School drop-out rates in India

by Idéfix Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:46 pm

India has been making agonizingly slow improvements in its literacy rate. Many regions of the country, including large states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, and Andhra Pradesh have unconscionably high levels of illiteracy. One of the interventions the government uses to try to correct this problem is by making sure kids go to school and stay in school long enough to get a basic education. (The other major intervention is to teach adults to read and write; this is much more expensive on a per-person basis, and is a lot less effective than "catching them young.")

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation of the central government has published data regarding school drop-out rates. The numbers are far from encouraging. Here is my quick analysis of the numbers; the source data can be found here: http://mospi.gov.in/national_data_bank/education_20nov12/16.%20Drop-Out%20Rates%202009-10.pdf

Let us look at drop-out rate between classes I and V. For literacy and numeracy, this is the most important target segment of students. In these early years, students learn to read, write and do basic arithmetic. Dropping out of school between classes I and V is a recipe for life-long illiteracy. On this number, here is a comparison of some of the largest states. School drop-out rates in India I-v10

My key takeaways from this are:

Almost 30% of India's kids in elementary school are destined for illiteracy -- this means that the country is postponing this serious problem for yet another generation
Tamil Nadu is close to solving the problem of illiteracy at a systemic level
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh still have some work to do -- between a ninth and a sixth of their kids are destined for illiteracy
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan are seriously failing their kids; over 40% of the kids in each state will leave school too early

by Hellsangel Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:54 pm

Oh! Those poor illiterate Hindian kids!

by Petrichor Mon Jan 28, 2013 4:57 pm

Is this another way of saying "Jaya's national ambitions"?

by Idéfix Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:38 pm

atcg wrote:Is this another way of saying "Jaya's national ambitions"?

I don't know how much credit Jaya can take for this. Did she introduce any reforms/programs that she can claim contributed to lowering drop-out rates?

by FluteHolder Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:03 pm

Things are not much rosy but this group trying to make a difference.

Note the key statistics /info.

by Maria S Mon Jan 28, 2013 6:04 pm

No matter what anyone says..when it comes to Education and Health Care in TamilNadu, all the elected leaders have tried to make them priorities and do what they can- support/expand them. There are problems/plenty of corruption but the goals to improve literacy/public education and public health has always been important. As in any place..some take advantage of them and other don't due to other obstacles (family, community, cultural aspects etc, that's a different discussion).

*I think a real milestone was the "free midday meal program" - for all children was seriously implemented by MGR when he was the CM - although Kamaraj introduced it when he was CM..since then both CMs post MGR- Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha who have been taking turns have always tried to keep the programs going and expand them (*of course corruption- is always part of it)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-day_Meal_Scheme

Excerpt:

The Midday Meal Scheme is the popular name for school meal programme in India which started in the 1960s. It involves provision of lunch free of working days. The key objectives of the programme are: protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing school enrollment and attendance, improved socialization among children belonging to all castes, addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of employment to women. The scheme has a long history, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu.

One of the pioneers of the scheme is the city of Madras that started providing cooked meals to children in corporation schools in the city in 1923. The programme was introduced on a large scale in the 1960s under the Chief Ministership of K. Kamaraj after visiting Sourashtra Higher Secondary School – Madurai, where this program had been implemented by the linguistic minority people since 1922. The first major thrust came in 1982 when the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. G. Ramachandran, decided to universalize the scheme for all children up to class 10. Tamil Nadu’s midday meal programme is among the best known in the country. Less known, but equally interesting is the history of Pondicherry, which started universal school feeding as early as 1930s. There is an interesting story about how K. Kamaraj got the idea of a noon meal scheme. He saw a few boys busy with their cows and goats. He asked one small boy, "What are you doing with these cows? Why didn't you go to school?" The boy immediately answered, "If I go to school, will you give me food to eat? I can learn only if I eat." The boy's retort sparked the entire process into establishing the midday meal programme.

by Idéfix Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:31 pm

FluteHolder wrote:Things are not much rosy but this group trying to make a difference.

Note the key statistics /info.

I am glad they are trying, and I like their method of intervention. I think his views on alcohol are quaint and uninformed, but that's not relevant to this topic.

by Idéfix Mon Jan 28, 2013 7:34 pm

Maria S wrote:No matter what anyone says..when it comes to Education and Health Care in TamilNadu, all the elected leaders have tried to make them priorities and do what they can- support/expand them. There are problems/plenty of corruption but the goals to improve literacy/public education and public health has always been important. As in any place..some take advantage of them and other don't due to other obstacles (family, community, cultural aspects etc, that's a different discussion).

*I think a real milestone was the "free midday meal program" - for all children was seriously implemented by MGR when he was the CM - although Kamaraj introduced it when he was CM..since then both CMs post MGR- Karunanidhi and Jayalalitha who have been taking turns have always tried to keep the programs going and expand them (*of course corruption- is always part of it)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mid-day_Meal_Scheme

Excerpt:

The Midday Meal Scheme is the popular name for school meal programme in India which started in the 1960s. It involves provision of lunch free of working days. The key objectives of the programme are: protecting children from classroom hunger, increasing school enrollment and attendance, improved socialization among children belonging to all castes, addressing malnutrition, and social empowerment through provision of employment to women. The scheme has a long history, especially in the state of Tamil Nadu.

One of the pioneers of the scheme is the city of Madras that started providing cooked meals to children in corporation schools in the city in 1923. The programme was introduced on a large scale in the 1960s under the Chief Ministership of K. Kamaraj after visiting Sourashtra Higher Secondary School – Madurai, where this program had been implemented by the linguistic minority people since 1922. The first major thrust came in 1982 when the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Dr. M. G. Ramachandran, decided to universalize the scheme for all children up to class 10. Tamil Nadu’s midday meal programme is among the best known in the country. Less known, but equally interesting is the history of Pondicherry, which started universal school feeding as early as 1930s. There is an interesting story about how K. Kamaraj got the idea of a noon meal scheme. He saw a few boys busy with their cows and goats. He asked one small boy, "What are you doing with these cows? Why didn't you go to school?" The boy immediately answered, "If I go to school, will you give me food to eat? I can learn only if I eat." The boy's retort sparked the entire process into establishing the midday meal programme.

Yeah, the mid-day meal program is a big deal. I wish Andhra Pradesh had emulated Tamil Nadu earlier on this front. Now I believe there is a concerted effort to offer mid-day meals at schools all around the country.

by Vakavaka Pakapaka Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:01 pm

panini press wrote:
FluteHolder wrote:Things are not much rosy but this group trying to make a difference.

Note the key statistics /info.

I am glad they are trying, and I like their method of intervention. I think his views on alcohol are quaint and uninformed, but that's not relevant to this topic.

So, ..... how much money are you giving to Isha foundation "to make a life"? Very Happy

by Idéfix Mon Jan 28, 2013 10:05 pm

Vakavaka Pakapaka wrote:
panini press wrote:
FluteHolder wrote:Things are not much rosy but this group trying to make a difference.

Note the key statistics /info.

I am glad they are trying, and I like their method of intervention. I think his views on alcohol are quaint and uninformed, but that's not relevant to this topic.

So, ..... how much money are you giving to Isha foundation "to make a life"?

Guruvu gaaru, I don't need middle men for this work.

by goodcitizn Tue Jan 29, 2013 2:00 am

This chart is an eye-opener on a number of fronts. One important point to consider is that 30.8% of India's population (based on 2011 census) is in the 0 - 14 age group. So education to this segment of the population is critical to overcoming poverty, child labor and other social ills. On a base of 1.21 billion people, 30.8% = 372 million, a staggering number!

The Central Government has an obligation to follow what Tamil Nadu has done to providing education to the kids and reducing drop-out rates. Free meals are a necessity considering most of the kids are from very poor families. The availability of schools in rural areas and access to such schools along with the quality of teachers will go a long way in ensuring literacy to such a young population.

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