The Indian education, be it primary education or higher education, has now become a matter of concern for the industry, the Indian population and the government. There is a widespread call for the improvement of quality in education from various stake holders. It seems that the steps taken by the government are inadequate for bringing about any improvements in the field of education. It is to be suspected that the government is not committed in improving the quality of the education in the country.

The RTE and attendance in schools

The Right to Education Act makes it mandatory to provide free education to all the children between the ages of 6 and 14. Even though the enrolment in schools has increased to about 96 per cent during a period of 6 years from 2004, there has not been much improvement in the area of attendance in schools. With such a high enrolment rate, the national average attendance rate stands at a dismal 75 per cent. The attendance rate in many of the states such as Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar is way below the national average of 75 per cent. There are few other states such as Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and most of the states from the Southern part of India where the attendance rate is higher than the national average.

Going to school depends on the society

In the Indian context, going to schools is considered to be a family habit. While in some states, it has become a social habit, while in others it is not. There are two reasons for the parents to send their children to school or college. One is that they want the children to learn and the other one is to engage them away from home.

Learning depends time spend in school

Compulsory primary education is a part of the strategy to engage students at school so that they will be kept away from child labor. It is also related to many other developmental factors. The point that we need to take into consideration is whether this long years of schooling will be transformed into formal learning.  A child who attends school regularly tends to learn more.

Regular teaching will improve outcome

Another important point that we need to understand is that a school that operates every day and the teachers are engaged in teaching regularly will lead to better learning. This is something everyone knows, but is not implemented across the country.  The PISA study which was conducted in the states of Tamil nadu and Himachal Pradesh came up with the same results as of other studies which have found that the state of Indian primary education is in a state of danger. Even though the studies conducted were based on different parameters and adopted different routes, the conclusion was the same, all highlighting the poor quality of the Indian education system.

Various studies conducted

In the PISA study, out of the 74 participating nations, Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh were ranked at lower positions just above Kyrgyzstan, which was at the lowest position. The study conducted by Pratham has found that a major portion of the children in fifth grade were not able to read simple sentences and do simple arithmetic problems of the 3rd grade. Majority of the students in the 3rd grade were not able to read or do simple addition and subtraction from the 1st grade.

Another depressing fact is that the study conducted by National Council of Education Research and Training has come up with results that are far more worrying than that of the PISA study. All these studies one after the other are pointing at the inability of the Indian education to deliver quality learning outcome. We can be absolutely certain on two aspects- first is that Indian students are not dump and second is that the teachers cannot be blamed.

The PISA study explains that the Indian education lacks in standards of learning that are measurable and that it places importance on text book learning. We need to have a system of education that is not dependent on text books alone and will develop skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, expressing ideas and reading. We need to have a new orientation in the field of education and for that we need to set new goals and a time line to achieve these goals. The goals should be set for different stages of development and we should make sure that each goal is achieved. In India neither the central government nor the state governments have not taken up the quality of education as a serious issue and are not engaged in the process of setting goals for the improvement of the education system in the country.

Private schools synonymous to quality

In India, private schools are considered to be synonyms of good quality education. Since 2005, the enrolment in private schools in the states of Uttar Pradesh and TN has increased two fold to about 45 percent and 33 per cent respectively. In the southern state of Kerala, which is much ahead in terms of education, 65% of students in the rural area are enrolled in private schools. The number of students enrolling to private schools will even increase with the increase in the income of parents and their education. This trend is not going to stop until government put some restrictions on the private schools.

The RTE is an effective step in that direction. The private schools that do not comply with the terms set by the RTE will have to be closed down.

Industry has a greater role to play

In the present day, many of the higher education institutions have made certification at different levels of education more or less irrelevant. Perhaps the industry should also follow these footsteps to and stop asking for 10th, 12th and degree certificates for offering jobs. The industry should come up with separate eligibility tests that would go beyond text book learning. This would automatically generate a need for an education system that is based on quality.