India’s educational scenario is a study in despair. Shortage of trained faculties, poor infrastructure and outdated, irrelevant curriculae continue to plague the sector. The Planning Commission has approved the Twelfth Plan document, and the Union Cabinet is scheduled to meet on October 4 to clear the outlay.
The scenario depicted in the plan document regarding school education is frightening. As per the plan document: “Elementary education is indeed the poor level of student learning, both scholastic and post-scholastic. Evidence suggests that learning outcomes for children in Indian schools are far below corresponding class levels in other countries. The Planning Commission also warns about the instability of the higher educational system. “The use of technology in higher education remains limited and standards of research and teaching at Indian universities are far below international standards with no Indian university featured in any of the rankings of the top 200 institutions globally.” A reason could be that an appraisal of the Eleventh plan points out that curricula and syllabi are outdated in the Indian educational system. Periodic revision of curricula is recommended.
To remedy the situation, the Plan has a total outlay of `453,728 crore to meet the challenges that face Indian education: enrolment that exceeds faculty, absence of trained teachers, an infrastructural crisis, poor attendance and dropout rates.
Schools For Scandal Statistics reveal the dismal state of school education in the country. Most teachers do not have the necessary professional qualifications as required under the RTE Act. There are about 8.1 lakh untrained teachers in the country with four states of Bihar, UP, Jharkhand and West Bengal accounting for 72 percent. Many schools don’t have enough teachers, trained or untrained.
-Sunday Standard