Funds and quality teaching for improving schools

Dileep Ranjekar

THE societal gains from education are universally recognized. Societies that have prospered and have educationally done well have invested public funds in government-run schools that are for everyone. The more people are empowered with quality education, the better the nation performs in its development indicators including in building a ‘responsible society’. In India, school education has been a fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution. But despite this commitment, successive governments at the Centre and in the states have failed to make the investments that would have shaped a modern and meaningful education system.

The image of the government school has taken a beating leading to migration of students to ‘private schools’ even as it is recognized that only public schools can meet the quality education needs of a large country like India with equity. Comprehensive recommendations were made in 2016 by the Central Advisory Board of Education Sub-Committee towards improving public schools. But there has been no serious effort to implement the recommendations. Now, as a new government assumes office, it is perhaps a good time to see what it could do to change things.

 

Seriously target six percent of GDP as the spending goal on education

Since 1965, it has been strongly recommended that six percent of the  national GDP be spent on education. The current actual spend levels are below three percent. We must seriously take a big step to move to the goal of six percent.

The prioritization of spending must be in recruitment of teachers, quality teacher-educators, high quality school infrastructure and implementation of structural changes (such as early childhood education) emerging from the National Education Policy 2020.

The role model for budgeting must be the per student per year budget provided in the Kendriya Vidyalaya and Navodaya Schools — where parents aspire to admit their children. Otherwise we are creating huge inequity for students learning in government schools.

The states that cannot afford to make this investment from their budgets should be helped by the Centre to the extent they fall short.

 

Meet the teacher-to-pupil ratio as mandated under the RTE Act

There is currently gross inadequacy of teachers in government schools across India. There is also a highly skewed spread of teachers (far superior in urban and adverse in remote areas). The averages reflected at state and district level are grossly misleading.

At the simplest level, in every school, we need one classroom per grade and one teacher per classroom. It must be recognized that it is impossible to hope for quality education for all, in the absence of each child receiving quality attention by a competent teacher.

 

Make early childhood education compulsory for all schools

One of the critical structural changes in NEP 2020 is ECE in every school. This is a long-pending issue that has the potential to radically improve government schools and contribute to better enrolment and continuation in government schools. Since ECE is currently absent in public schools, children join private schools and continue in those schools. This requires ECE being part of the Education Department instead of coming under the Women and Child Development Department.

 

There should be teacher-educators in every district to develop teachers

The teacher is the biggest influence in a classroom, which is the crucible of learning. Though some efforts have been made to reform pre-service teacher education, the immediate key issue is the development of nine million teachers in government schools. Some immediate concrete steps would be:

1. Identify and intensely develop a team of about 100 highly competent teacher-educators in every district.
2. Teacher-educators must thoroughly understand the educational and pedagogical principles of NEP 2020 as well as of the new National Curriculum Framework.
3. Ensure understanding of purpose of learning subjects and their integrative nature in contributing to the overall development of the child.
4. Provide an effective mechanism for teacher-educators to deeply engage with all teachers at the district level. The focus should be  comprehensive educational processes.

 

Consolidate schools in clusters where students are too few

The Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, in 2000, rightly initiated and implemented the concept  of a school in every habitation. During the past decade or so, owing to several factors, the number of students in public schools has declined to the extent that many schools have become unviable.

We should do a thoughtful strategic consolidation of schools to ensure there is the necessary teacher to pupil ratio together with quality learning resources, infrastructure (toilets, drinking water, playground, library, etc) and quality access for marginalized and girl students in remote areas.

With funding and political will, these priorities could go a long way in creating a foundation for quality school education with equity. We owe it to our future generations and to our ambition to be a truly developed nation.

 

Dileep Ranjekar is founder, CEO, and advisor, Azim Premji Foundation.