Low enrolment and irregular attendance

THERE HAS been a growing recognition that responsibilities of a good school transcend the limited educational programme, usually provided within its four walls. A good school cannot function in isolation. It has to develop a close link with the community.

The school and the community are related to each other in a cyclic relationship of mutual benefit. If the school serves the community through its educational programme, the community in its turn, will help in enhancing the status of the school. On the other hand, if the community supports the school in implementing its educational programme, the school, in turn, helps in improving the community. Once started, this process of action and counteraction for mutual benefit is likely to sustain on its own momentum.

But, the situation on the ground is far from satisfactory. This is one of the main reasons that India has not been able to universalise primary education even after more than fifty years of independence. The relative position of literacy in most of the Northern states has remained low not merely because there was a backlog of illiterates but also because the primary education system has failed in enrolling all the children of school going age.

Importance

Whenever reasons of this low participation are enumerated, it is often said that parents are ignorant about the importance of education or that they need their children to help them or to earn for them. But, the studies conducted by many organisations tell a different story. In a study conducted by the Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur (2000) in ten districts of Rajasthan, it was found that 95 per cent of the parents were in favour of educating their boy-child, whereas the percentage for girl-child was somewhat less, i.e. 84 per cent. The PROBE study done in four States of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan (1999) also finds that 98 per cent of the parents are in favour of educating boys and 89 per cent opt for girls education.

Another study done by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) hotels in its India Human Development Report said that rural parents understand the importance of education and favour their sons receiving education in order to help them secure urban and non-agricultural employment and for their daughters to acquire better placed sons-in-law.

The general pattern is that parents are not indifferent towards educating their children. There is a wider awareness about the benefits of education and the encouraging trend has already been set due to the growth of people's movement about development issues. The nationwide movements working for the Right of Education, Eradication of Child Labour, women's movements, literacy campaigns and other lobbying for the young child have created a favourable climate and it is only a myth that people are ignorant of the advantages or importance of education.

Compulsory

Rajasthan and many other States could not legislate for compulsory primary education so far, because of the view that in a situation of endemic mass poverty, the State had a duty not to compel schooling. An extension of the argument was that compulsory education could be introduced only when a basic livelihood could be guaranteed for all and mass poverty had ceased to dominate society.

The statements which are given against compulsory primary education are really not backed by either detailed study of other countries or indepth interaction with people, especially, the poor. The Jaipur Study shows that 75 per cent of the parents, mostly of weaker section, are in favour of compulsory primary education, only 6 per cent were against and the rest 19 per cent were undecided. Similar are the results of Public Report On Basic Education (PROBE) study. It was found that 80 per cent of the parents want primary education compulsory, only 3 per cent were against this idea and 17 per cent remained undecided.

There are many examples but to quote one of Lajpatnagar, Delhi, where 32 children of leprosy afflicted parents, who used to earn Rs. 300 per day by begging, stopped begging and started coming to school. It is a myth that poor people do not want education for their children.

Concern about teachers

Today, the need for educating children is admitted by all, even the poorest of the poor. Although there is motivation, children are not attending schools. The main cause for low enrolment and irregular attendance in the parents' opinion is unworthiness of the public school system. If parents are satisfied that their children were getting education that is worthwhile, they have found ways. The Jaipur study quotes a case of village Lakhesara (Sanganer, Jaipur) where a Scheduled Caste Community (Bairwa) send their children to a privately run school, 3 kms away, paying a fee of Rs. 70 to Rs. 100 per month in spite of a government-run primary school located in the village itself. Most of the parents say that teachers either do not come to school daily or on time and do not teach properly. A good percentage of parents of both school going and non school going, also do not know anything about the working of the school. This shows lack of teacher- community contact.

Quality & standard

Much is being said about the quality and standard of education. It is felt that if quality education is imparted, nobody will remain out of school. Three different expressions - quality, standard and efficiency are used in a variety of meanings; sometimes as synonyms and sometimes to indicate different concepts either separately or in combination.

The common perception of what constitute quality education is heavily influenced by the dominant value system.

To a large extent, education is seen by a large number of people, even the disadvantaged parents, as a license to join government employment and become part of the urbanised middle class.

But, whatever may be the definition of quality education, the more immediate problem is of adequate facilities, responsive teachers, active classroom and need-based curriculum which are simply not met in a majority of primary schools.

Slow progress of the child is one of the main causes of parental lack of interest in schooling, especially in village primary schools. The study conducted for the Human Resource Development Ministry covering 50,000 students in 46 districts of 8 states shed light on the condition of primary schools where learning level continued to be alarmingly low, the quality of teaching and teachers were hardly upto mark, while the drop out rates were a cause for concern (1994).

A similar story of learning level was also found in Jaipur Study (2000) when a tea vendor doing his business just outside the school premises in Lakeshara village (Jaipur) complained that his son was languishing in one class for the last three years.

It was also found that teachers blame parents for low achievement and parents blame teachers for this discouraging affair, but there is no dialogue between the two.

The need

The school and the community are inseparable. By and large, people are in favour of educating their children. But, their mutual relationship is not as healthy as should have been. There are few examples also where community and teachers combined, have done wonders in enrolling cent per cent children in school and improved infrastructural facility in spite of the prevalent poverty in villages.

The role of the teacher is of prime importance here. If he starts by engaging himself sincerely in providing good education to children, confidence of the village community would automatically rise. There is no other way out. The goal of universalisation of primary education cannot be achieved without community participation.

C. S. MEHTA

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