LECTURE-1 Governance/Public Administration by Mr. Atish Mathur (2017-18) LEARNING OUTCOMES 1. Understanding Indian Welfare Timelines and Strategic Strategic Decisions Decisions 2. Deriving Education Education and Health Health as the keys keys to Social Sector Sector Transformation Transformation 3. Education as a Tool for Nation Nation Building and Integration Integration 4. Review of Primary, Secondary, Secondary, and Senior Secondary Secondary Education Education in India Introduction: Post independence, India embarked upon an extensive welfare agenda. The Planning Commission was set up as the first step to achieve massive socio-economic upgradations in Indian society. As the apex planning institution, the Commission took into consideration planning outcomes from various district and state agencies and formulated Five Year Plans. This was closely inspired from the Russian models of policy implementation. However, the Planning Commission wasn't entirely successful in achieving socio-economic equality and welfare. Furthermore, aims of growth with justice weren't realized. More specifically, the shortcomings of the Commission are listed below: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Failure to remove Poverty Incapacity to provide employment employment to able bodied persons Partial implementation implementation of of Land Reform Measures Existence of inter inter regional disparity Omission to prioritize prioritize Health and Education
The Indian Welfare Timeline: The Indian government began with setting up enormous infrastructure projects relating to Basic Industries, Mining, Processing et all. Additionally, private ownership was restricted due to India being a closed economy accompanied with trade barriers. Also, the skills of the people weren't advanced to make them equipped to be fruitfully employable employable at existing institutions. Consequently, it was realized that development and welfare must be more focused on enhancing people skills as opposed to simply creating new infrastructure. Opinions and ideologies of eminent development economics such as Dr. Amartya Sen and Dr. Mahbub-ul-Haq Mahbub-ul-Haq were considered and the following principles were devised: 1. India would refrain from from establishing new infrastructure unless necessary. necessary. On the contrary, India would invest in upgrading the quality of existing infrastructure. As we have learnt from the failures of our planning processes, this seems as the most viable alternative. For instance, instead of constructing new health care centers, India would ensure adequate availability of doctors and medicines at the existing primary health care units. 2. People would be the ultimate target audience audienc e for any welfare mechanism. It would the government’s government’s objective to strengthen the capacities of the Indian population by making them physically and mentally able to prosper individually. The role of the state should eventually become that of a mere regulator and facilitator.
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Empowering people through effective education and prompt health services would make them capable enough to transform lives through their own efforts. Globally speaking, investing in enhancing Human Resources is considered an apt method of governmental intervention. This also leads to lesser financial costs with more permanent returns for the governments. Therefore, Education and Health are now prioritized as arenas of SOCIAL SECTOR TRANSFORMATION.
EDUCATION: INTERLINKAGES & IMPORTANCE 1. Demographics - Approximately 60% of our population is below 30 years of age thereby making India one of the youngest nations in the world. With one of highest number of people in the working age group bracket (15-60 years), India has the potential to becoming the skilled labour capital of the world. Also, it is estimated at the Indian average age would be 29 in the year 2020 which would be one of the least when compared to the global average of 39. Education and skill development are only tools that can assist India in ensuring its Human Resource becomes as asset not a liability. 2. National Security - India is currently grappling with multiple law and order challenges in 125 out of its 625 districts. Problems pertaining to Naxalism, Home-grown terror outfits, Separatism, Communal clashes, and regionalism plague Indian society. As a result, a spill over effect is witnessed in the economic development of the country. Educating young minds and other alike with the right value system and equipping them to productive contributions to society is the only long term solution to ensure National Security. 3. Mentality Change - Despite advancements in livelihood, exposure, and technology, Indian society still suffers from social ailments. Vulnerable groups including Women, Children, Elderly Residents, and Disabled people. Instances of gender violence, child trafficking and abuse, and discrimination towards the disabled inhibit us from becoming a progressive society. In addition of laws enabling the same, valuable education can sustain a mentality change ensuring greater acceptance. 4. Education - Employment Correlation - People across different income groups whether low or high, aspire for good education for better employment opportunities. With greater emphasis on low income households, if prospective education isn't providing better and more certain livelihood, then children wont attend educational institutions. This is called the opportunity cost of education. As a result, qualitative education can be immensely helpful in formal employment enrolment and poverty ratios. INDIAN EDUCATION SECTOR: SUMMARY & REVIEW
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Criterion
Primary
Middle, Secondary, and Higher Secondary
Equity
1. Gender Equality – Sakshar Bharat, Beti Padhao Beti Bachao
Opportunity Cost of Education. (School education isn't employable enough)
2. Enrolment and Retention – Right To Education Mid May Meal Scheme merged with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan
Access
1. Caste - Pilot Projects of Case based schools in M.P. districts 2. Religion – T.M.A. Pai Foundation v. Union of India 3. Region - NIOS, EDUSAT
Rural Areas Need more full length schools
Excellence
1. Teachers – Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Teachers Training Programme 2. Students – CBSE introduces Continuous Comprehensive Evaluations 3. Schools – Toilets for women in rural area schools
Vocational Training to combat opportunity cost of Education. Would help in upgrading people from unorganised to organised employment.
Initiatives
Teach for India - Teacher Training, National Scholarships for SC/ST students
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Yojana
Pre Determined Conclusions: 1. Private Institutions increase from approximately 25% till about 65% with an increase in the level of education. 2. Student Enrolment decreases from 98% till 28% with an increase in the level of education.
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Education Welfare Initiatives1 : SAKSHAR BHARAT This programme was formulated in 2009 with the objective of achieving 80% literacy level at national level, by focusing on adult women literacy seeking – to reduce the gap between male and female literacy to not more than 10 percentage points .it has four broader objectives, namely imparting functional literacy and numeracy to non-literates; acquiring equivalency to formal educational system; imparting relevant skill development programme; and promote a leaning society by providing opportunities for continuing education. The principal target of the programme is to impart functional literacy to 70 million non-literate adults in the age group of 15 years and beyond. This Includes coverage of 14 million Scheduled Castes(SCs), 8 million Scheduled Tribes(STs), 12 million minorities & 36 million others. The overall coverage of women is aimed at 60 million. 410 districts belonging to 27 States/UTs of the country were identified to be covered under Saakshar Bharat. Beti Padhao Beti Bachao It is being implemented through a national campaign and focussed multi sectoral action in 100 selected districts low in CSR, covering all States and UTs. This is a joint initiative of Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Human Resource Development. The objectives of this initiative are:
Prevention of gender biased sex selective elimination Ensuring survival & protection of the girl child Ensuring education and participation of the girl child
Right to Education The Constitution (Eighty-Sixth Amendment) Act, 2002 inserted Article 21-A in the Constitution of India to provide free and compulsory education of all children in the age group of six to fourteen years as a Fundamental Right in such a manner as the State may, by law, determine. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which represents the consequential legislation envisaged under Article 21-A, means that every child has a right to full time elementary education of satisfactory and equitable quality in a f ormal school which satisfies certain essential norms and standards. Article 21-A and the RTE Act came into effect on 1 April 2010. The title of the RTE Act incorporates the words ‘free and compulsory’. ‘Free education’ means that no child, other than a child who has been admitted by his or her parents to a school which is not supported by the appropriate Government, shall be liable to pay any kind of fee or charges or expenses which may prevent him or her from pursuing and completing elementary education. ‘Compulsory education’ casts an obligation on the appropriate Government and local authorities to provide and ensure admission, attendance and completion of elementary education by all children in the 6-14 age group. With this, 1
Sourced from Ministerial Websites
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India has moved forward to rights based framework that casts a legal obligation on the Central and State Governments to implement this fundamental child right as enshrined in the Article 21A of the Constitution, in accordance with the provisions of the RTE Act. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan SSA has been operational since 2000-2001 to provide for a variety of interventions for universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in elementary education and improving the quality of learning. SSA interventions include inter alia, opening of new schools and alternate schooling facilities, construction of schools and additional classrooms, toilets and drinking water, provisioning for teachers, regular teacher in service training and academic resource support, free textbooks& uniforms and support for improving learning achievement levels / outcome. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan aims to achieve universal enrolment of all children in the age group 6-14 years in elementary education, ensuring all children to learn at grade appropriate level. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented by Government of India in partnership with State Governments, is India’s main programme for universalising elementary education. Its overall goals include universal access and retention, bridging of gender and social category gaps in education and enhancement of learning levels of children. SSA has achieved considerable success in universalizing elementary education. Today, there are 19.67 crore children enrolled in 14.5 lakh elementary schools in the country with 66.27 lakh teachers at elementary level. Mid-Day Meal Scheme With a view to enhancing enrolment, retention and attendance and simultaneously improving nutritional levels among children, the National Programme of Nutritional Support to Primary Education (NP-NSPE) was launched as a Centrally Sponsored Scheme on 15th August 1995. In 2001 MDMS became a cooked Mid-Day Meal Scheme under which every child in every Government and Government aided primary school was to be served a prepared Mid-Day Meal with a minimum content of 300 calories of energy and 8-12 gram protein per day for a minimum of 200 days. The Scheme was further extended in 2002 to cover not only children studying in Government, Government aided and local body schools, but also children studying in Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) and Alternative & Innovative Education (AIE) centers. Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya Teachers Training Programme The proposed Mission is envisaged to address comprehensively all issues related to teachers, teaching, teacher preparation and professional development. The Mission would address, on the one hand, current and urgent issues such as supply of qualified teachers, attracting talent into teaching profession and raising the quality of teaching in schools and colleges. On the other, it is also envisaged that the Teacher Mission would pursue long term goal of building a strong professional cadre of teachers by setting performance standards and creating top class institutional facilities for innovative teaching and professional development of teachers.
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The Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching (PMMMNMTT) is a Central Sector Scheme with All- India coverage. This scheme will commence in 2014-15 for a period of three years i.e. from 2014-15 to 2016-17 during XII Plan. The Government of India is mandated to launch a Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on Teachers and Teaching with the following goals:
To ensure a coordinated approach so as to holistically address the various shortcomings relating to teachers and teaching across the educational spectrum ranging from school education to higher education including technical education; using the best international practices for excellence. To create and strengthen the institutional mechanisms (Schools of Education, Institutes of Academic leadership and Education Management, Subject based networks, Teaching – learning Centres etc.) at the Centre & in the States, for augmenting training and discipline – wise capacity building of faculty and their periodic assessment for excellence. To empower teachers and faculty during through training, re-training, refresher and orientation programmes in generic skills, pedagogic skills, discipline 7 specific content upgradation, ICT and technology enabled training and other appropriate interventions.
Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Yojana This scheme was launched in March 2009 with the objective to enhance access to secondary education and to improve its quality. The implementation of the scheme started from 2009-10. It is envisaged to achieve an enrolment rate of 75% from 52.26% in 2005-06 at secondary stage of implementation of the scheme by providing a secondary school within a reasonable distance of any habitation. The other objectives include improving quality of education imparted at secondary level through making all secondary schools conform to prescribed norms, removing gender, socioeconomic and disability barriers, providing universal access to secondary level education by 2017, i.e., by the end of 12th Five Year Plan and achieving universal retention by 2020. The scheme is being implemented by the State government societies established for implementation of the scheme. The central share is released to the implementing agency directly. The applicable State share is also released to the implementing agency by the respective State Governments.
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