Young Lives - recently released a survey on the education sector.
This is part of the study on childhood poverty that is aligned to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the UN.
What does the survey say?
Data - 91% of 15-year-olds were enrolled in secondary schools in 2016 as against 78% in 2009.
The increase in enrolment was particularly significant for backward class girls - 90% from 74%.
The number of children attending private schools too increased marginally to 37% the 2008 figures.
Private school enrolment remained biased towards - boys, upper castes, the wealthy and urban children.
Other findings - Although more children were found to be in schools, learning outcomes weren’t encouraging.
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan’s work in ensuring better access to schools in rural areas was found to have an immense impact.
A large gap was also noticed in learning outcomes of disadvantaged children & the wealthier - with the later making more progress.
Only the most disadvantaged attended government schools.
The biggest reason for girls opting out of school at the secondary stage was marriage.
Financial cost of education & the earning potential of the student (as labourer) was also another reason.
What is the way ahead?
Better implementation of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act and the Child Labour Prohibition and Regulation Act 2016, is needed to ensure that children stay longer in schools.
Adequate investments had to be made in quality pre-school education and capacity building of teachers.
At the same time, social security networks were needed for the poorest families.
