‘Declining enrolment in govt schools worrisome’

LUCKNOW: The findings of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on declining enrolment in UP schools are worrisome, though not surprising, say educational experts.

The CAG report found that as enrolment in government schools declined by 18.6%, it went up by 36.5% in private unaided schools during 2011-16. The government auditor noted that on an average there were 20 lakh drop-outs every year.

Another issue that must be addressed urgently is that of ‘sub-letting’ the teaching positions by appointed teachers who abdicate their responsibility of teaching regularly in government school allocated to them, said Amrita Dass, founder director, Institute for Career Studies.

Dass pointed out that an immediate solution to enhance the quality of education in government schools would be public-private partnerships.

This has proven to be a success in many states like Maharashtra.

Geeta Gandhi Kingdon, professor of Economics of Education at University College London, who published a review of schooling in India in April 2017, said: “The situation is grim in Uttar Pradesh, with government schools emptying at an alarming rate.” She said the number of government schools with only 20 students or fewer in 2015 was 5,135 schools, with a teacher salary bill of Rs 538 crore.

The CAG report said that the state-run schools also faced a shortage of 1.75 lakh teachers as against the sanctioned strength of 7.60 lakh. “The CAG Report only confirms the rot that was evident in Uttar Pradesh in so far as elementary education is concerned,” said Prof Manoj Dixit, professor and head, department of public administration, Lucknow University.

Prof Dixit said, “The previous two governments converted primary schools into cesspools of education with no teachers. If there were teachers, they were under qualified. The government fudged with the figures only to do face saving and also commissions. I am one who firmly believes that the main reason of backwardness of this state lies in its neglect of primary education.”

Akshai Abraham, founder-director, Project KHEL said, “As an educationist, such reports are very disheartening. We strive to educate children every day with limited resources and then we see that so much resource were wasted by the government. Health and education are two areas where we simply cannot afford this any longer if we want to progress as a nation.”

The CAG report stated teachers were not deployed rationally, as 17,732 primary schools and 1349 upper primary schools with an enrolment of more than 150 students did not meet the pupilteacher ratio (PTR). Also, nearly 7,264 primary schools and 2,377 upper primary schools with less than 50 students exceeded the PTR.

“Having visited both government and private schools in farflung areas of UP with a view to audit their work, many of the educationists had drawn the same conclusions. In the government schools, with the exceptions of some KVs and NVs, the quality of education in terms of content (books), pedagogy and teachers is abysmal. At several places, teachers on roll don’t visit the schools except for the inspection days and classes are taken by proxy teachers, if at all,” said Prof Himanshu Rai of IIM Lucknow.

“Given these recently released statistics, it is essential for the government to improve the standard of its schools, ensure that classes are held regularly and that the teachers upgrade their skills,” said Dass.

THE CAG REPORT SAID THAT THE STATERUN SCHOOLS ALSO FACED A SHORTAGE OF 1.75 LAKH TEACHERS AS AGAINST THE SANCTIONED STRENGTH OF 7.60 LAKH