A whopping 18% of Indian school kids, don't meet the age criteria as prescribed under the Right to Education Act 2009.
The trend is far more alarming in Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha, Uttarakhand and Jammu & Kashmir, with as many as 25% of them being under or overage, reveals the latest report of District Information System for Education (DISE 2013-14) compiled by National University of Education Planning and Administration.
Under the RTE Act, appropriate age for primary classes (1-5) is 6-10 years while for upper-primary classes (6-8) is 11-14 years. But the DISE report doesn't state how much under or overage the kids are. However, according to an education officer, it is anything between 1-3 years.
A huge mismatch in the maturity level in the classroom, stresses not only students but teachers too. Students with a huge age difference suffer in terms of learning outcomes. Reports also suggest that in the smaller classes, students older than the recommended age learn better but this pattern reverses by class 3rd or 4th.
The lack of pre-school facilities are believed to be contributing to early entry in the schools and nutrition deficiency and poor health, are the reason for late entry. The report states only 9% were enrolled in pre-primary classes.
In the past, many surveys have been conducted on learning outcomes in primary schools suggesting that most of the children do not acquire the basic literacy and numeracy in early grades.
This report has come at the time when both the centre and states, are trying their best to ensure free and compulsory education to all children aged between 6-14 years under the RTE Act.
Stressing upon the need for an appropriate start to allow proper development of a child, educationist Arun Vaidya, who works for RTE said, "In children, motor skills are developed between the age of 6-14 years. A child first learns how to listen, then talks and gradually tries to write. You can not fasten this process, and if you do, you would be affecting the development of his motor skills."
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