Education For All Towards Quality with Equity INDIA First Edition August 2014 © National University of Educational Planning and Administration, New Delhi. (Declared by the Government of India, under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956) Photo Credit: Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India; Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. Published by the Registrar, National University of Educational Planning and Administration 17-B, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-110 016, INDIA and designed & printed by New Concept Information Systems Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi-110 076 Foreword The international agenda of Education for All (EFA) as per the agreed Dakar Framework of Action (2001) has been central to the focus and implementation of education development over the last decade and a half. As the current EFA agenda approaches the 2015 deadline, it gives me pleasure to present the National EFA-2014 Review for India. The review not only tracks the progress made towards the EFA goals but also highlights experiences in different parts of India, as well as the lessons learnt in the process. India has come a long way since the Jomtien meeting which pledged to focus on basic education. The steady progress toward universal elementary educationa over two decades saw the momentum further strengthened with enactment of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act 2009 which makes it the right of every Indian between 6-14 years of age to gain admission for education to complete 8 years elementary schooling. The heartening facts are near universal access for 199 million children and an equity dividend with gender parity at elementary level education. Furthermore of the 14.6 million children who joined elementary schools between 2007-08 and 2012- 13 56% were girls 32% from disadvantaged groups of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and 59 % Muslims. School infrastructure has climbed up to 1.4 million schools with 7.72 million teachers so that 98% habitations have a primary school (class I-V) within one kilometer and 92% have an upper primary school (class VI-VIII) within three kilometer walking distance. Out of school children and dropout rates have reduced substantially, through not evenly, across all social groups. Teacher shortage and quality of teaching – learning processes and learning outcomes are the new challenges which the schooling system is facing given the sharp increase in enrolments over a short period of time and the unique challenge of bringing education to first generation learners with parental and community aspirations to ensure a good education for them. One of the world’s largest Mid Day Meal program provides 108 million children school meals daily to help retention. In the EFA pantheon, of goals, India has added its own resolve to focus on quality education and to understand whether children’s achievements are improving over time in an equitable manner. Three rounds of National Achievement Surveys (NAS) have been completed for class III, V and VIII levels. In the latest NAS report on class III overall Class III Children were able to answer 64% of language item correctly and 66% of mathematics questions correctly. Foreword iii The dynamics of education and its role in national development and social transformation make it essential that educational programs keep continuously renewing in order to maintain its relevance to the changing societal needs, personal needs of learner and to the emerging national development priorities. For India the current review exercise has been very valuable both in the term of reflecting the achievements towards the EFA goals as well as for determining the priorities for the next phase of the international agenda for Education. India stands committed to providing quality education and providing relevant skills to its children to its children in a concerted manner in the decade ahead. I would like to place on record my appreciation for the efforts put in by the distinguished academicians at the National University for Education Planning and Administration (NUEPA) for undertaking the EFA review and consultations. I would also like to thank all the members of National EFA-2015 Review Team for their valuable guidance and support, and above all to all the State Governments and Union Territory Administrators in country whose educators, teachers and academician and communities have all contributed unstintingly to his massive national endeavor of reaching the EFA goals in the country Date: 09th July, 2014 (Rajarshi Bhattacharya) New Delhi. Education For All iv Towards Quality with Equity INDIA Preface Providing free and compulsory education to all children is a goal that is enshrined in the Indian Constitution as a Fundamental Right. This, indeed, is also the focus of the World Declaration on ‘Education for All’, adopted nearly 25 years ago, in Jomtien. The World Education Forum, held in Dakar (2000), reiterated the commitment of the global community and approved a comprehensive set of goals in the areas of early childhood care in education, primary education, gender, youth and adolescent, adult education and quality of education. Following this commitment, India prepared a National Plan of Education (2002) delineating various programmes and strategies for achieving various Education for All (EFA) Goals. Subsequently, the mid- term assessment of progress of EFA goals, undertaken in 2005, underscored the concern for equity and inclusion and highlighted the need for accelerating the efforts for achieving EFA goals. India, undoubtedly, has made substantial progress towards achieving EFA goals during the last two decades. Adoption of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE), 2009 has given further impetus to the national efforts for ensuring quality education for all in a time- bound manner. The present document, titled 'India: Education for All – Towards Quality with Equity' presents a comprehensive review of the progress made in this regard with respect to each of the EFA goals and the challenges that remain to be addressed. I would like to place on record my special thanks to my colleague, Prof. K. Ramachandran, for preparing the Report. I would also like to thank the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India for providing this opportunity to NUEPA for preparing this Report and extending support in its preparation. (R. Govinda) New Delhi August 1, 2014 Education For All Towards Quality with Equity v INDIA Contents Foreword iii Preface v Abbreviations xv Executive Summary xvii Chapter 1 Introduction 1 1.1 The Development Context and Priorities 1 1.1.1 Demographic and planning context 1 1.1.2 Overall development policy directions and priorities 1 1.2 The Context of Education Development 2 1.3 Major Policies, Strategies and Interventions for Education and Learning 3 1.3.1 Constitutional provisions 5 1.3.2 Policy framework for education development 6 1.3.3 Five-Year national development plans 7 1.3.4 Strategic approaches 8 1.3.5 Key programmatic interventions for expanding ECCE services 9 1.3.6 Key programmatic interventions for universalisation of elementary education 9 1.3.7 Key programmatic interventions for imparting learning and life skills for young people and adults 10 1.3.8 Key programmatic interventions for improving adult literacy 10 1.3.9 Key programmatic interventions for bridging gender gaps in education 11 1.3.10 Key programmatic interventions for fostering quality education 11 1.4 The Relevance of EFA in the Indian Context 12 Chapter 2 Tracking Progress on Goals 13 2.1 Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) 13 2.1.1 ECCE services under the Integrated Child Development Service (ICDS) 13 2.1.2 ECCE services through formal schools 16 2.1.3 ECCE services provided by Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) 16 2.1.4 ECCE services through pre-schools run by private providers 17 2.1.5 Enrolment in pre-primary programmes 17 2.1.6 Gross Enrolment Ratio in pre-primary education 17 2.1.7 Proposed actions for expansion of ECCE services 18 Education For All Towards Quality with Equity vii INDIA Contents 2.2 Universalisation of Elementary Education 20 2.2.1 Progress towards universal access 21 2.2.2 Progress towards universal enrolment 23 2.2.3 Bridging social category gaps in elementary education 30 2.2.4 Out-of-school children (OoSC) 44 2.2.5 Progress towards universal retention 45 2.2.6 Financing elementary education 49 2.2.7 Principles guiding current programmatic initiatives 50 2.3 Learning and Life Skills for Young People and Adults 51 2.3.1 Facilitating upward mobility of students from elementary to secondary and higher secondary education 51 2.3.3 Building a system that supports continuing education and life-long learning 57 2.3.4 Vocational education and training 58 2.3.5 Promoting skill development 60 2.3.6 Youth literacy rates (15-24 years) 60 2.3.7 Current thrusts 62 2.4 Adult Literacy 63 2.4.1 Literacy rate among population aged 7 years and above 65 2.4.2 Adult literacy rate (age 15 years and above) 68 2.4.3 Current thrustas 69 2.5 Gender Parity and Equality 70 2.5.1 Key programmatic initiatives for bridging gender gap in elementary education 70 2.5.2 Progress towards gender parity and equality in elementary and secondary education (All categories of students) 72 2.5.3 Gender parity in elementary and secondary education (SC students) 78 2.5.4 Gender parity in elementary and secondary education (ST students) 80 2.5.5 Gender parity in adult and youth literacy rates 82 2.5.6 Gender parity among teachers 83 2.5.7