Smaller citizens: how to bridge the gaps in India’s education system

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Last Updated06/04/2024

The Annual Status of Education Report, titled ‘ASER 2023: Beyond Basics’, released in January, found that more than half struggled with basic mathematics, a skill they should have mastered in Classes 3 and 4.
A survey by civil society organisation Pratham among rural students aged 14 to 18 years.

The household survey conducted in 28 districts across 26 States assessed the foundational reading and arithmetic abilities of over 30,000 students and discovered that about 25% in this age group could not read a Class 2 level text in their vernacular.
As they grew older, the rate of dropouts increased.
While 3.9% of 14-year-olds were not in school, the figure climbed to 32.6% for 18-year-olds.
Also, only 5.6% had opted for vocational training or other related courses.
Subsequent surveys, including the recent India Employment Report 2024, prepared by the Institute for Human Development and the International Labour Organization
- Show that while access to education has improved for all social groups, “hierarchy between social groups persists; Scheduled Tribes are still the most disadvantaged.”
Transition rates from primary to upper primary and secondary school show significant dropouts and the gender gap is high too.
To improve the quality of education imparted to ST children, there needs to be “improvised pedagogy”
- Instruction in the mother tongue and support materials in tribal dialects.
“There needs to be synchronisation between school activities and lives of students,

Sex, caste, rich/poor, urban/rural divide - that persist in education.
To implement quality services, bureaucracies need to solve complex problems and adapt to local needs."