Reading Materials:

1. Reforming elementary education in India: A menu of options (17 pages)
   This paper reports on findings from a large sample survey in the states of India that account for two thirds of the children out of school. It then examines the feasibility of the central government’s goals to ensure all children complete 5 years of school by 2007, and 8 years by 2010. These goals are unlikely to be achieved without significant reforms by the central and state governments. It examines key reform options: in the public spending pattern; improving teacher accountability and work environment; incentives to improve demand for schooling; and the private sector.
2. Political economy of external aid for education in India (21 pages)
   Following the structural adjustment policies, a social safety net programme was launched in India, primarily aimed at protecting the sectors of primary education and primary health care in the beginning of the 1990s. The paper presents a critical review of the politico-economic dynamics of the business of aid for education in India, and in the process reviews the rationale for aid for education and its impact.

If you cannot access these articles, write to indiareadinggroup[AT]umich[DOT]edu

The papers informing the discussion are listed in the previous post.

We discussed Nehurvian policies and its effect on primary schools, positive discrimination, emphasis on science & mathematics over social studies, the three-language formula and the doctrine of secularism & equality. The 1980′s saw an increase in access and quality of education. From 1987 there was an effort to improve teacher education. The 1990′s saw the introduction of mid-day meals and universal education for all. The future proposals include improvement of non-formal education, reduction of school dropouts, access to elementary education, introduction of bridge programs from non-traditional to traditional education systems. These issues include – addressing the increasing sizes of urban slums, improving voluntary orgnization participation and increase literacy rate.

Challenges of today – improving the quality of education & literacy rate, decreasing drop-out rate while increasing inclusiveness. The UPA government’s efforts in the common minimum program, with a target of making education 6% of the GDP by introducing a 2% education cess on tax. Discussion of the NDA government’s focus on curriculum changes and the UPA government’s efforts to bring back secularism to the curriculum.

Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) :

• Decentralized planning and minimum 8 yrs of school
• Non-standard education targeted at backward states
• NFE : non-formal education
• Estabilish MLL : minimum levels of learning- issue of quality
• Operation Blackboard
• Separate toilets for girls and boys, male-female teachers
• Balwadis -  day care for bridge between kindergarten to primary
• WorldBank, IMF and liberalization tied to economic aid to education

ASER Report :

• Government to private shift
• Extra tuition – higher in urban than in rural areas
• Teacher attendence – too high
• MIT Poverty Action Lab – cameras in classes to
• Water in schools
• Mid-day meals
• Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – supplies funds
• Findings = universal retention rate upto class 5 being achieved

General Discussion :

• Decentralization of education
• Reduce government control – increase panchayat supervision (along the lines of microcredit system)
• Vajifa (?) – scholarship to attend school
• Ronald Fryer (Harvard) – education incentive program for inner-city schools
• Kenneth Arrow – head-start theorem (related link)
• Bribes to get into schools
• National Knowledge Commision
• IITs as a failed model for higher education
• Mani Shankar Iyer on panchayat powers

NOTE : Please feel free to comment or elaborate on any of these points and provide links to related topics.

Manickam, Mekhala, Mouli, Anurag, Raghu, Keshav, Siddharth, Anirudh attended the meeting. The enthusiastic group discussed the concept of IRG and decided upon the meeting format over samosas and tea. The format is quite dynamic and flexible. We will try this out first:

• Everyone reads the assigned articles
• The ‘leader’ will make a presentation or come up with a list of talking points based on the assigned readings to initiate the discussion
• The ‘archivist’ will record the discussion
• The leader and archivist roles will rotate among the members

The next meeting will be on Sunday, October 26th, 2008 from 12 to 1.30 pm. The venue will be announced soon. Mekhala will lead the discussion and Raghu will record the minutes. The reading materials are listed below. Meanwhile, feel free to comment on this blog and initiate discussions.

1. The Challenges for Indian Education System (2005)
2. Indian Strategies to Achieve Universalisation of Elementary Education (K. Gopalan)
3. Annual Status of Education 2007 (Rural) Report, Pratham – The National Picture

India Reading Group _ First Meeting