http://www.agastya.

org/why/why-rebuild-education-in-india/report-on-primary-education
Primary Education : Issues & Opportunit
Rural Schools
Sl.
o
Issues Opportunities
! "any rural teachers demonstrate
openness to new ideas and high
innate le#els o$ creati#ity% o$ten o$ a
higher le#el than that $ound among
urban teachers.
&here has been little attempt by educators
in the country to impro#e rural education%
where the moti#ation among children to
attend class is low because o$ such
$actors as negati#e parental pressure% poor
$acilities and uninspired teaching.
' &here is high enthusiasm $or
learning and e(perimenting among
children. Right stimuli can create an
e(plosion in creati#ity and
producti#ity in rural India.
)rban schools with their greater
resources can play a catalytic role in the
growth o$ rural education. )rban schools
there$ore need to adopt a proacti#e
community-building role.
* +i#en resource limitations a case
can be made to $ocus on low capital-
intensi#e s,ill-based education.
+i#en the real limitation o$ resources%
e.g. lac, o$ ade-uate physical $acilities%
boo,s and materials% a case can be made
to $ocus on s,ill-based education% which
re-uires less capital and can be
e$$ecti#ely and widely disseminated.
)rban Schools:
Sl.
o
Issues Opportunities
! Education in most schools is one
dimensional% with an obsessi#e
$ocus on mar,s. &he products o$
Indian school education tend to be
narrow minded and e#en sel$ish in
their aims and approach.
' Intelligence and potential are
generally e-uated to the mar,s or
grades achie#ed by the child.
* &here is little $ocus on nurturing:
a. /eha#ioral s,ills - teamwor,%
leadership% community
b. 0pplication s,ills
c. 1reati#e-thin,ing s,ills
2 &eachers generally ha#e limited
,nowledge o$ how to spar,
creati#ity in children.
3 &he ,nowledge transmitted to
children is there$ore boo,ish. 4ew
opportunities e(ist $or children to
apply their ,nowledge to real li$e
situations.
5 1hildren are rarely encouraged to
participate in community-based
acti#ities such as wor,ing with
disad#antaged groups or the
en#ironment.
6 7uality teachers are the missing lin,
in Indian education. 0lthough
poc,ets o$ e(cellence e(ist% the
-uality o$ teaching and the
moti#ation to teach show a
signi$icant and potentially
catastrophic downward trend. &his
problem is li,ely to be e(acerbated
i$% as recent press reports suggest%
the )S imports large numbers o$
Indian science and math teachers to
meet its own teaching short$all.
8 &he short$all o$ teachers is o#er *
million. India needs 6 - 8 million
primary/secondary schoolteachers%
#ersus the * - 2 million a#ailable.
9 Instilling the right type o$ s,ills in
teachers and implementing a process
to trans$er such s,ills and
,nowledge e$$ecti#ely through the
system would ha#e a power$ul
:multiplier e$$ect: on the entire
system o$ learning.
!; &op day schools generally produce
the best academic results. /oarding
schools pro#ide better <education<%
by which is meant a more rounded
de#elopment o$ the student:s
personality.
!! &eachers uni#ersally blame the
syllabus $or denying them the
$le(ibility to be creati#e and in#ol#e
students. &his argument is diluted by
the $act that the system o$$ers
teachers su$$icient $reedom to
interpret the syllabus.
!' Schools $or the most part narrowly
de$ine their purpose% e.g.% to produce
the best e(am results% number o$
students who =oin )S uni#ersities
etc. "ost o$ them lac, an
o#erarching and inspirational #ision.
+i#en the increasing demand $or
:-uality schools: by the growing
Indian middle class and the
willingness o$ parents to in#est
signi$icant money in their children:s
education% many schools are
promoted as commercial #entures%
rather than as centers o$ e(cellence.
!*
Issues in Indian Primary Education ( Rural Schools):
Sl.
o
Issues Opportunities
! Pri#ate resources $or promoting rural
education are minimal to non-
e(istent. 0llocated public resources
are more o$ten than not% not
e$$ecti#ely utili>ed.
' Single teacher schools% most o$ them
with =ust a single room% are unable to
pro#ide e#en the basic en#ironment
$or learning
* ?ac, o$ ade-uate classroom
$acilities means that children $rom
di$$erent age groups typically sit in
the same classroom% leading to
boredom and disinterest.
2 @ri#en by pressing short-term
economic needs% most parents are
reluctant to send their children to
school. &hey o$ten pose obstacles to
learning. In some cases% the State
has to o$$er incenti#es% such as
subsidi>ed rice through the mid-day
meal scheme to attract children to
school.
3 E#en a cursory interaction with
naturally bright rural children and
teachers rein$orces the #iew that
there is indeed a huge amount o$
unutili>ed talent and creati#ity%
which i$ gi#en e#en the most basic
opportunity will produce ma=or
bene$its $or the community and
country.
5 "any rural teachers ha#e the
<hunger< and desire to learn and
teach. &hey are interested in
ac-uiring new s,ills and show high
le#els o$ innate creati#ity. Some are
e#en so committed as to ha#e spent
money out o$ their own poc,ets to
pro#ide basic learning materials $or
their students.
6 &here is little to no trans$er o$
technology% ,nowledge or ideas $rom
better-endowed urban institutions to
their rural counterparts. &he reason
$or this is not lac, o$ money as much
as the lac, o$ interest and concern
$or community.
8 E#en small in=ections o$ money and
resources in ,ind% such as part-time
#olunteer teachers% can produce
ma=or impro#ements in the e(isting
-uality o$ teaching and learning
opportunities a#ailable to rural
children.
9
Issues in Indian Primary Education ( Urban Schools):
Sl.
o
Issues Opportunities
! &eaching and learning methods used
in most schools discourage
-uestioning% learning% application
and creati#ity.
' 0n education system $ocused on
e(ams and mar,s A<$actory
approach<. has produced $ew world-
class creators and original thin,ers.
* &eachers are the missing lin, in
Indian education. 0lthough demand
$or -uality teachers greatly e(ceeds
supply% the teaching pro$ession has
become a pro$ession o$ last resort
attracting either low caliber
indi#iduals or people $or whom
teaching is a hobby or only a
supplementary source o$ $amily
income.
2 &eacher training and education
institution standards ha#e declined
o#er the years and little e$$ecti#e
,nowledge and s,ill trans$er ta,es
place. ?i,e much o$ the education
system% teacher education has
become pedantic and is di#orced
$rom application. 0 degree in teacher
education is no longer there$ore a
guarantee o$ teaching s,ill.
3 &eachers o$ten lay the blame $or lac,
o$ creati#ity in teaching on the
syllabus. Bowe#er% the syllabus does
not prescribe a speci$ic teaching
method and pro#ides enough
$reedom $or interpretation and
$le(ibility.
5 /esides greater hands-on ,nowledge
o$ speci$ic teaching s,ills and
techni-ues% teachers would bene$it
greatly $rom training in basic
beha#ioral s,ills in order to deal
e$$ecti#ely with the $ollowing types
o$ challenges:
- "anaging large class si>es
- "oti#ating <low per$ormers<
- Inter$acing e$$ecti#ely with senior
administrators
- Showing initiati#e and leadership
- 1o-opting support $rom peers
- /uilding teams
- &rans$erring newly ac-uired
,nowledge and s,ills to peers
6 &here are no e(amples o$ truly
world-class schools or teacher
education institutions in the country.
/y world class we mean institutions%
which can be ran,ed in terms o$
-uality among the top twenty in the
world.
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