Net attendance ratio (NAR)
It is the number of students attending a particular section, divided by the total number of kids of that age group (expressed as a percentage). For Classes I to V— NAR is the number of children aged 6-10 years currently attending Classes I-V, divided by estimated population in the age group 6-10 years
- 9% of kids of primary school going age of the richest fifth of the population attend school both in the rural and urban areas, while that proportion drops to 79% for kids in the poorest fifth of the population in rural areas and 78% in urban areas
- NAR drops sharply when it comes to secondary school and becomes worse at the higher secondary level
- The difference between the richest fifth and the poorest fifth in enrolment widens sharply from the primary section to the secondary and higher educational levels.
Implies— while basic literacy is increasingly available to all, the gulf between the poor and the rich widens as you go up the educational ladder.
- Only 6% of young people from the bottom fifth of the population attend educational levels above higher secondary in urban India, but that proportion is five times higher, at 31%, for young people from the richest fifth of the population
- NAR for urban kids studying above higher secondary levels for quintile 3, which is the middle fifth of the population, is 15%—half that of the top fifth— the real middle class is also substantially disadvantaged when it comes to higher education
- The well-off kids have much better opportunities for higher education, essential for getting good jobs in the cities and, increasingly, abroad as well
Gender differences in NAR at the secondary levels— NAR at the secondary level in Gujarat is 63% for boys and 43% for girls
Inequalities of access to Education for castes—
- Not much difference in the enrolment at the primary level
- Difference between scheduled castes and tribes and other categories widens at higher levels of education
- Inequality is particularly large for urban girls belonging to scheduled tribes at the secondary and higher secondary levels.
For religious identities—
- Enrolment of Muslims is lower compared to those of other religions at every level, both for males and females.
- In urban India, while enrolment for Muslim boys in primary schools is only marginally lower, the proportion at the higher educational levels is substantially lower.
- For urban Muslim girls, NAR is substantially lower than for those professing other faiths.
Let us talk about the quality of education—
Amounts spent on education
- Assumption: more spending equals better quality
- Average expenditure per student in the primary section in urban India for the top fifth of the population is more than eight times that for the kid from the poorest fifth of the population.
- The average expenditure in the primary section for the top quintile is almost double that of the next quintile (the top 20-40% of the population)
- Will more government spending on education help—According to the World Bank indicators, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gross domestic product was 3.8% for India in 2012
Quality of government schools—
- 9% of urban students and 17.2% of rural students take private tuitions
- Among the richest 20% of the population: 38.1% and 24.7%
- The poor too want to give their children the advantage of a good education but it is difficult owing to the conditions of government schools
- At a time when the country is seeking job creation through entrepreneurship, higher education and R&D are a must for providing quality and excellence.
- The oppressed and dalits should be provided access to higher education which can transform their lives.
- Awareness about various scheme, last mile linking is need of the hour
Connecting the Dots:
- What do you mean by Brain-trap? Discuss the plausible reasons behind the phenomena.