Elementary Education in India

 Review:

"In this book, Jagannatha Rao, a former Director of Public Instruction in Karnataka, seeks to present the manifold dimensions of elementary education. Packed with data and information, it contains a useful discussion on learning outcome measured, an issue that is poorly addressed in elementary education, with even the Right to Education Act remaining silent on it. The annexures are a mine of information about the mid-day meal scheme, early childhood care and education, and the various studies on learning achievement levels. The chapter on "financing of education", which makes a detailed presentation of the government"s flagship programme, Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA), should help one to grasp the nuances of the shortfall in resources allocation".
—The Hindu 
 

Description:

In India accessibility to schools, quality of educational infrastructure, performance levels of students and various other educational indicators are not uniform across the country. The current levels of completion of schooling fall well below the expected objective and constitutional mandate of providing 8 years of universal education for all children up to the age 14.

Free and compulsory elementary education is now a fundamental right of every child in the age group of 6-14 years. This significant milestone (albeit on paper) was achieved after neatly six decades of the country's independence. Lack of political will and inadequate provision of funds for  • universalizing elementary education •  are cited as some of the reasons for such an inordinate delay in converting the intent into law. It took another six years for the central government to place the  • Right to education Bill •  in Parliament.

India's progress in education since independence has been unprecedented by all standards through increase in the number of educational institutions, teachers, and infrastructure. In spite of this growth, the country faces a number of challenges. Nearly one-third of the population is illiterate. Critical gaps exist in educational attainments across regions as well as among different social groups. In this context, this book tries to analyse the status of elementary education in India. Among the various dimensions of elementary education discussed in this book are:

 •  Current status

 •  Important initiatives taken up by the centre and the states

 •  Various issues

 •  Equity issues

 •  Financing of education

 •  Community participation

 •  Role of private sector in elementary education

 •  Quality concerns

 •  Future challenge in the field

The book tries to provide a comprehensive assessment of all these issues to enable informed debates about the future of elementary education in India.

This book will enable teachers, academicians, education planners and administrators to get a holistic view of the current elementary education scenario in the country.

Target Audience:

Students, researchers in Education, administrators and government education bodies.