BHUBANESWAR: More than 50 per cent (pc) of school students in the state depend on private coaching for understanding their school lessons, the Centre’s Comprehensive Modular Survey (CMS) on Education has revealed.
This includes students of both government and private schools. Findings of the survey, which is a part of the 80th round of the National Sample Survey (NSS), were released by the Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation on Tuesday. It was carried out in April-June this year.
The survey has found that 57.1 per cent students of all educational levels (pre-primary to higher secondary) from both rural and urban areas are taking private coaching. This trend was more common in urban areas (66.6 pc) than in rural areas (54.6 pc).
When it comes to education level, the highest 68.7 pc of students taking private coaching are in secondary level (Class IX & X). At pre-primary level, 34.2 pc students are being provided tuitions by their parents and guardians to prepare them for primary grades.
The CMS Education survey focused specifically on household expenditure for currently enrolled students in school education and their private coaching during the current academic year. The average annual household expenditure of Rs 10,899 on private coaching per student in urban areas was much higher than that in the rural areas which was Rs 3,547.
Again, when it comes to the level of education, the cost of private coaching goes up, from Rs 1,238 at pre-primary level to Rs 10,401 at higher secondary level.
Apart from private coaching, households bear the educational expenses of a student which includes course fee, transportation, uniform, textbooks, stationery and others. In Odisha, this average educational expense was estimated at Rs 1,196 per student in a government school while it was Rs 24,527 in a private school at primary level.
The cost goes up along with the grades. A family has to spend `8,117 per student in a government school and `40,147 in a private school at the higher secondary level, the survey has found. The urban households are paying more across all categories.
Across all types of schools, the highest average expenditure per student during the current academic year was on course fees (Rs 14,145), followed by transportation (Rs 4,438).
Ninety-two pc of students in the state reported that the first major source of their education funding was from other household members. Only 2.3 pc of students reported that government scholarships were their first major source of funding for school education. In the state, 80.8 pc of students are in government schools.
The last such survey was carried out in 2017-2018.
School Education Scene
% of students in govt schools - 80.8
% of students in pvt schools - 10.8
% of students in govt schools paying school fees - 11.4
% of students in pvt schools paying school fees - 97
Avg expenditure per student at all edu levels - Rs 7,749
Avg expenditure per student in govt school - Rs 2,098
Avg expenditure per student in pvt school - Rs 30,068
57.1% of students taking private coaching