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Girl Elementary Education In India
Elementary Education In India
Girl Elementary Education In India
World Bank Support for Education in India
The World Bank's support for education in India focuses on both primary education and vocational and technical education and training. The Bank is also exploring ways in which it can support India's upper-primary education and ways to develop the skills of scientists and technicians.
PRIMARY EDUCATION India has steadily raised primary enrollment rates since independence and today has the world's second largest education system after China, with 108 million children aged 6-10 attending primary school.
Children from poorer families are at a greater disadvantage. The drop-out rate for the poorest households is about four times that of the richest ones. There are large gaps in access to education; quality of education; and learning according to gender, social class, and location.
The World Bank has been an active partner with the Government of India and state governments to respond to these and other education challenges. The World Bank's assistance to India's education sector began with an Agricultural Education Project in 1972 and was followed by a Vocational Training Project and Technician Education Projects 1 & 2 in the late 1980s.
The World Conference on Education, held in Jomtien, Thailand in 1990, highlighted the lack of access to and quality of India's basic education system. Issues raised at this conference resulted in an active collaboration between the Government of India and the World Bank in the field of basic education.
Bank assistance for basic education in India aims to expand enrollment levels and reduce drop out rates, while raising students' academic performance. Projects focus especially on girls, children from disadvantaged scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, working children, children with disabilities, and other children with limited opportunities to attend primary school.
The main project activities are working to increase access, improve classroom instruction, strengthen community participation in education, and build institutional and management capacity.
Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Project I and II
The Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Project (UPBEP I), the Bank's first investment in basic education in India, was approved in 1993. It is financed by a $165 million IDA credit. The unanticipated increase in enrollments resulting from the UPBEP I interventions led to the approval of the Second UP Basic Education Project (UPBEP II) approved in 1997 and financed by an IDA credit of $59.4 million.
The project complements ongoing state efforts by financing construction of new schools and additional classrooms, recruiting and training new teachers, establishing school improvement funds, and providing learning materials. UPBEP I and UPBEP II target both primary and upper-primary education.
District Primary Education Project I, II and III
The 7-year District Primary Education Project (DPEP), approved in November 1994, is financed by an IDA credit of $180 million.This project will create about 470,000 additional primary school places. A trend analysis between 1995 to 1998 on access and retention in DPEP I districts by the National Institute for Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) reports an average increase in enrollment in all districts (except Kerala) of 9.43 percent in 1995-96 and 6.48 percent increase in 1996-97. This study also indicates that girls' enrollment, which was 45.5 percent in 1995-96, is now 46.3 in 1997-98.
An analysis of 40 districts reports that the average number of years taken to complete 5 years of primary education has dropped from 7.9 to 6.4 years. The mid-term assessment study reports an increase in student learning achievement in both mathematics and language, especially from grade 1 to grade 2. In addition, the gender gap in learning achievement has been reduced to less than 5 percentage points.
The Second District Primary Education Project (DPEP II), approved in May 1996 and financed by an IDA credit of $425.1 million, supports the Indian government's efforts to extend DPEP concepts and approaches into 60 new districts in the seven DPEP I states, along with Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, and Orissa. The project finances the creation of approximately 852,000 new primary school places. The mid-term review of this project is to take place in November 1999. Preliminary assessment of the project indicates a substantial increase in enrollment and retention and improvement in the quality of instruction.
The Third District Primary Education Project (DPEP III), approved in December 1997 and financed by an IDA credit of $152 million, will enable the state of Bihar to enroll more than 5.5 million school age children in 17 educationally disadvantaged districts.
District Primary Education Project (Andhra Pradesh).The District Primary Education Project, which is part of the Andhra Pradesh Economic Restructuring Project, was approved in 1998 and is financed by an IDA credit of $137.4 million. The project is being implemented in 15 districts with low female literacy levels within the framework of the centrally sponsored DPEP.
Rajasthan District Primary Education Project
Support for primary education in 10 educationally disadvantaged districts in Rajasthan was approved in 1999. The credit of $85.7 million is in line with other DPEP projects and focuses on expanding access for about 600,000 additional children and raising the quality of education provided.
VOCATIONAL/TECHNICAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING
The Vocational Training Project provided assistance through a revised IDA credit of $138 million. The project, which closed in December 1998, aimed to improve the quality and efficiency of craftsman and apprenticeship training, expand the scope and relevance of advanced skills training programs, and strengthen the capacity for planning and management of vocational training at central and state levels. The project also aimed to increase modern sector training opportunities for women. About 550 industrial training institutes in 28 states/union territories and 20 centrally administered institutions were financed under the project.
The First Technician Education Project, which closed in September 1998, was financed by an IDA credit of $225 million. The project covered the states of Bihar, Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh and supported the Ten-Year Technician Education Investment Program (1990-99) by expanding capacity and improving quality and efficiency.
The project helped to provide India's industrial sector with qualified technicians in new areas of engineering and technology. Female enrollment in technician education increased from 11 percent to 30 percent. Some facilities were also created for technical training of the disabled.
A $255.7 million credit for the Technician Education II Project was approved in 1991 and extends the Technician Education I Project to the states of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Pondicherry, and Delhi.
RESEARCH AND ANALYSIS
Elementary Education
The World Bank's involvement in basic education in India is grounded in a major study of primary education entitled Primary Education in India. This study explores issues surrounding access; learning achievement; and gaps in enrollment, retention, and achievement. It identifies essential actions to expand access and improve learning. This study was prepared in close collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resources Development and leading research institutions in India. It features pioneering efforts to survey learning achievements in India and in analyzing cost-effectiveness.
The work on primary education is currently being augmented by a study of the upper-primary stage of elementary education in close collaboration with the Ministry of Human Resource Development and Indian research institutions. As a result of the implementation of the District Primary Education Program and other initiatives to increase enrollment and retention in primary education, a surge in the demand for upper-primary schooling can be anticipated in the next few years.
In addition to the large amount of resources required to finance both initial investment costs and recurring liabilities, the intention to provide quality elementary education to every child raises many challenges associated with the management, structure, and delivery of upper-primary education.
Second, in order to promote private initiative in education consistent with an envisaged realigned role of state involvement in elementary education, a status study focusing on the extent of demand for and provision of private elementary education is planned.
Third, in the area of student assessment, a survey of the system of student performance evaluation in India and ways in which evaluation influences educational policy, planning, and administration will be conducted.
The description and discussion of the existing mechanisms and strategies for evaluating student performance and its role in improving public elementary education would inform the establishment of an effective system of assessment that can influence policy and planning in elementary education.
Technical and Science Manpower Development
With the continuing liberalization of economy, industries and service sectors in India are facing a major challenge due to national and international competition. This is forcing rapid modernization and the introduction of new technologies and management approaches. High-quality technical and scientific manpower is critical for such developments.
The higher education system of India, responsible for developing such manpower, is facing major crises and is unable to meet the new expectations. This situation needs immediate attention if India is to stand against the challenges posed and fully benefit from its policy of liberalization.
The Sector Study on Technical and Scientific Manpower Development in India, which is almost completed, aims to understand critical issues in technical and scientific manpower development, and to identify strategies to improve the efficiency and responsiveness of educational institutions to the changing needs of the labor market.
Elementary Education in India
Elementary Education India
Universalising Elementary Education
Pre-school Education.
When seen from one perspective, the programme for expanding elementary education appears to have taken off, with substantial progress being made in recent years. However, as will be illustrated in this section, it is not enough to think only in quantitative terms. One needs to pay attention to the qualitative aspects of elementary education in any attempt to universalize it in a meaningful and fruitful way. Especially relevant in this context is the provision of quality pre-school education to all and an investment in improving the performance of teachers. If we compromise on quality and allow the mechanical expansion of poor schools for poor children, it should come as no surprise if the gains we had anticipated from universalizing elementary education are not realized.
This section discusses the need for universalizing elementary, and not just primary, education in India. The focus is on schooling for the masses, in particular, the poorest. The section considers the challenges in this process and defines areas for long-term action. It also looks into measures, though interim, that are important to the overall process of bringing elementary education to everyone.
Rethinking Elementary Education
about the importance of elementary education in Indian public policy. there are significant returns to education as far as social development and politics are concerned. There remains a major role for the State in elementary education. Indeed, the withdrawal of the State from other areas should help free up resources for education and health. Why is elementary education special? public expenditures for elementary education is based upon the “externalities” of education. Each educated person generates myriad benefits for all those around him, and he, individually, cannot capture the full benefits of his education that accrue to society. individuals have an incentive to underinvest in education. These arguments justify public expenditures on elementary education. If elementary education is important,Educational outcomes in India can be dramatically improved, without enlarged public expenditure on education.
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