We need to invest more in education

Updated on: Monday, January 23, 2012

Three recent studies point to poor learning standards in our schools - OECD's Pisa study, NGO Pratham's Aser report for rural India and Wipro-Education Initiatives' study of India's top schools. What's wrong?
The basic flaw in the Pisa study is that it only takes Shanghai into consideration and not the rest of China. We should compare rural China with rural India. It is well-known that state government textbooks are not age appropriate - a Class II student is asked to solve a problem he should be asked in Class IV. It is obvious that the child will fare poorly. And yet this is precisely what Aser tests children on. The Aser results are not surprising. They simply point to the malady in the system. This is precisely the issue that RTE hopes to address. But the results of the RTE won't be felt immediately. The law was passed in 2010 and the rules are still to be notified.

We accept the fact that the education system is not delivering in accordance with our expectations and that quality needs to be addressed in a far more proactive way than before. We are not in denial mode. We have introduced education reforms such as continuous and comprehensive evaluation. We want to introduce a single test after class XII to assess students' general capabilities.

How do you think learning in schools can be improved?
A lot more has to be done at the state level. When the state government decides teachers' salary, pension, service and superannuation, how can you expect the Centre to monitor the quality of education in a school in a village?
For any change in the education system, the community - teachers, parents and school managements -must be involved. This is not something the Centre or the state government alone can bring about. The Right to Education Act states that 75% of school management committees should consist of members of the community, of which 50% should be women. This involves mothers in the education system.

Educationists blame Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan for lowering the standard of education and teacher qualifications in order to increase enrolment.
That is absurd. India has a shortfall of 1.2 million teachers. Recruitment of teachers is the responsibility of the states, not the Centre. States have had to bring down the level for teachers as there aren't enough qualified teachers.

There has been a decline in education spending as percentage of GDP. Shouldn't India be spending more?
These figures don't account for the investment made by the private sector. Several government institutions, such as agricultural universities, are excluded from these numbers. The total spending on education may well be much closer to the figure we want, than what is being projected. However, we do need to invest much more in education. As a matter of fact, many developed nations invest 9 to 10% of their GDP on education.

Times of India

We need to invest more in education

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