Rajasthan’s Adarsh Vidyalaya scheme could have been an effective public policy measure to reduce the gulf in the quality of education that girls and boys receive. But of the 9,842 schools that will be upgraded to "Adarsh Vidyalaya", or model school, status in Rajasthan, only 80, or 0.81%, are girls' schools, according to data on the Education Department’s website. More than a third of the districts – 13 out of 33 – do not have a single girls' school that they see fit to upgrade.
This in a state whose chief minister is a woman.
Education department officials at a “dialogue on education” between civil society organisations, the media, and government in Jaipur last week expressed helplessness about changing decisions already taken. The dialogue was part of “Neev Shiksha ka Sawaal" (the question of foundational education) campaign to find out the condition of Rajasthan's 80,000 public schools. The campaign is being conducted jointly by SR Abhiyan, a coalition of civil society organisations in the state, along with media group Rajasthan Patrika.
“We agree with you on all the issues and we are trying to improve the situation,” Kunji Lal Meena, the Secretary of Elementary Education said at the dialogue yesterday. “We have asked MPs and MLAs to provide funds to schools.”
The scheme, which was announced by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia in the 2015-'16 budget, envisages that one secondary or higher secondary school in each of the 9,894 gram panchayats will be upgraded to a Model School in three phases by 2017-'18. A government notification says that Adarsh Vidyalayas will have access to basic facilities like classrooms, a library, laboratory, drinking water and toilets in “adequate measure”. Computers and internet connections will also be provided. A budget of Rs 2.38 billion has been earmarked for the scheme.
Female literacy
Female literacy in Rajasthan has lagged considerably. Census data show that female literacy was 52%, far behind male literacy by 27%. Even though the number of girls enrolled in school has increased, the quality of education they receive is a matter of debate. In October 2014, students from Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Bhim in Rajsamand district marched en masse to the sub-divisional magistrate’s office to protest the fact that there were only three teachers for 700 girls. Things improved for a while, with four more teachers arriving, but the headmistress was suspended for failing to “control the students”.
Teacher shortages in public schools are a big issue in Rajasthan. While the average student teacher ratio in secondary and senior secondary schools is 1:38, independent estimates suggest that in some girls’ schools it is as high as 1:100. Ironically, the Bharatiya Janta Party raised the issue in 2013 in the Assembly when it was in the opposition.
Students are not taking the problem lying down either. There have been more than 350 “lockout protests” in schools across Rajasthan where girls and boys have shuttered the school gates and held dharnas demanding the appointment of teachers. Chief Minister Raje addressed the issue in her Independence Day speech saying 53,000 teachers had been recruited and another 90,000 appointments would be made soon.
Providing quality education for girls becomes doubly important in a conservative society like Rajasthan’s, where girls face overt discrimination. Technically speaking, although the non-girls’ schools are open to girls, they rarely seek admission there, often being discouraged by the staff.
The problem was compounded last year, when the government implemented a school merger policy, leading to the closure of about 17,000 schools. Many girls’ schools got merged into co-educational schools, leading to drop outs. In some cases, girls found their new schools too far away while others were under social pressure not to attend co-educational schools.
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This in a state whose chief minister is a woman.
Education department officials at a “dialogue on education” between civil society organisations, the media, and government in Jaipur last week expressed helplessness about changing decisions already taken. The dialogue was part of “Neev Shiksha ka Sawaal" (the question of foundational education) campaign to find out the condition of Rajasthan's 80,000 public schools. The campaign is being conducted jointly by SR Abhiyan, a coalition of civil society organisations in the state, along with media group Rajasthan Patrika.
“We agree with you on all the issues and we are trying to improve the situation,” Kunji Lal Meena, the Secretary of Elementary Education said at the dialogue yesterday. “We have asked MPs and MLAs to provide funds to schools.”
The scheme, which was announced by Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia in the 2015-'16 budget, envisages that one secondary or higher secondary school in each of the 9,894 gram panchayats will be upgraded to a Model School in three phases by 2017-'18. A government notification says that Adarsh Vidyalayas will have access to basic facilities like classrooms, a library, laboratory, drinking water and toilets in “adequate measure”. Computers and internet connections will also be provided. A budget of Rs 2.38 billion has been earmarked for the scheme.
Female literacy
Female literacy in Rajasthan has lagged considerably. Census data show that female literacy was 52%, far behind male literacy by 27%. Even though the number of girls enrolled in school has increased, the quality of education they receive is a matter of debate. In October 2014, students from Government Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Bhim in Rajsamand district marched en masse to the sub-divisional magistrate’s office to protest the fact that there were only three teachers for 700 girls. Things improved for a while, with four more teachers arriving, but the headmistress was suspended for failing to “control the students”.
Teacher shortages in public schools are a big issue in Rajasthan. While the average student teacher ratio in secondary and senior secondary schools is 1:38, independent estimates suggest that in some girls’ schools it is as high as 1:100. Ironically, the Bharatiya Janta Party raised the issue in 2013 in the Assembly when it was in the opposition.
Students are not taking the problem lying down either. There have been more than 350 “lockout protests” in schools across Rajasthan where girls and boys have shuttered the school gates and held dharnas demanding the appointment of teachers. Chief Minister Raje addressed the issue in her Independence Day speech saying 53,000 teachers had been recruited and another 90,000 appointments would be made soon.
Providing quality education for girls becomes doubly important in a conservative society like Rajasthan’s, where girls face overt discrimination. Technically speaking, although the non-girls’ schools are open to girls, they rarely seek admission there, often being discouraged by the staff.
The problem was compounded last year, when the government implemented a school merger policy, leading to the closure of about 17,000 schools. Many girls’ schools got merged into co-educational schools, leading to drop outs. In some cases, girls found their new schools too far away while others were under social pressure not to attend co-educational schools.