We as educated Indians do not find any difficulty in reading or writing. The credit goes to the teaching and training we have received over the years. We form just a small per cent in the Indian population and the rest still does not know to read and write as we do.

Contribution of our primary education

There are millions of children in India, who even after completing their primary education doesn’t know to read and write simple words and sentences. Thanks to the primary education system in India. Students are found to understand better with the use of video presentations, stories and other interactive methods.

Depressing Facts about our primary education system

According to a survey conducted by Pratham, an NGO with the objective of providing better primaryeducation in India, about 70 per cent of the students in the 2nd grade were not able to read simple words that were taught in the 1st grade. The figures show that about 60 per cent of the students in the 3rd grade were not able to read simple words, which a 1st grade student is supposed to read. This is the same with students from high performing states.

In the case of mathematic, the situation is even worse. The survey shows that more than 75 per cent of the students were not able to perform simple addition and subtraction with two and three digit numbers. It also suggests that only 45 per cent of the 5th standard students were able to do simple division problems.  Again only 75 per cent of 8th standard students were able perform simple problems involving division.

While the report by Pratham suggests that learning is ineffective, the results of test conducted by the National Council for Educational Research and Training also suggest the same. According to the NCERT, the average percentage of marks in science for the whole of India is 50.3 per cent, for mathematics it is 58.6 per cent, and for languages it is 58.6 per cent.

Government statistics

According to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, the enrolment of students in schools across India is 95 per cent. But the survey by Pratham has shown that the attendances in schools are very low. It says that the attendance in some cases is below 50 per cent. This shows that the statistics by the government is just for name sake and it does not have anything to do with the quality of education in India. Steps should be taken to improve the participation of students rather than tracking enrolment.

Lack of in depth survey to evaluate learning effectiveness

It is quite unfortunate that there are no surveys conducted by the government of India to measure the learning effectiveness of the students across different schools in India. The results of the survey conducted by Pratham raise serious concerns about the testing mechanisms that are in place. How is that a student who does not know to read or write simple words and do simple mathematical calculations pass on to a higher class? On what basis marks are awarded to students?

The real problems

Poverty

Poverty is one problem that affects our educational system. In India more than 30 per cent of the population lives below poverty line. So those below poverty line give very less importance to primary education. They are more concerned about is finding a low level job that will fetch them one day meal.  If at all students from such families come to school, it is to get a one time meal from the school. The government has failed to convince them about the importance of education in getting a well paid job so that their poverty can be alleviated.

Low quality of teachers

Another problem that our education system faces is the low quality of teachers in the government run schools. One another problem being inadequate training is provided for teachers in the government run schools. The low compensation provided to the teachers is another reason that prevents good quality teachers from joining government schools.

The survey conducted by Pratham has revealed that the teachers are absent in the class for about one third of the time allotted for teaching. This points to reduced teacher engagement in classes

If the quality of teachers is to be improved, proper training should be provided to them. Steps should be taken to ensure that good quality teachers are being recruited. The ability of teachers to explain lessons in an interesting manner should be assessed and improved. In addition to text books other materials should also be used to make learning interesting and effective. Technological advancements like computers and projectors should also be used which will make learning and teaching effective.

Lack of Proper Infrastructure

Proper environment for learning is absent in majority of the government schools. This includes proper class rooms, furniture, black boards etc. We cannot expect students to go to school without proper infrastructure.

Lack of attention to students

The requirement of each student in the process of learning is different. Teachers should be able give personal attention to students for their development to certain extent, which is lacking in the government schools. In many cases, the student teacher ratio is not adequate which in turn reduces attention to each student.

It is clear from the survey conducted by Pratham that the statistics that our government provide is meaningless. The government is concerned about increasing the enrolment in schools and reducing the dropout rate. The statistic that the enrolment in schools in India is 95 per cent is useless as there are other major factors that need immediate attention as described above to improve the teaching and learning process in India. This figure would have been meaningful if the attendance in the schools were 100 per cent or even 95 per cent. It is high time for the government to stop playing with figures and start acting.