Previous Years Questions

2022-The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 remains inadequate in promoting incentive-based systems for children’s education without generating awareness about the importance of schooling. Analyze. (15M)

2020- National Education Policy 2020 is in conformity with the Sustainable Development Goal-4 (2030). It intends to restructure and reorient the education system in India. Critically examine the statement. (15M)

2016- Professor Amartya Sen has advocated important reforms in the realms of primary education and primary health care. What are your suggestions to improve their status and performance? 

2015-The quality of higher education in India requires major improvements to make it internationally competitive. Do you think that the entry of foreign educational institutions would help improve the quality of higher and technical education in the country? Discuss.(12.5M)

2014-Should the premier institutes like IITs/IIMs be allowed to retain premier status, allow more academic independence in designing courses and also decide mode/criteria of selection of students. Discuss in light of the growing challenges.(12.5M)

Education is a permanent measure to achieve an egalitarian society. Education transforms lives and is at the heart of building peace, eradicating poverty and driving sustainable development.

Education being a basic human right for all throughout life must be matched by access and quality.

• Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man – Swami Vivekananda 
• To educate a person in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to the society – Theodore Roosevelt
• We do not want book worms, we want man making, character building education – Swami Vivekananda
• Economy is the material part of development. Education is the essential part of it.
• Education that does not mold the character is absolutely worthless. – Mahatma Gandhi
• Confucius – “If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in term of 100 years, teach the people”  
• “Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” – Nelson Mandela.
• “The pen is mightier than the sword” – Edward Lytton 
• Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of real education – Martin Luther King Jr. 
• We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded, and by which one can stand on one’s own feet” SWAMI VIVEKANAND
•  “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learnt in school”- Mahatma Gandhi
• “Learning gives creativity. Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking Provides knowledge. Knowledge makes you great.” – APJ Abdul Kalam
•  “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think” – Margaret Mead
• “There are two educations. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.” – John T Adams

Case studies and best practices

1. Pota cabins → residential schools for the children in LWE affected areas of Chattisgarh.
2. Delhi Model Virtual School – provide education to students remotely through personalized teaching-learning, effective assessments and use of cutting-edge technology.
3. E-Talim → Video recording of lectures by best teachers in Kishangarh district of Bihar.
4. The AaoGhar Mein Seekhein (let’s learn at home) programme in Rajasthan, improved access to education amidst COVID-19 pandemic.
5.  “Namath Basai” – Kerala Government unique programme of teaching tribal children in their mother tongue.
6. Baste Ka Bojh Kam project (Rajasthan)- Integrated book for different subjects.
7. Pratibha Parv: M.P-regular assessment of teaching learning and evaluation of
8. education.
9. E- takin: Kishangarh district, Bihar – video recording of lectures by best teacher in district
10. Mera Mobile, Mera Vidyalaya: Banka, Bihar
11. Sonam Wangchuk started New hope revolutionizing education in Ladakh
12. Pune Zilla Parishad has appealed to citizens to donate old smartphones and used laptops to help poor students continue with e- classes during the lockdown
13. IT club of school at Koothattukulam in Kerala will train students to blog and post videos on Youtube, Going beyond mere basics of IT
14. Distribution of Smartphone by Punjab Government for Students to access Online education
15. Kerala Government became 1st state which helped struggling students to repay education loan debts after the completion of their course

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS

Importance of Education

DATA

Right to Education Act 2009:

The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, is a landmark legislation in India that aims to provide free and compulsory education for all children aged 6-14 years. It represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, which means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a formal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards.

Aspects of the RTE Act:

1. Increased Access to Education: By mandating that all children aged 6-14 years receive free and compulsory education, the Act has helped increase enrolment rates and reduce dropout rates. According to the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020, the overall enrolment rate for children aged 6-14 years increased from 93.4% in 2006 to 96.3% in 2020. Thus, the Act has made significant strides in improving access to education.
2. Infrastructure and Quality Improvements: The RTE Act also mandates that schools meet certain minimum standards in terms of infrastructure and teacher qualifications. Since the Act’s implementation, there has been a significant improvement in school infrastructure, with the percentage of schools with functional toilets increasing from 62.6% in 2010 to 79.4% in 2016, according to the District Information System for Education (DISE).

Limitations of the RTE Act:

1. Limited Focus on Learning Outcomes: This can limit the effectiveness of the Act in incentivizing and promoting the importance of education, as parents and children may not perceive the benefits of schooling if learning outcomes are not emphasized. The ASER 2018 report reveals that only 50.3% of grade 5 students in rural India can read a grade 2 level text, indicating a gap in learning outcomes.
2. Inadequate Emphasis on Awareness Generation: Without widespread awareness of the benefits of schooling, it is challenging to create an incentive-based system that encourages children to attend school and complete their education. Initiatives like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s “Chalo School Chale” campaign have attempted to create awareness but require further efforts to reach a larger audience.
3. Insufficient Incentives for Disadvantaged Groups: There is a lack of provisions for scholarships, transportation, or mid-day meals to encourage and facilitate school attendance among children from marginalized backgrounds. Although the Mid-Day Meal Scheme is in place, its implementation has faced challenges, and further incentives are needed to ensure greater inclusion.
4. Incomplete Implementation: The RTE Act has faced challenges in its implementation due to inadequate funding, a shortage of trained teachers, and insufficient monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. As per the DISE 2016 report, around 17.51% of schools still lack the mandated pupil-teacher ratio.
5. Age Limitation: The Act covers only children aged 6-14, excluding those aged 0-6 and 14-18, despite international commitments for education up to 18 years.
6. Gender Bias: Traditional norms force girls into household chores, leading to irregular attendance and dropouts. Limited secondary and higher secondary schools in rural areas further exacerbate this issue.
7. Children with Special Needs: The Act lacks provisions for children with disabilities, leaving them without necessary educational support.
8. Private School Challenges: Private schools are required to admit children from weaker backgrounds, but face attitude issues and lack provisions for additional expenses like uniforms and books.
9. Quality of Education: The Act is seen as input-focused, emphasizing universal admission over the quality of education provided.
10. Bridging Courses: The Act mandates age-based admission for out-of-school children but lacks details on bridging courses to help them catch up academically.
11. School Management Committees (SMC): Forming SMCs with primarily parent members can burden poor parents, who may struggle to volunteer time and effort.

Learning poverty

About

1. The World Bank’s Global Director for Education highlighted concerns over significant learning losses for children due to the COVID-19 pandemic and emphasized the need for concerted efforts to bridge these gaps.
2. According to the World Bank’s learning poverty calculation, India’s learning poverty increased from 54% before the pandemic to 70% after the pandemic.
3. Learning Poverty, as defined by the World Bank, means being unable to read and understand a simple text by the age of 10. This indicator combines schooling and learning indicators by measuring the share of children who haven’t achieved minimum reading proficiency and adjusting for the proportion of children who are out of school and assumed not to be able to read proficiently.
   • All foundational skills (basic literacy, numeracy, and transferable skills) are important, but reading is focused on because:
   • Reading proficiency is an easily understood measure of learning.
   • Reading is a student’s gateway to learning in every other area.
   • Reading proficiency can serve as a proxy for foundational learning in other subjects, similar to how the absence of child stunting indicates healthy early childhood development.

NEED TO ELIMINATE LEARNING POVERTY

1. Key to eliminating poverty in general and boosting shared prosperity.
2. To improve learning outcomes: Globally, between 2000 and 2017, there has been only a 10% improvement in learning outcomes for primary school-aged children. At this pace, 43% of 10-year-olds will not be able to read by 2030.

3. To achieve SDG Goals: The target is ambitious but achievable and should galvanize action toward achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG4) ensuring quality education for all. It will require nearly tripling the rate of progress worldwide if every country matches the performance of the countries that made the most progress between 2000 and 2015.
4. To increase global productivity: The learning crisis not only wastes children’s potential but also harms entire economies. It negatively impacts future workforces and economic competitiveness. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index shows that globally, the productivity of the average child born today is expected to be only 56% of what it would be if countries invested sufficiently in health and education.

INCREASE IN LEARNING POVERTY

1. School closures during the COVID-19 pandemic: Many countries, including India, had to close down schools and colleges, encouraging online classes. According to a World Bank report in 2019, 55% of children in the country at late primary age could not read correctly. The problem worsened during COVID-19, with observations suggesting a 20% increase.
2. Disorganized school systems: When a child cannot read, it usually indicates that school systems are not well-organized to help children learn in other areas such as mathematics, science, and humanities.
3. School dropouts: Many children globally cannot read proficiently. Over 260 million children do not attend school, further deepening the crisis.
4. Decline in household income: Surveys have shown that many students have been forced to withdraw from private schools and enroll in government schools due to a decline in household incomes. The quality gap between private and public schools has increased learning poverty.
5. Quality of study material: Poorly designed study materials, such as textbooks and learning materials, contribute to poor performance and increased learning potential.
6. Malnutrition among children: Severe deprivations in terms of nutrition, unhealthy environments, or lack of nurture by caregivers.
7. Quality of teachers: Poor guidance and teaching methodologies, along with a lack of trained teachers, are causing a decrease in learning outcomes, leading to an increase in learning poverty.

IMPORTANCE OF LEARNING SKILLS

1. For sustainable growth and poverty reduction: Poor education outcomes have major costs for future prosperity, given that human capital is the most important component of wealth globally.
2. Improving overall schooling systems: When children cannot read, it usually indicates that school systems aren’t well organized to help children learn in other areas such as mathematics, science, and humanities.
3. Better quality workforce: Countries that have prioritized and invested in foundational learning have produced a better quality workforce, enabling their economies to take off. Both South Korea and China did this in the 1970s, with a tremendous impact on their economies.
4. Improves individual freedom: For individuals and families, it can lead to higher productivity and earnings, poverty reduction, higher rates of employment, better health outcomes, and greater civic engagement.
5. Benefits society: For societies, it can contribute to faster innovation and growth, better-functioning institutions, greater intergenerational social mobility, higher levels of social trust, and a lower likelihood of conflict.

WAY FORWARD

1. Ensure timely access to more and better age- and skill-appropriate texts: In Mongolia, better access to books led to a 0.21 standard deviation improvement in student outcomes.
2. Focus on ramping up catch-up learning: Brushing up on the fundamentals helps children revise the syllabus easily.
3. Extra effort from teachers in class: Teachers will require a lot of support to group students within the classroom based on where they are rather than their grade or age.
4. Investment in education technology: Re-enrolment campaigns and reassessment of learning levels as schools reopen after a gap of two years call for investment in education technology to complement classroom teaching.
5. Digital literacy: The resurgence of education television and radio is a good development. Resilient systems are necessary because the next natural disaster is unpredictable.
6. Budgetary allocations: Increased budgetary allocation will bring quality and better infrastructure to education, helping to reduce learning poverty.