More children in rural areas preferring pvt schools: Report
From Our Special Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Enrolling in private schools is no more confined to urban centres alone as an education report says increasing number of children in rural areas are also preferring the private ones.
Though the report did not specify any reason for this, it says enrolment between 6 and 14 age group in private schools rose from 18.7 per cent in 2006 to 25.6 per cent in 2011 in all states except Bihar.
Meghalaya, which is considered as an educational hub with many reputed educational institutions both in private and government sectors, has recorded 10 per cent increase in enrolment in private schools.
The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) for rural areas 2011 prepared by Pratham, says in states like Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Manipur, there has been an increase of over 10 per cent points in private school enrolment in the past five years.
Anywhere between 30 to 50 percent of students in enrolled in private schools in Meghalaya, the survey released by HRD minister Kapil Sibal said.
The survey conducted 18 months after watershed RTE law was implemented found that there is a decline of 5% in learning ability of students in schools even though the parents are employing more private tutors than ever before.
The drop in learning levels among children in government schools despite the government pumping thousands of crore of rupees for implementation of the Right To Education Act, is a reason for parents opting for private schools even in rural India, the report said.
Enrolment of number of children in 6-14 age group in private schools has increased from 18.7% in 2006 to 25.6% in 2011. The learning level in private schools in most states has either remained same or has improved.
Sibal, however, blamed the state governments for poor showing of the government schools. “The Centre can bring a law, facilitate the process but implementation is with the state governments. In Hindi speaking states there is not involvement of the state governments,” he said.
The volunteers during the survey got in touch with prominent organizations and institutions like KSU and Martin Luther Christian University in Meghalaya.
Our Reporter adds: “The ASER finding matches the Meghalaya scenario very well since here we have a situation where enrollment is there but dropout is rampant,” said another school teacher.
The findings also said about basic reading levels which continue to show a decline in many states across north India with better reading levels in southern India.
Many educationists here agree and said that Meghalaya continues to have “worst” basic reading levels in the country.
Meanwhile, basic arithmetic levels also reflected a decline among students as students are unable to solve common two-digit subtraction.
On this teachers are opined that arithmetic or mathematics has never been a favourite subject here particularly among the tribal students. “Borrowing and seeking answers from others is a common trend here. Meghalaya is faring low in this aspect alongside many other parameters in the education sector in the country,” they said.