Poor Educational Standards

A strong education system is the cornerstone of any countrys growth and prosperity.
Over the last decade, India has made progress in strengthening its primary education.
However, poor educational standards remain a chronic problem for the Indian economy.
The 2011 ASER (Annual Status of Education Report) stated that only 48.2% of students
in the fifth grade could read at the second grade level. The number of students completing
their education with inadequate numerical and comprehension abilities is startling. This
trend has manifested itself in Indias low productivity growth in comparison to other East
Asian economies- a result of lack of progress in countrywide, high-quality education.

Problems
Inadequate Teacher Qualification and Support
Teachers have to teach multiple grades, textbooks are pitched far above the
comprehension level of students, and each classroom has children with different levels of
learning achievements. Compounding this is the relatively low educational qualifications
of many teachers themselves. In 2008-2009, on average, 45% of these teachers had not
studied beyond the 12th grade. There are, on average, 4.5 teachers per government school,
while as per the Right to Education Act, the required teacher to student ratio is 1:30.
Lack of Infrastructure
An alarming percentage of Government schools across India lack the basic infrastructure
to create a suitable teaching environment. Nearly half of the 1.29 million recognised
elementary schools in the country do not have separate toilets for girls. About 30% of
schools in India are without permanent structures and about 14% have no drinking water
facility.
Faulty Teaching Methodology
The teaching methodology adopted by primary and secondary schools across India
focuses more on rote memorization than practical application. The curriculum in most
places is outdated and disconnected from the rest of the world. This means that 75% of
technical graduates and more than 85% of general graduates are unemployable by India's
high-growth global industries
Brain Drain
In the recent years, the cut-offs for admissions became close to 100% in the best Indian
universities. While the institutes are in the race of getting the best students in the country,
the ambitious youth who fail to meet the irrational demands have to explore the scope
of higher education abroad. A report by Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry
of India (ASSOCHAM) pointed out that with a large number of students flocking to
foreign universities; it costs India a whooping Rs. 95,000 crores per year. Moreover, most
of the students prefer staying back in the host country due to better work opportunities
and heavy pay packages.

Economic Implications
Lack of employability of Indian graduates has an adverse impact on the countrys
productive growth. There is a direct correlation between higher education and human
resource development and developmental activities require a workforce that is skilled.
There is also a direct linkage between education and economic growth.
Measurement of returns to school (r) is measured by: Y*= wages of illiterate people Y=
wages of people after education C= cost of education
r = (Y - Y*)/(Y* + C)
Where Y - Y* is benefit. This formula was given by Psacharopoulos,a Greek economist.
Thus, due to poor quality education, Indias growth potential is not maximised.

Solutions
Since the Indian Constitution was completed in 1949, education has remained one of the
priorities of the Indian government. Primary education was made free and compulsory for
children from 6-14, and child labour was banned. Some of the initiatives taken by the
government include the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Right to Free and Compulsory
Education Act.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (Education for All Movement)
This movement is a programme started by the government to ensure the universalisation
of elementary education as per the 86th amendment to the Constitution of India, making
free and compulsory education to children of the 6-14 years age group, a fundamental
right. This programme was pioneered by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Its goals of 2011 were to do the following:

Open new schools in areas without them and to expand existing school
infrastructures and maintenance.
Address inadequate teacher numbers and provide training a development for
existing teachers.
Provide quality elementary education including life skills with a special focus on
the education of girls and of children with special needs, as well as computer
education.

The programmed focuses on community participation at the state level to provide quality
education to all. It was aimed that all children in the given age group should have
completed 8 years of elementary education by 2010.
However, there were many problems faced in the implementation of the scheme. These
problems included the non utilization of released funds, violation of guidelines as well as
the norms fixed for the implementation of programme and lack of appropriate, qualitative
and effective teaching learning material and teacher training.

Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (2009)

RTE is an Indian legislation enacted by the Parliament of India on 4 August 2009, which
describes the modalities of the importance of free and compulsory education for children
between 6 and 14 in India under Article 21a of the Indian Constitution. It requires all
private schools to reserve 25% of seats to children from the backward classes. The Act
also provides that no child shall be held back, expelled, or required to pass a board
examination until the completion of elementary education. The government has also
provided incentives such as mid day meals in order to increase school enrollments.
The Act has been heavily criticised for being hastily drafted and neglecting the quality of
education. It was found that 95.2% of schools were not compliant with complete set of
RTE infrastructure indicators. 93% of teacher candidates failed the National Teacher
Eligibility Test conducted by CBSE. 36% of all sanctioned teaching posts were vacant
and 6.7 lakh teachers were professionally unqualified and untrained.
Suggestions
In order to improve the implementation of its programmes, the government should
maintain a strict adherence to the norms of the programmes. It can also partner with Non
Governmental Organisations to improve the learning outcomes.
For example, Pratham, a joint venture between UNICEF and the Municipal Corporation
of Mumbai, runs multiple programs to supplement school education, such as learning
support classes, libraries and additional learning resources
Other initiatives address teaching quality by placing specially trained teachers in
government schools. Teach for India allows for young, motivated Indian college
graduates and professionals apply for two-year fellowships to teach at government-run
and low-income private schools that lack sufficient resources.