – 2012.

The number of students enrolled in unrecognized primary and upper primary sections was very

minimal in comparing with other major states in the country. In India number of enrolment in

71.88

1.6

26.38

0.02

Percentage of Enrolment in

Primary School

(By Management)

All Government Management

Private Aided Management

Private Un-Aided Management

Unrecognized Schools

69.78 3.06

26.88

0.02

Percentage of Enrolment in

Upper Primary School

(By Management)

All Government Management

Private Aided Management

Private Un-Aided Management

Unrecognized Schools

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18

unrecognized primary and upper primary schools in India in the academic year 2011 – 2012 is

3239805 and 977721 respectively. The country and the people have a positive opinion on the

Government system of education and they prefer to get an education for their ward from the

system. There are lot of other factors force them to prefer like socio economic status, easy

accessibility etc.

7.1 Gross Enrolment Ratio15

State /

Country

GER16 Primary GER Upper Primary

2008 – 2009 2009 – 2010 2010 - 2011 2008 – 2009 2009 – 2010 2010 - 2011

Gujarat 107.73 109.02 110.20 57.66 59.75 69.18

India 115.31 115.63 118.62 73.74 75.80 81.15

The school enrolment; primary in India was reported at 118.62 in 2011 – 2012, according to the

report prepared by DISE – 2011 – 2012. The same academic year, the GER in upper primary

section shows that 69.18% and it is lesser than the country’s performance. The state has to

implement necessary step / interventions to attract their children to the school. As per

administrative statistics of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of the

Government of India, the GER for Grades I-V in India has already overshot the 100% mark and

stands at 118.62 in 2010 – 2011.

7.2 Net Enrolment Ratio17

State /

Country

NER18 Primary NER Upper Primary

2008 – 2009 2009 – 2010 2010 - 2011 2008 – 2009 2009 – 2010 2010 - 2011

Gujarat 86.03 85.80 85.73 41.86 42.42 48.77

India 98.59 98.28 99.89 56.22 58.29 61.82

Net enrolment ratio (NER), in primary education is universally taken as the major indicator to

assess whether the country is tending to achieve 2015 target of universal primary education for

all children aged 6-10 years. In India DISE data shows that the NER in Primary Education has

improved from 83% in the year 2000 to over 99.89 in 2010 – 2011. Gujarat’s net enrolment

ratio is one of the worst in India. While at the lower primary level (classes one to five) is a poor

85.73 per cent, it plummets further to 48.77 per cent at the upper primary level, as against the

national average of 61.82 per cent. Even states such as Bihar with 52.70 per cent enrolment are

15 DISE 2011 – 2012: Flash Statistics 16

The Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) is a statistical measure used in the education sector to determine the number

of students enrolled in school at different grade levels (like elementary, middle and high school) and examine it to

analyze the ratio of the number of students who live in that country to those who qualify for the particular grade

level. 17 DISE 2011 – 2012: Flash Statistics 18 The Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) is defined by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics as enrolment of the official age-group for a

given level of education expressed as a percentage of the corresponding population.

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a better performers at the upper primary level; other backward states which have performed

better than Gujarat are Jharkhand (69.65 per cent), Rajasthan (54.97 per cent), Uttar Pradesh

(47.13 per cent) etc.

8. Enrollment

State % Enrolment

in All Govt.

Management

(I – VIII)

Children With

Special Needs

Girls Enrolment 2011

– 2012

Ratio of Girls to Boys

Enrolment

Primary Upper

Primary

Primary Upper

Primary

Primary Upper

Primary

Gujarat 71.25 1.12 1.12 46.42 45.65 0.87 0.84

Kerala 25.71 3.18 4.0 49.07 48.58 0.96 0.94

Goa 25.63 0.59 0.84 48.20 46.92 0.93 0.88

Bihar 97.90 0.61 0.60 49.29 48.77 0.97 0.95

West Bengal 89.20 1.29 0.95 49.52 51.94 0.98 1.08

All States 65.01 0.87 0.83 48.35 48.63 0.94 0.95

In Gujarat the enrolment in Government schools is pretty high and it stands 12th position in the

country. Out of 40746 Elementary schools in state, 33518 schools run by the Government

managements. The parents’ socio-economic status plays major factor for higher enrolment in

Government Schools. The vulnerable / disadvantaged always choose the Government system

since it is free and affordable to the lion share of the population. Justice only served if the

Government impart quality education to the system. It needs lot of investment and careful

planning to provide quality education.

Detailed Survey of Disabled Children was carried out July – August 2012 by SSA Gujarat;

1,21,229 in school – disabled children and 14,055 out-of-school disabled children in the state19.

For barrier-free access for these sects of students, SSA have been provided ramps and railing

for 33071 schools and 7628 schools with toilet modification that helps to the differently abled.

The SSA also organized trainings for the teachers and parents on inclusive education.

8.1 SC, ST, OBC & Muslims Enrolment20

19 http://gujarat-education.gov.in/ssa/Images/IED_Progress_2012-13.pdf 20 http://www.dise.in/Downloads/Publications/Publications%202011-12/State%20Report%20Cards%202011-12.pdf

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8.2 Girls & Boys Enrolment - Disadvantaged Groups

Education for underprivileged children is the key whether we are addressing healthcare,

poverty, population control, unemployment or human rights issues. Empowerment of the

Socially Disadvantaged Groups viz., the Scheduled Castes (SCs), the Other Backward Classes

(OBCs) and the Minorities continues to be on the priority list of country’s developmental

Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe OBC Muslim

Upper Primary 8 17 49.8 8

Primary 7.4 18.9 50.3 8.6

7.4 18.9 50.3 8.6

8 17 49.8 8

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Percentage of SC, ST, OBC & Muslims Enrolment

Primary Upper Primary

53.91 51.55 53.67 52.2

46.09 48.45 46.33 47.98

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe OBC Muslims

Percentage of Girls & Boys Enrolment in Disadvantaged Groups

Boys Girls

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21

Agenda, as they still lag behind the rest of the society due to their social and economic

backwardness. There have been significant improvements in the proportion of children from

socially disadvantaged groups in school, persistence gaps remain. Girls are still less likely to

enroll in school than boys.

8.3 Gender Parity Index in Enrolment

Gender equality in education and enhancing the access of girls to basic education are

influenced by three inter-locking sets of issues – Systemic; Content and Process of Education

and Economy, Society and Culture. The Gender Parity Index (GPI) and percentage of girls’

enrolment in Primary and Upper Primary classes presented for the year 2008-09 reveal that

there is consistent improvement in the GPI compare to the previous years. The gender gap in

enrolment at the primary and secondary levels in rural India has decreased steadily over the

last several years. Many states have shown substantial progress in increasing female enrolment

levels while also making progress in reducing the gender gap. A notable exception is Gujarat

where little progress has been made in reducing gender disparity despite the state's impressive

economic growth. Analysis of data collected by the DISE and ASER Centre that the issues of

gender disparity and female retention in basic education have not improved. There has been

some effort to increase female enrolment (e.g. the Kanya Kelavani Initiative, the National

Programme for the Education of Girls at the Elementary Level, Kasturba Gandhi Balika

Vidyalaya, etc.), but it appears that these interventions have had little impact on gender parity

in Gujarat. Gujarat is an example of a state where economic gains have not translated to social

gains (in the case of improving gender parity in basic education).

Primary Upper Primary

2009 - 2010 0.87 0.84

2010 - 2011 0.86 0.84

2011 - 2012 0.87 0.84

0.87

0.84

0.86

0.84

0.87

0.84

0.8250.83

0.8350.84

0.8450.85

0.8550.86

0.8650.87

0.875

Ratio of Girls' to Boys' Enrolment

2009 - 2010 2010 - 2011 2011 - 2012

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8.4 Dropout Rate in Elementary Education21

State / All

State

2008-

2009

2009-

2010

Primary Level, 2010 -2011 Upper Primary Level, 2010 -

2011

All Boys Girls All Boys Girls

Gujarat 3.86 4.27 2.99 2.94 3.04 29.33 29.46 29.19

Karnataka 4.11 3.64 2.03 2.15 1.91 36.39 36.33 36.45

Mizoram 5.28 11.95 7.04 8.42 5.51 9.02 10.23 7.72

Meghalaya 17.28 12.67 15.11 16.23 14.01 8.71 9.13 8.33

Bihar 13.44 6.39 5.68 7.08 4.18 2.91 4.67 0.99

All States 9.11 6.76 6.50 6.92 6.07 6.56 7.01 6.08

According to United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), In India eight million children never have

stepped inside a school and 80 million dropping out without completing basic schooling. There

has been progress in implementation of the RtE Act in the past four years but children are still

dropping out, not for labour, but because they are not learning anything in schools. India has

made extraordinary progress over the past decade in increasing access to elementary

education, now reaching 96% of school-age children. Having brought so many children into

school, particularly those from the most vulnerable groups, it is logical to turn attention to

retaining them through the elementary cycle.

Nearly one third of the states and union territories have seen an increase in the dropout rate in

primary education despite an overall increase in enrolment in four years after the Right to

Education (RTE) was implemented. The average annual elementary school dropout rate22 is

down from 9.11 per cent in 2009-2010 to 6.8 per cent in 2010-2011, with Bihar posting the

highest reduction. While the national differential is 2.36 per cent, Bihar managed a magic

differential of 7.06 per cent, reducing the dropout rate from 13.44 per cent in 2008 - 2009 to

6.4 per cent in 2011. The main reason for dropout at all the level of school education

irrespective of the locality is poverty. Child labour arises from the extreme poverty of the

family. Family problems lead the family to get into a work to become independent or to

support the family. Both statistical data and empirical research suggest that children from

better off households are more likely to remain in school, whilst those who are poorer are more

likely never to have attended, or to dropout once they have enrolled. The progressive state like

Gujarat that have seen an increase in drop-out ratio. There is not much difference in the status

of gender in terms of drop-out.

Gujarat has a higher percent of school dropouts than most Indian states. According to the DISE

2011 – 2012: Flash Statistics suggests that the dropout ratio at the lower primary level in the

21 DISE 2011 – 2012: Flash Statistics 22 Number of school dropouts per 100 enrolled

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year 2010 – 2011 is 2.99 per cent and Upper primary level it reaches a whopping 29.33 per

cent. The reason is not known, but the enrolment has to look at and address these issues with a

top priority. Only one state has a worse upper primary level dropout than Gujarat – Karnataka

(36.45 per cent). The national average dropout at the upper primary level is just about 6.56.

8.5 Gross Completion Rate at Primary Level23

In the year 2008, the Goss Primary Completion Rate of Male and Female in India was 96.23 and

95.10 respectively. For Male its highest value over the past 37 years was 96.23 in 2008 while its

lowest value was 50.50 in 1971 and for female, the highest value over the past 37 years was

95.10 in 2008, while its lowest value was 27.56 in 1971. The Gross completion rate at Primary

Level in Gujarat was 91.60 in 2008 – 2009 and 96.94 in the year 2010 – 201124. The Gross

Completion rate at primary level in India in the year 2010 – 2011 was 101.89.

8.6 Repetition Rate25

State / All

States

Primary Upper Primary

2008 –

2009

2009 –

2010

2010 –

2011

2008 –

2009

2009 –

2010

2010 -

2011

Gujarat 5.83 9.62 6.67 2.75 4.99 3.28

All States 3.88 5.08 3.17 2.75 3.35 1.83

Recent data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) show that about 32.2 Million primary

pupils were held back a grade 1 in 2010. The data also depicts that the global repetition rate

has fallen by 7% between 2000 and 2010. India, where a slight drop in the rate (from 4.3% to

3.5%) led to a significant reduction in the absolute number of pupils repeating a grade. In

comparing the data in the table above, it shows that in Gujarat no stable trends in dropping

repetition in both primary and upper primary level.

8.7 Retention Rate26 at Primary Level

State / All

States

2009 – 2010 2010 – 2011 2011 – 2012

Gujarat 84.59 80.83 87.57

All States 74.01 73.42 75.94

23 Grade V enrolment minus repeaters in Grade V in 2010 – 2011 as a percentage of 11 Year Child Population (based on

Registrar General of India estimates) 24 DISE 2011 – 2012; Flash Statistics 25 The proportion of pupils who enroll in the same grade/year more than once to the total number of pupils/students enrolled in

that grade/year during the previous year 26 The proportion of the enrollment in any school year that continues to be in school the following year.

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The retention rate shows an improvement in the state. It has improved to 87.57 percent in

2011-2012; still it is too low from the goal of universal retention at the Primary level. Longer

retention in school can be stimulated in three ways: focusing on specific interventions to reach

out-of-school children, increasing the educational opportunities (formal and non-formal) for

girls and women, and increasing access to post-primary education. All of these approaches take

into account the powerful demand-side influences that affect the propensity of parents to send

their children to school. Karnataka have relatively longer retention in comparisons with other

regions in India, and MAYA (An NGO) has been successfully scaled up in the state. The model of

community participation is replicable in different contexts after redesigning to take into

account the culture and context of each community.

8.8 Transition Rate from Primary to Upper Primary Level

State / All

States 2009 – 2010

2011 - 2012

All Boys Girls

Gujarat 90.65 93.35 93.68 92.95

All States 85.17 87.09 86.87 87.32

One of the important indicators on which the expansion of upper primary education depends is

the transition rate from the primary level to the upper primary level of education. The

Transition Rate for Primary to Upper Primary has been calculated based on the number of

children who passed the IV / V grade from Primary Section and the number of children who

joined in V / VI grade in the Upper Primary Sections. In India the transition from primary to

upper primary is 87.09 per cent. However, the learner's achievement across the country

remained unsatisfactory and far below than the expectations. In 2011 – 2012, transition rate for

girls was higher than boys by 0.45%. Improvement in transition may result into rapid demand

for upper primary education in year that follows.

9. Education Development Index (EDI)27

- Gujarat

The purpose of EDI is to summarize various aspects related to input, process and outcome

indicators and to identify geographical areas that lag behind in the educational development.

EDI is an effective tool for decision making, i.e. it helps in identifying backward geographical

areas where more focus is required.

In India, DISE provides information on various schools based inputs and processes as well some

indicators related to outcomes. Based on the DISE data, an effort has also been made by the

National University of Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA) and the Government

of India (MHRD, Department of School Education and Literacy) to compute an Educational

27

Components (Access, Infrastructure, Teachers & Outcomes) used for constructing EDI initially were pre-

determined by the MHRD, Government of India. Overall 23 indicators in these Four Components.

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Development Index (EDI), separately for Primary and Upper Primary levels of education and

also a composite index for the entire Elementary education for which the Government of India

constituted a Working Group on EDI in 2005-06 of which NUEPA was also a member. It

identified indicators and developed computation methodology. The basic purpose of computing

an EDI is to know comparative status of a state vis-à-vis other states with regard to different

aspects of Universalization.

Primary Level - All Schools: All Managements

Access Infrastructure Teacher Outcome

Index Rank Index Rank Index Rank Index Rank

0.101 33 0586 15 0.805 10 0.759 12

Upper Primary Level - All Schools: All Managements

Access Infrastructure Teacher Outcome

Index Rank Index Rank Index Rank Index Rank

0.368 14 0.814 3 0.848 12 0.606 21

9.1 Composite Education Development Index 2011 – 2012, Tamilnadu

All Schools: All Managements

Primary Level Upper Primary Level Composite – Primary & Upper

Primary

Index Rank Index Rank Index Rank

0.568 12 0.682 8 0.625 9

Composite Primary and Upper Primary education EDI amongst 35 states in India is concerned;

the top five ranking states are Lakshadweep (0.716), Karnataka (0.693), Tamilnadu (0.689),

Pondicherry (0.675) and Daman & Diu (0.675). The analysis of Education Development Index

(EDI) in across the country clearly reveals that different states are at different levels of

education development in general and primary and upper primary levels in particular. A few

states with high EDI values are termed better than the rest of the states but they may not be

well placed with regard to all the four sets of indicators. In the EDI 2011 – 2012 Composite

Educational Development index, Gujarat stands 9th position. In the primary level it stands in the

12th position with the index score of 0.568 and Upper Primary Level the state placed 8th position

with the index score of 0.682.

9.2 Percentage of Single Teacher Schools in Major States (2009 – 2012)

State 2009 – 2010 2010 – 2011 2011 - 2012 Total Number of Govt.

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26

Elementary Schools(2010

- 2011

Gujarat 1.42 0.86 0.81 33552

Jharkhand 8.02 9.75 12.43 40343

Arunachal Pradesh 49.25 44.81 43.10 3950

Assam 12.13 14.98 15.37 42917

Madhya Pradesh 14.15 14.94 14.93 112078

Odisha 12.27 12.75 7.90 57179

All States (India) 9.33 8.86 8.31 1078407

The recent DISE data shows that Gujarat is one of the best state in India developing good

infrastructure facilities to the elementary schools. Large number of classrooms have been

constructed in Elementary schools in order to ensure that children have enough space to study.

On an average 6.2 classrooms per schools in Gujarat, as against the national average of 4.7.

Only three out of 20 major states in India – Kerala (10.4), Haryana (6.5) and Punjab (6.3) provide

more classrooms that Gujarat does.

9.3 Pupil – Teacher Ratio

State / All States All

Schools

All Govt.

Schools

Primary Level Upper Primary Level

Bihar 59 59 59 63

Uttar Pradesh 44 38 46 44

Jharkhand 40 42 41 42

Dadra & Nagar Haveli 40 36 38 43

Madhya Pradesh 34 38 33 34

Gujarat 31 29 31 31

All States 30 30 31 29

Pupil – Teacher ratio is very much important in terms of better learning outcome. Individual

attention for every student will lead a positive outcome in terms of child’s overall development.

The Gujarat government, by constructing more class rooms and schools has ensured that there

are fewer number of single teacher schools in the state. In fact, it recently undertook a massive

recruitment drive for primary school teachers, appointing ad-hoc teachers at a very low pay for

five years. This has led to a situation where the proportion of schools with single teachers in

Gujarat has come down a mere 0.81, lower than any other state. The all-India average is 8.31

per cent of schools being run by one teacher each. There are as many as 19 districts in Gujarat

out of a total 218 in India in which the number of students in a single classroom is more than

30, the norm fixed by the RTI for student-classroom ratio. Only two states – Uttar Pradesh with

56 districts and Bihar with 38 districts – are worse performers than Gujarat. Average student-

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27

teacher ratio in Gujarat is 31, which is better than only four Backward States — Bihar (59), Uttar

Pradesh (44), Jharkhand (40) and Madhya Pradesh (34).

9.4 Distance of Schools from Cluster Resource Centre by Category

2011 – 2012 (All Areas & Management)

Distance From

CRC (KMs)

Primary

Only

Primary

with Upper

Primary

Primary

with UP &

Sec. / H.

Sec

Upper

Primary

Only

Upper

Primary

with Sec. /

H Sec

All

Schools

Less Than 1Kms 6.30 % 19.17 % 29.10 % 38.29 % 20.69 % 16.12 %

1 to 5 Kms 60.78 % 50.15 % 62.39 % 52.29 % 62.93 % 53.27 %

More Than 5 Kms 32.92 % 30.68 % 8.51 % 9.43 % 16.38 % 30.61 %

The number of primary schools has grown rapidly from 529,000 in 1985 - 1986 to 842,481 in

2011 – 2012 and at Upper Primary from 134,000 to 569,967. Government and local bodies

continue to be the main providers managing around 76.36% Primary and upper Primary

Schools. Some of the states in India have an impressive coverage in providing physical access to

the elementary schools almost all the habitations like Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and

Gujarat.

9.5 Facilities Available in Elementary Schools in Gujarat28

S No: Facilities Percentage

1 Boundary Wall 89.03

2 Drinking Water 99.97

3 Having Common Toilet Facility 32.79

4 Girls Toilets (Functional) 88.46

5 Boys Toilet (Functional) 88.76

6 Having Electricity Connection 97.48

7 School Having Functional Computer 85.17

8 Schools Having Ramps 80.66

9 Book Bank 62.29

10 Play Ground 72.97

11 Kitchen Shed 88.77

12 Furniture for Students 0

13 Furniture for Teachers 0

14 Conducting Regular Medical Check ups 91.26

15 Schools Having Pre-Primary Section 11.77

28

Elementary Education in India: Progress towards UEE, Analytical Tables Provisional 2010 – 2011, Arun C. Mehta

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16 % of Residential School 2.26

17 Received Development Grant (2009 – 2010) 78.84

18 Teaching & Learning Material (TLM) 78.70

19 Average Number of Teachers per School 6.7

20 Distribution of Female Teachers 54.69

The development of education depends on number of factors including the infrastructure

resources available to a school. Any fundamental change has not been found in the structure

and organization of elementary education system which lags in the quality also. There is

actually a general belief that the condition of school’s learning environment has an important

impact on elementary infrastructure effectiveness and students’ academic concert and or

enrollment ratio. The facilities that are needed to facilitate effective education development

and learning in an educational institution includes the girl’s toilet, library, boundary wall,

computer, playground, classrooms, offices and other buildings structure. In India, one of the

major reasons for poor education and learning outcome is the lack of sufficient school

infrastructure in many parts of the country. A good number of schools still function in

single or two room buildings with one teacher along with lack of other basic training

infrastructure including teaching material. A recent report by RTE Forum, a national

collective of education networks and teachers’ organizations, has estimated that in our

country only 7 per cent of the schools are RTE compliant. The state has to move a lot to

achieve 100% compliance in terms of RtE Elementary School infrastructure. The state Gujarat

need more focus on education infrastructure and sustain efforts for improving enrolment rates

as well as reducing dropout rates at both primary and upper primary levels since dropout rate is

pretty high compare to all the other states in India except Karnataka.

9.6 Decentralized Education Governance and Gujarat

Governance reform has emerged as a key concept shaping all debates and discourses on

development in recent years, significantly impacting the dynamics of policy making as well as

the implementation of development programmes. In particular, there is an increasing trend of

moving decision-making processes away from authorities at the centre to organizational units

and towards individuals operating nearer to the grassroots, changing the patterns and

distribution of power and influence at different levels. The school has to be viewed as a social

organization, organically linked to the community. Community must have an effective say in the

management of the school. Over the years, an almost complete disappearance of this space for

the local community in managing schools has significantly contributed towards the decline in

the school system. Under the RtE Act 2009, there is an attempt to restore this legitimate space

to the community. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) is an effort to universalize elementary

education by community-ownership of the school system. It is a response to the demand for

quality basic education all over the country. The SSA Programme is also an attempt to provide

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an opportunity for improving human capabilities to all children, through provision of

community-owned quality education in a mission mode. In Gujarat the year 2011 – 2012, 90.11

% of the elementary schools constituted School Management Committees (Government &

Aided) and 92.35% of that having bank account for proper usage of funds. Gujarat is in the

better position in constituting School Management Committees in schools compare to most of

the other states in the Country.

10. ASER 2012 and Gujarat

ASER is the largest annual household survey of children in rural India that focuses on the status

of schooling and basic learning. Facilitated by Pratham, in each rural district ASER is conducted

by local organizations, institutions and concerned citizens. ASER 2012 reached 567 districts,

more than 16,000 villages, nearly 3.3 lac households, about 6 lac children in the age 3-16 and

visited almost 14,600 government schools. Every year, ASER finds out whether children in rural

India go to school, whether they can read simple text and whether they can do basic arithmetic.

Since 2009, ASER has also included a visit to one government school in each sampled village.

Since the implementation of the RTE Act in 2010, school visits in ASER have included indicators

of compliance with those norms and standards specified in the Right to Education Act that are

easy to measure. ASER 2012 study notes that decline in learning does not happen in a year. It's

the result of the cumulative effect of neglect over the years, the survey come as a shot in the

arm for critics who predict that the RTE will erode standard of education in the country,

because it allows all students from Class I to Class VIII to pass irrespective of performance. The

most recent figures in the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), an independent research

effort from the NGO Pratham that takes in each district and state in the country, make for

dispiriting reading. Among the headline figures for Class V students in rural areas: 58.2 percent

of children cannot read at a Class II level; 46.5 percent of students cannot solve simple two-digit

subtraction problems; and 75.2 percent of students cannot solve basic division problems. Only

just over 50 percent of students in Class III can recognize numbers from 1 to 100. A

compulsory education until 14 means nothing if the education provided does not ensure even

basic literacy and numeracy.

10.1 Enrolment

Comparison of DISE 2010 – 2011 (Rural + Urban), Rural ASER 2010 & Rural ASER 2012 for

Enrolment in Private School: -

State Urban + Rural, All Private

Schools 2010 Std I - V

Rural ASER 2010 Std I –

V

Rural ASER 2012 Std

I – V

Gujarat 26.47 8.87 9.8

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30

Haryana 38.71 43.07 52.16

Andhra Pradesh 45.47 40.08 39.26

Kerala 68.17 57.95 61.82

Goa 64.55 28.67 46.11

All States 29.82 22.56 28.39

Gujarat is one of the major state in India have lesser number of private school enrolment in

primary level. The number of private schools is also very less in the state. Budget constraints or

poverty lead the people opt for government schooling for their children and that is the major

reason for higher number of Government School enrolment. According to Planning Commission

data, Gujarat had 16.6% Below Poverty Line (BPL) families in 2011 – 2012 and had a higher

poverty level of 31.6%. There are 39.67 Lakh BPL families in Gujarat of which more than 9.17

Lakh BPL families are in urban areas. 85% of the total students (Age group of 6 – 14) studying in

Government schools.

10.2 Learning Outcome

Literacy and numeracy are essential components of learning, the basic building blocks without

which desired schooling outcomes, however defined, cannot take place. Learning declines do

not happen in one year. They are the result of a cumulative effect of neglect over the years. Yet

despite massive investments in primary education, many children are not acquiring even basic

abilities in reading and arithmetic. Nationally, reading levels have declined in many states

across the country. The All India figure for the proportion of children in Std V able to read a Std

2 level text has dropped from 48.2% in 2011 to 29.9% in 2012. However, in a few states there is

good news. In Gujarat, Punjab and Tamil Nadu the numbers for 2012 are better than for 2011.

Several states in the north-eastern region of India also show positive change. Karnataka and

Andhra Pradesh numbers remain unchanged from last year. Nationally, this situation has hardly

changed over the six year period for which ASER data is available. Yet one of 2012 ASER’s major

finding states, Reading levels continue to be a cause for serious concern. More than half of all

the children in Std V are at least three grade levels behind where they should be. In English test,

among all children enrolled in Std. VIII, only 47 percent could read sentences.

10.3 Ability to Read

% Children by Class and Reading Level All Schools – 2011 - 2012

Standard Not Even

Letter

Letter Word Level – 1 (Std

I Text)

Level 2 (Std II

Text)

Total

I 40.7 43.4 11.9 2.3 1.9 100

II 15.2 39.5 26.9 10.8 7.6 100

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III 7.7 21.7 30.8 18.9 20.9 100

IV 3.1 12.9 24.8 25.8 33.5 100

V 2.1 8.2 13.6 28.6 47.6 100

VI 1.2 4.4 11.1 26.1 57.3 100

VII 1.1 3.3 7.0 18.1 70.6 100

VIII 0.8 1.5 3.6 13.2 80.9 100

Total 8.1 16.0 16.2 18.5 41.2 100

Reading and Comprehension in English: -

% Children by Class and Reading Level in English All Schools – 2012

Standard Not Even Capital

Letter

Capital Letter Small Word Simple

Words

Easy

Sentences

Total

I 55.8 22.0 14.7 6.3 1.2 100

II 38.8 28.4 16.3 12.0 4.5 100

III 28.2 27.9 21.6 20.8 1.6 100

IV 24.1 22.9 23.2 19.3 10.6 100

V 18.5 28.9 26.1 20.0 6.5 100

VI 11.1 24.2 28.2 23.6 13.0 100

VII 7.0 15.7 23.8 31.1 22.4 100

VIII 3.9 9.7 19.7 31.6 35.1 100

Total 12.6 20.3 24.0 25.4 17.7 100

% of Children by Class who can Comprehend English – All Schools 2012

Standard Of those who can read words, % who

can tell meaning of the words

Of those who can read sentences, %

who can tell meaning of the

sentences

I

II

III

IV

V 66.8

VI 61.8 65.1

VII 64.9 64.2

VIII 67.9 69.1

Total 65.5 66.4

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In 2012 nationally, more than half (53.7%) of all children in Std. V were able to read a Std. II

level text. This proportion fell to 48.2% in 2011 and further to 46.8% in 2012. The decline in

reading levels is more visible among children in government schools as compared to those in

private schools. The percentage of Std. V children in government schools who were able to read

Std. II level text has fallen from 50.7% in 2010 to 41.7% in 2012. In elementary schools in India,

there is a need to improve the children’s knowledge of concepts rather than rote learning.

Improve in teaching methodology is the only solution to address these issue along with

formative assessment.

The ASER study found that in Gujarat; after completion of primary level education 25 per cent

of the student were not able to read Std I text or Std II text. In that 2.1 percent not even read a

letter. According to the ASER 2012-13 report on Gujarat, the number of students unable to read

a second grade text in 5th grade is close to 53% of total students. A similar trend was observed

for grade 3 students, administered a grade 1 text. The findings of the Planning Commission

Evaluation Report on the SSA (2010) reinforce this. Only 41.7% at a second grade level were

able to read alphabets in their local language. It follows that basics not being built up at the 1st-

2nd grade level are reducing the ability to learn in higher grades. Students fared worse in

writing, with an average score of 30. This is indicative of the procedural and rote learning

methodologies followed in school, which ill prepares students for problems that require

application.

10.4 Arithmetic

% Children by Class and Arithmetic Level All Schools – 2012

Standard Not Even 1 – 9 Recognize Numbers Can Subtract Can Divide Total

1 – 9 10 - 99

I 41.6 48.8 8.2 1.3 0.2 100

II 17.0 50.7 27.3 4.3 0.7 100

III 9.1 35.3 41.6 12.0 2.0 100

IV 4.0 23.8 39.5 26.2 6.6 100

V 2.2 15.6 33.1 35.3 13.9 100

VI 1.7 10.9 33.8 35.0 18.5 100

VII 1.8 7.5 23.8 36.4 30.4 100

VIII 1.2 3.9 20.6 32.9 41.3 100

Total 8.9 23.7 29.0 23.7 14.7 100

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According to ASER study Reports; in 2010, of all children enrolled in Std. V, only 41.8% were

able to solve simple two-digit subtraction problems. This proportion decreased to 36% in 2011

and further to 35.3% in 2012. The proportion of all children enrolled in Std. V who were capable

to do division problems has decreased from 21.1% in 2010 to 22.7% in 2011 to 13.9% in 2012.

(ASER 2012-13) Not only is student performance low, learning outcomes are declining and are

likely to decline further unless remedial measures are taken. The disturbing fact to be noted

here is that even though the most basic of concepts were tested, student performance was

dismal. While policies talk about teaching analytical skills and building meta-cognitive skills, the

current performance of the students indicates a gap between the policy framework and reality.

In India 2012 was designated as the Year of Mathematics. But it has been a bad year for basic

arithmetic for Indian children. Basic arithmetic levels estimated in ASER 2011 also show a

decline. Nationally, the proportion of class III children able to solve a two-digit subtraction

problem with borrowing has dropped from 36.3% in 2010 to 29.9% in 2011. Among children of

class V, the ability to do a similar subtraction problem has dropped from 70.9% in 2010 to 61%

in 2011. This decline is visible in almost every state. In Gujarat most of the indicators showing a

slight decline in previous years performances in terms of arithmetic tests. For Example, in 2010

the percentage of student can able to subtract was 28.2%, further declined 26.2% in 2011 and

Not Even 1 - 9Recognize Numbers

1 - 9Recognize Numbers

10 - 99Can Subtract Can Divide

2010 6.7 18.8 25.8 28.2 20.5

2011 6.4 19.5 25.8 26.2 22.1

2012 8.9 23.7 29 23.7 14.7

6.7

18.8

25.8

28.2

20.5

6.4

19.5

25.8 26.2

22.1

8.9

23.7

29

23.7

14.7

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Arithmetic: % of Children by Class & Arithmetic Level All Schools 2010, 2011 & 2012

2010 2011 2012

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23.7% in the latest survey. Further have an unstable trend with regards to students’ ability to

divide. In the year 2010; 20.5% students were able to do division, which moved upward to

22.1% in 2011 and slipped drastically to 14.7% in the year 2012. The number of students who

were unable to do simple arithmetic problems involving subtraction and division

commensurate with their level of education also rose during 2012 compared with the previous

year. In the case of division problems, more than three-fourths of the students were not in a

position to do their sums.

11. Conclusion

When seen from one perspective, the programme for expanding elementary education appears

to have taken off, with substantial progress being made in recent years. However, as illustrated

in the discussion above, it is not enough to think only in quantitative terms. One needs to pay

attention to the qualitative aspects of elementary education in any attempt to universalize it in

a meaningful and fruitful way. If we compromise on quality and allow the mechanical expansion

of poor schools for poor children, it should come as no surprise if the gains we had anticipated

from universalizing elementary education are not realized. For our entire history as an

Independent nation, we have been understandably focused on getting children into school.

Now that we have got most children in school (over 95 percent enrolment for years), we need

to focus on what they are learning in those full classrooms.

With opening of schools and development of infrastructure as well as massive social

mobilization, a significant increase has been registered in school enrolments. This increase is

not only acknowledged nationally, but also by international development agencies. The number

of out of school children has consequently reduced to less than 2 percent of the total eligible

children. The number of out-of-school children (OOSC), which was estimated at 3 Crores in

2001, was assessed to be at 1.3 Crores in 2005 and 81 lakh in 2009. The latter two figures were

arrived at by an independent agency. According to the annual work plan and budget prepared

by districts across the country under RTE / SSA for 2013-14, the number of OOSC has come

down to around 22 lakh. Infrastructure development has been a major focus of SSA, as 33

percent of the programme funds are earmarked for this. There would be little argument that

infrastructure development in the form of new school buildings, additional classrooms,

boundary walls, and repair and maintenance, has been the most visible and evident outcome of

the investment made under SSA and RTE.

In India, everyone talks about the Right to Education and follows this model. Unfortunately, it

focuses only on inputs without any demand for learning outcomes. We insist that teachers

should have certain qualifications but do not bother to find out if they attend classes regularly

and even when they do attend, what quality of education they impart. We often do not make

learning an enjoyable process. We need to make learning enjoyable so that students have a

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thirst for knowledge all their lives. We do not encourage innovative practices and learn from

the ones that have succeeded. Very often, what we teach is not relevant to the students.