Sumita Kale: Of primary importance

Getting children to enroll into school is one thing, ensuring that they stay there is another matter. High drop-out and low attendance rates are all complex problems connected to deeper concerns of gender, class, caste structure and poverty. While inappropriate course content and poor school infrastructure contribute to these problems, another critical issue is the low standard of teaching, which the majority are subjected to.

The pupil-teacher ratio can throw some light on the amount of personalised attention a teacher can devote to the students and government statistics show this ratio varying from 19 in Sikkim and Lakshadweep to 50 in large states of Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. But averages mask reality in many schools and Pratham's Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) helps penetrate the reality.

The majority of schools, especially in the rural areas, are manned by two teachers or less. ASER shows that many states such as Bihar, UP, Orissa, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh have median attendance of only three teachers or less, where children's enrollment is between 150 and 225.

To make matters worse, in rural schools with high drop-out rates, the student-teacher ratios are highest in the first few grades and often the least experienced teachers are assigned to those grades.

With such low numbers then, teacher absenteeism, which ASER places at around 25-30 per cent is another snag in providing quality teaching. A Harvard University study in eight countries shows that 25 per cent school teachers were absent and only about half were teaching when the survey took place unannounced in government primary schools across India. The absence rates again varied from 15 per cent in Maharashtra, to 42 per cent in Jharkhand; schools with better infrastructure and those that had been inspected recently had a better record. Only 8-10 percentage points of the absenteeism could be attributed to sanctioned leave "" the residual remained unaccounted for.

The survey finds that a higher pay does not translate into better attendance; rather the key lies in accountability. Private school teachers, with lower pay and more accountability, had better attendance. The government, which is contemplating raising salaries, should take cognisance of this point. Undoubtedly the low salaries should be increased to compensate teachers adequately. However, the problem of shortage of teachers and absenteeism should be tackled simultaneously.

Parents are more likely to send their daughters to schools with female teachers. But the lack of infrastructure such as toilets and proper transport deters women and girls from joining schools. Here, again the urban-rural divide shows up "" around 85 per cent of urban schools have female teachers, while the corresponding percentage is only 45 per cent for rural schools, where gender issues are stronger.

Teachers can make or break a student's desire to learn and generations of children have already lost out on the joy of having a good teacher to take them through the rigours of school. The government should set up another Oversight Committee, this time in primary schooling, to address these oversights long over-due for correction.

The writer is Chief Economist, Indicus Analytics