Primary Education

India has miles to go in primary education: World Bank

A World Bank report, 'From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes -- an Unfinished Agenda,' notes that although high priority has been accorded to increasing enrolment in primary schools and providing access to school, less attention is being directed to the crucial issue of learning outcomes.

Although developing countries, including India, have scored well on the fronts of increasing enrolment in primary schools and providing access to schools, they have not achieved much in ensuring basic literacy and numeracy among children, says a World Bank report, 'From Schooling Access to Learning Outcomes -- an Unfinished Agenda,' which was released on July 13, 2006.

"Basic knowledge and skills -- not educational attainment -- are key to reducing poverty," the report says. It notes that although high priority has been accorded to increasing enrolment in primary schools and providing access to school, less attention is being directed to the crucial issue of learning outcomes. Vinod Thomas, director general of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) says: "There must be continued efforts to provide more children with access to school, and at the same time to ensure that the necessary learning takes place in school." The report maintains that unless this is done, the world's increasing investments in primary education will not necessarily lead to poverty reduction and national development. "Good learning outcomes along the way also influence staying in school," it says.

The report is the outcome of an evaluation of World Bank support to primary education in developing countries, for over a decade and-a-half. The objective was to assess whether support for the provision of primary education in developing countries has resulted in improvements in the basic knowledge and skills of students.

The IEG reviewed over 700 primary education projects in developing countries where the World Bank has nearly tripled its lending and grants and provided around US$ 12.5 billion in support to primary education since 1990. The methodology for the evaluations included seven project performance assessment reports (PPARs), one impact evaluation, and four country case studies. In India, completed primary education projects from 42 districts were assessed, using data from between 1991 and 2001.

Based on its assessment of projects in India, the report says: "The country has shown convincingly how Bank-supported projects have influenced enrolment gains, reduction of gaps between the more and less advantaged, positive learning outcomes for the disadvantaged, and improved access."

"In India, national commitment to learning outcomes and their measurement is high," the report observes. This is reflected in increased government spending on primary education. "The share was increased by 15-35% between 1995 and 2003 and India has increased its spending per elementary student from $ 25 to $ 44, from 1993 to 2002 (at 2002 prices)."

The report notes that efforts at decentralisation, such as empowering communities to manage educational funds for primary education, have also yielded good results in India. "This has facilitated parental involvement in schools and brought about improvements in facilities and staffing," it says.

However, while appreciating the fact that a "culture of research" was taking root in India, the report criticises the fact that "blossoming research productivity has often been irrelevant to policy and system improvements".

According to the report, there have been positive moves in India towards improving primary education among girls, low caste children and tribal populations. "Enrolment gaps for girls and scheduled castes were largely closed," observes the report. It adds that gender disparities in achievement have been reduced to below the targeted 5%, but expresses concern about the country's inability to close the gap for scheduled tribes (indigenous people).

Analysing some of the reasons for enrolment expansion and improvements in the enrolment figures for disadvantaged sections of the population, the report says: "The positive change was the result of supply-side interventions such as new schools and classrooms within easy walking distance from children's homes, the hiring of more teachers, and activating the community." "Government support for eliminating school fees and providing girl's scholarships and explicit political commitment to improved learning outcomes have also contributed to this." "Some of the country's positive test results in terms of enrolment and better learning are also attributable to better buildings and widespread distribution of much-improved textbooks," it says.

In spite of the achievements on many fronts, when it comes to adequacy of learning in India, "the absolute levels of student achievement are still low," the report concludes. It claims that in 16 of 42 districts in India, grade three and four students were not performing at the minimum level (40% correct) in language, and half of 7-10-year-olds were unable to read a short paragraph of grade 1 fluently. Further, "In India, enrolment growth has outpaced the expansion of supervision systems, which have fallen into relative neglect in some locations," says the report.