Issues of fail and pass

THE simultaneous declaration of the Class 10 results by the state boards of Punjab and Haryana offers interesting insights into comparative education. Punjab’s pass percentage at 57.50 per cent is better than Haryana’s 50.49 per cent. Compare this with the CBSE’s 96 per cent last year. The situation is worse if the results of government schools alone are taken into account. While CBSE-affiliated schools cater largely to children from urban, elitist backgrounds, government schools have students from families with modest means which cannot afford private, English-medium education for their wards. Glaring gaps at the school level lead to similar divergence in career, income and lifestyle. Those who need the maximum attention get the minimum.

The decline in the quality of education in government schools has coincided with the rise of private schools. Not long ago the focus used to be on education and health. Now priorities have changed. Fund flows to government institutions have got squeezed, shrinking in the process growth opportunities for children from poorer and lower middle class families. Lower spending has led to deterioration in infrastructure, lack of toilets for girls, cap on hiring of teachers and principals, absenteeism and poor oversight. More than Punjab, Haryana has the additional problem of harassment and molestation of schoolgirls. Rewari girls had to resort to hunger strike for school upgrade, sparking similar demands from girls in other districts. It took quite some time for the Khattar government to respond, and it responded inadequately. Girls’ safety and education within reach are the key issues which cannot be met unless the education budget is substantially hiked along with effective ground-level monitoring. 

Punjab and Haryana are among the states with lowest spending on education. Schools and colleges are run by low-paid, ad-hoc teachers. Buildings cry for repairs. While the effect of resource crunch got highlighted at Panjab University, other institutions fare no better. Increased fees lead to the denial of education to deserving underprivileged students. Political parties promise freebies ranging from atta-dal, water to power but not affordable education. This is because decision-makers, education administrators and even teachers do not send their children to government schools.