lucky draw Education

Whether a child gets good education under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is more a matter of luck than a result of a well-planned effort

Hardnews Bureau

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s report on the implementation of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the government’s flagship elementary education programme, has observed that the programme had only partially achieved its targets during the first four years, from 2001-02 to 2004-05. Although insufficient funding was cited as one reason, the programme required "serious commitment on the part of implementing agencies, including state governments", said the report.

The SSA programme, until 2004-05, had incurred an expenditure of Rs 11,133.57 crore. Despite an utilisation of almost 86 per cent of available funds, nearly 1.36 crore or 40 per cent of children in the age group 6-14 years, remained out of school. The report found that supervision and monitoring of the scheme was ineffective both at the national and state levels.

Hardnews decided to find out if the situation on the ground had improved since then. We visited four schools located in the market area of Mehrauli, New Delhi –two primary schools and two high schools. All were beneficiaries of the SSA.

We found that there was a sharp contrast in the facilities provided in these schools, although they function under the same administration. Two of the schools visited — Mehrauli Dargah School Number 1 and Nagar Nigam Balika Vidyalaya School Number 1 —were in good shape, with newly constructed buildings and clean toilets. The latter had approximately 800 students on its rolls. According to a staff member, the teacher student ratio in the school averaged 1:40. The students appeared to be satisfied with the school facilities and the teachers. The school seemed well-equipped with blackboards, teaching aids and books. The parents were happy with the schools’ performance in academic and co-curricular activities. The teachers were provided training at regular intervals. The fire safety rules were in place. Children were served hygienic food under the mid-day meal scheme. We were elated — maybe the SSA was doing a good job after all?

About 200 metres from the girls’ school was the boys’ primary school. The building was about 40 years old (maybe more). There was no playground. The lack of blackboards had forced teachers to use the classroom doors as makeshift boards. The toilet walls looked on the verge of falling down and basic hygiene and sanitation was absent. Shockingly, exam papers could be obtained beforehand from the teachers for a fee of Rs 500. Books are usually provided but students are advised to buy them from the market. The teachers just ask the students to learn from ‘guides’ and give them assignments from the same. The students themselves told us they do not learn anything much at the school and that their attendance is low. Our faith in the SSA took a nose dive but we went on to the next two schools nonetheless.

These schools truly surprised us. A single compound housed a boys’ and a girls’ high school. The boys said they were allowed to carry ‘guides’ to the examination rooms. Teachers were not to be found in the classes but were hanging out in the courtyard while students scuffled in the classroom during examinations. The girls’ school revealed some startling facts. One of the parents told us that in the last academic year, the students were given cloth instead of readymade uniforms. The cloth was white although the uniform is red.