Why HP’s govt schools need a fix

Bhanu P Lohumi

Clear air and mist are refreshing morning treats in the hill state, but an equally delightful sight is boys and girls of all age groups, in uniforms with bags strapped, walking in groups to schools. With a literacy rate of 82.8 per cent (as per the 2011 Census), Himachal Pradesh has been a trendsetter in its commitment to education. Where the cracks could be showing is the functioning and organisation of the government school system.

As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seeks to make it an election issue and the BJP government hits out at the irrationality of making comparisons with Delhi, the focus is back on the education sector.

The day Himachal attained statehood on January 25, 1971, it had nearly 5,000 government schools. Five decades later, the number stands at 15,323 — 10,574 primary, 1,948 middle, 933 high schools and 1,868 senior secondary, according to the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE), with 100 per cent enrolment in primary and secondary schools. The education sector got a substantive push in the mid-1980s when then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, despite administrative hurdles and financial constraints, advocated the opening of schools in far-flung tribal and remote areas, especially for the girl child.

Number of Govt schools

(Source: UDISE report 2020-21)

10,574: Primary (up to Class V)

1,948: Middle (up to Class VIII)

933:  High (up to Class X)

1,868:  Sr Sec (up to Class XII)

15,323: Total schools

Education budget

2018-19 Rs 7,044 crore

2019-20 Rs 8,106 crore

2020-21 Rs 8,024 crore

2021-22 Rs 8,412 crore

“In 1976-77, more than 1,300 students were enrolled in our school, which catered to the entire population in an area of 15-20 km. The fee for Class VI was 6 paisa. We used to sit on mats while senior students had the privilege of sitting on benches or stools,” recalls Sartaj Singh Rathore, now principal of his alma mater, Government Model Senior Secondary School, Dhundhan in Solan district.

The student strength at the school has come down to 522, and the main reason, he says, is the presence of a network of government and private schools all around. Students now have access to free education in government schools within a distance of 1-2 km from home. Several schemes like free uniforms, bags, textbooks, scholarships and incentives like Rs 1 lakh for preparing for competitive examinations and laptops for meritorious students have led to cent per cent enrolment in primary and middle schools in this area, he adds.

The state government made primary education compulsory by promulgating the Compulsory Primary Education Act in 1997-98 for students in the age group of six to 14 years (now Right to Education) and started various scholarships and incentives such as Poverty Stipend Scholarship, Girls Attendance Scholarship, Scholarship for Children of Army Personnel, Scholarship for the Students belonging to IRDP families, Pre-Matric Scholarship for Scheduled Caste students and Lahaul-Spiti Pattern Scholarship for students of primary classes to encourage enrolment and reduce the dropout rate.

Some powers like inspection, repair and maintenance of primary school buildings and monitoring of incentive schemes were given to the Panchayati Raj Institutions in 1996. By 2010-11, schools management committees (SMCs) were constituted in more than 92 per cent of schools and cover almost all schools now.

The quality of education, however, started deteriorating with dilution in the recruitment process of teachers, which was being done on the recommendation of parent teacher associations (PTA) and SMCs. Complaints surfaced that merit was often overlooked and the additional burden of non-academic activities on teachers also shifted the focus from the core job.

Unhappy with the present system, Shyam Saran Negi, the first voter of Independent India who retired as a schoolteacher, says the quality of education has deteriorated and lack of job-oriented education is churning out unemployed youth.

While tough topography and vagaries of weather continue to hinder the technological advancement, the irrational deployment of teachers has been leading to staff shortage in remote and tribal areas. Kith and kin of influential persons are often shuffled between convenient locations and never sent to tough areas, which creates disparity, laments Virender Chauhan, president of the Himachal Government Teachers Union.

Moreover, transfers are done without checking the ground reality. For example, an economics teacher is shifted to a school where students have opted for arts (history), he adds.

Infrastructure and teaching staff

The total sanctioned strength of teachers in government schools is around 68,300, of which 20 per cent posts are vacant. As many as 2,057 primary and middle schools are being run by a single teacher, while 6,479 primary and 378 middle schools have only two teachers; 1,573 primary and 746 middle schools are being managed by three teachers. The average teacher-pupil ratio is 12.83 at the primary school level, 11.32 at middle, 11.6 at senior secondary and 10.96 at the high school level. This may be far above the national average, but the irrational deployment of teachers and indiscriminate opening of schools has created an anomalous situation.

As many as 410 primary and 251 middle schools have only one classroom while 2,867 primary and 249 middle schools are running in two rooms. There are 5,431 primary and 1,018 middle schools with less than 20 students, while 153 primary schools have zero enrolment. It is now time, say longtime observers, for consolidation. The total number of classrooms in all schools is 61,548. Of these, 6,497 require major repairs. Almost all schools have drinking water and toilet facilities. While 89 per cent have libraries, 31.71 per cent are without boundary walls and 23.57 per cent do not have playgrounds. Though the thrust is on online and technology-driven education, 79.3 per cent of schools are without computers while 86.09 per cent do not have Internet facility.

“Delhi cannot be compared with Himachal, which has different geographical conditions — tough topography and harsh weather in districts like Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti, Chamba and Sirmaur,” says Amarjeet Sharma, Director, Higher Education, adding that the comparison should ideally be between Delhi and Shimla.

The allocation to the education sector of Rs 8,412 crore for 2021-22 is 16 per cent of the annual budget. Himachal is almost at par with Kerala on the education front, he says, with enrolment of 100 per cent in primary and secondary schools and about cent per cent awareness index. Last year, 30,000 students shifted from private to government schools. “Pre-primary classes have started in 5,500 primary schools with enrolment of 51,000 students, which has led to a flight of students from private to government schools,” says Pankaj Lalit, Director, Elementary Education. As many as 9,105 teachers have been recruited at the primary and middle level in the past four years and the process of recruitment of 5,428 teachers is still on, he adds.

There has been a dip in the nationwide performance due to Covid-19 and the learning curve is going down as students were not serious and examinations were not conducted, says Virender Sharma, State Project Director of Samagra Shiksha. However, in learning standards, he adds, Himachal is at par with Delhi, even though the National Capital enjoys several advantages.

According to the Annual Status of Education Report, 2021, 87.8 per cent children in the hill state used textbooks/worksheets as compared to 64.7 per cent nationwide and 97.3 per cent had textbooks for their current grade in 2021. Despite the technological impediments, 79.6 per cent of students indulged in learning activities through online mode in the state against the national average of 24.2 per cent, he adds.

A lot may not be wrong, but a lot is not right too.