GVI INDIA: Achievement Report-January 2015

For many years the main problems facing

Indian schools were enrolment levels and
attendance, however through a
combination of the institution of Right of
Children to Free and Compulsory
Education Act (2010), improved access, the
banning of child labour and a growing
middle class the past six years have seen a
consistent enrolment level of 96%+
ASER 2014

The Right of

Children to
Free and Compulsory
Education Act or Right to
Education Act (RTE),
describes and classifies
the importance of free
and compulsory
education for children
between 6 and 14 in
India.

School enrolment, primary (% net)

So if the issues of enrolment and attendance are dwindling problems, what issues face
Government Schools in India in 2015? And what can GVI do to alleviate these issues and improve
attainment levels?

If school enrolment levels are so high, where are all the children?
The single biggest issue confronted by Thamaraparambu school is the
number of pupils currently enrolled, twenty students spread across seven
standards. The school offers fairly unique perks; free auto-rickshaw pick
up from two separate slum settlements (funded by school staff), free
breakfast every day (funded by GVI), Native English speakers delivering
English lessons, a beautiful school environment (see below), and a central
location attached to the District Educational Authoritys headquarters
meaning school staff dont miss lessons when training or resource
distribution occur. These excellent features combined with low
enrolment encouraged further research into the situation.
Study of the schools previous twenty years worth of registers led to an
interesting discovery; up to the year 1997 (thirteen years before the
institution of RTE) new enrolments within the school averaged 15 new
enrolments every year a figure which in the intervening years has fallen
to an average of 3. So where are all the children?

Indexmundi.com

GVI INDIA: Achievement Report-January 2015

All research quickly

seemed to identify the
rising proliferation of
private, fee paying schools
across India, particularly
here in Kerala.

So we have clearly seen that

enrolment levels in private
schools have severely
impacted enrolment rates in
government schools, but is
the general perception of
you get what you pay for
the truth or a fallacy?

School enrolment-Urban India

Government
Institution51
%

Private

Private49%

Government Institution
All stats Pratham

School Enrolment-Kerala
Government
Institution31
%
Private69%

Private

Government Institution

Categorically yes. Across the board on all measured indicators children in government schools perform
worse than their direct counterparts in private schools, this despite the fact that in government schools
85.9% of teachers have received formal training as opposed to only 43.8% of teachers in private schools
and consistently earn more. So while private schools outperform government schools the need remains
for a raising of standards in free schools. A central totem of the RTE is that all private schools maintain
25% of their total admission for pupils who cannot afford to pay the fees, a positive inclusive measure of
which the downside is the children who cannot afford admission, and fail to win the lottery of a
placement.

So what are GVI doing to address this gap?

In collaboration with the teachers GVI have instituted a clear and thorough English curriculum, enabling volunteers to
come in and pick up directly where previous volunteers finished, preventing repetition and enabling better opportunities
for monitoring and evaluation of students progress and continued to modernise and beautify the school environment,
with development of a large scale educational game and construction of library carts. Other commonly held causes for
the flight of the middle classes from government institutions are teacher absenteeism, indifference and/or use of
corporeal punishment. Collectively with the school GVI have overseen the abolition of corporeal punishment within
Thamaraparambu, and through demonstration of effective teaching methodologies and good practise have begun to
provoke interest and desire to develop and deliver lessons which are stimulating for both the teacher and the student,
encouraging teachers to come back each day and exploit their potential.

All statistics and assertions courtesy of Challenges for a society in transition Desai, Dubey, Joshi, Sen, Shariff, Vanneman.