India has one of the world’s biggest public-funded school education systems with around 5.8 million teachers in 1.3 million schools, but the quality of education is falling as enrollment is shifting from public to private schools.
The last decade witnessed the biggest school expansion since independence but it has compromised on quality of teachers impacting students’ overall learning ability.
A study by NGO Pratham this year found that 53% of class V students were unable to read class II level text in 2012 as compared to 47% in 2010. “The decline in reading levels is more visible among children in government schools as compared to those in private,” the study said, recording a similar trend in learning levels in mathematics.
The years when learning levels fell also witnessed a fall in number of trained teachers in schools. Around 86% of teachers in schools were trained as compared to just 75% in 2012, HRD ministry data shows. In 2007-08, around 90% of the teachers were trained. “There are 8.1 lakh untrained teachers in the country with four states — Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal — accounting for 72% of them,” a Planning Commission report for the 12th five-year-plan said.
Experts say the government needs to make senior secondary schools as training ground for primary school teachers. Also, better salaries and permanent jobs could motivate young teachers.
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