Maharashtra performance poor in learning outcomes

While the Centre’s decision to introduce Right to Education so that all children attend school has been applauded, the ground reality of primary and secondary education in the state is abysmal.

Half the students in Std V cannot read Std II texts. Although enrolment has increased, the role of private tuitions and rural students opting for private schools have also increased substantially.

None of these problems stem from lack of funds. Yet, the learning levels of students in primary schools leave much to be desired.

An annual nation-wide survey conducted by NGO Pratham showed that there is a decline in basic math skills in the state. While the 2009 report indicated that 49% of all Class V children could not do division, the 2010 report showed that the figure had jumped to 58.6%.

And while 44.5% of Class III students surveyed in 2009 were unable to do subtraction, in 2010, the number jumped to 53.3%.

The survey has highlighted the fact that there was no improvement in reading levels; around 52.5% Std IV students cannot read textbooks of the Std II level in their mother tongue. Only 21.2% students studying in Std V can read easy sentences in English.

According to Rukmini Banerjee, project director at Pratham, while the imperative for ensuring access to elementary education is well understood and enshrined as a fundamental right, the “quality agenda” is still not accorded the same priority.

“Efforts to expand enrolment must be accompanied by attempts to enhance educational quality if children are to be attracted to school, stay there and achieve meaningful learning outcomes,” she said.

As a consequence of poor learning outcomes in Maharashtra’s government primaries, the flight to private schools has gathered momentum.

“Private school attendance in the state rose to 26.4% in 2010, up from 18.3% in 2006,” reveals ASER 2010. Moreover, given the consistently falling academic standards in primary education, households are resorting to private tuitions.

But the number of students still out of school is grim, with 11.4% of three-year-olds not attending any kind of school.

While teacher attendance is almost perfect at 91.7%, nearly 14.1% schools do not have one classroom for one teacher. Many schools have to resort to multi-grade setup, where students from different age groups study in the same class.

“In such a set-up, children do not get individual attention, teacher might teach concepts beyond the grasp and level of the students. This ends up confusing them and they are not able to learn” said Usha Rane, director (training) at Pratham.