Maharashtra gets a five-star status in elementary education

Maharashtra has jumped two places and is now ranked fifth among states in the educational development index (EDI) at the elementary level (standards I to VIII) for the academic year 2009-10.

Kerala tops the list followed by Tamil Nadu, Punjab and Haryana. If one also takes the Union territories into consideration, Puducherry is ranked one while Maharashtra is 13th on the list. Better access to education and a dip in the drop-out rate has helped Maharashtra go past Gujarat, its western competitor. Gujarat ranks 7th among the states and 15th on the overall list.

The EDI is prepared by the National University for Educational Planning and Administration and is calculated by taking into account four components and 22 variables, including infrastructure, access to education and teachers. In case of access to education, availability of schools per 1,000 children and ratio of primary to upper primary schools are the two important factors that are considered.

“We have close to 1.03 lakh schools in the state and very few states can boast of such a high number. This has improved access to schools in rural and urban areas. We are also working on projects to ensure there are schools within every kilometre in the state,” said an official from the education department.
The drop-out rate for standard VII dropped to 1.5% in 2011 from 24% in 2002. The state also boasts of teachers with professional qualifications — around 45% of them are women. “We are the only state that can claim to have a surplus of teachers,” the official said.

Despite the positives, academicians believe there is still ample scope for improvement. Basanti Roy, educationist and former divisional secretary of SSC, says the state should not get complacent with these rankings. “There are a lot of efforts being undertaken, especially by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, to tackle the problems in elementary education. The report is a reflection of these efforts. But many gaps still exist,” she said.

“There are many funds at disposal for teacher training programmes and infrastructure. They must be utilised properly. Poor toilet facilities is a major reason for girls dropping out of schools. Water facilities such as storage tanks are available, but schools do not have running water,” said Roy. She said student enrolment has improved because of village education committees and bridge courses for children who did not attend schools. They encouraged such children to enrol for formal education.

The education department official agrees. “The state lags in infrastructure and quality of education. There are other challenges such as providing clean toilets for girls, making drinking water and electricity available to students,” he said. “Quality of education and infrastructure are huge challenges. Tamil Nadu and Kerala have an upper hand in these areas. We are working on plugging the loopholes through the Right to Education Act.”

The annual status of education report (rural 2010) had revealed that the state was doing well in terms of quality compared to other states, but was lagging behind in maths and reading.

“Maharashtra is performing well in quality and infrastructure too, but we are lacking in learning outcomes, especially in maths. It was seen that 24% of standard V students were unable to read standard II books and do basic maths like division. We need serious improvement and intervention in these areas.” said Usha Rane, director training at NGO Pratham.

The state still has a long way to go, but if the EDI is any indication, it is headed in the right direction.