The Hindu : Other States / Punjab News : Punjab has more schools but few students

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Saturday, Aug 21, 2004

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Punjab has more schools but few students

By Our Staff Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, AUG 20. An increase in the number of Government-run primary schools and a major rise in per capita expenditure notwithstanding, the education sector in Punjab has shown a disturbing aspect over the last 10 years by registering a decline in the number of teachers as well as enrolment of students.

These are among the main conclusions of a study on "Cost-benefit analysis of Primary Education in Punjab: Action points for implementation'', which was conducted by the Institute for Development and Communication (IDC). The Punjab Government's Department of Planning commissioned this vital study which analysed the primary education system in the State during the sessions falling between 1992-93 to 2001-02.

There was an overall decline of 26.98 per cent in enrolment in Government primary schools, which the investigators attributed to inadequate strength of teachers and poor infrastructure. The rate of decline in enrolment of girls in primary schools stood at 9.86 per cent. However, the study brought out an interesting aspect that during the same period, enrolment of Scheduled Castes (SCs) students had risen by 25.88 per cent, while number of girls, starting to go to school, from this section increased by 37.06 per cent. Special incentives were identified as a causal factor for this trend. Providing elaborate evidence that majority of the children being enrolled in the Government primary schools belonged to the economically weaker sections or the SCs, it was also brought out that situation became more grim as these students did not have family or societal back up for completion of their educational and career requirements. This was one of the major factors leading to deterioration in the standards of education.

Meanwhile, as compared to the Government institutions, children in private schools, majority being from the better off sections of the society, excelled in all the six major subjects. Better physical facilities, infrastructure and teaching-learning environment were the main factors for the contrast. The per capita cost of providing primary education registered a phenomenal increase of Rs 2999.00 which worked out to be 248.5 per cent during the period under examination. However, it was noted that except on salaries, the budgetary allocation for development activities had been inadequate for the overall expansion of primary education in the public sector. The rural per capita cost on providing primary education varied between Rs 1835 to Rs 3362, while the remote Gurdaspur district topped the table for high cost at Rs 3362 in the urban areas and Kapurthala was at the bottom. The difference between the rural and urban per capita costs varied from a minimum of Re. 1.00 in Mansa district to Kapurthala's maximum of Rs 2023. Except in Moga, remaining districts of the State showed a higher cost in the rural areas as compared to the urban.

The study also brought out that while enrolment was not contingent on costs, improvement in literacy rates was. Low cost districts had shown lower literacy rates. Interestingly, Kapurthala and Nawanshahr, which figured in the high cost districts, recorded very low enrolment, while Patiala and Ludhiana, which did not enjoy a higher rank on the cost factor, returned higher enrolment and literacy figures.

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