National University of Educational Planning & Administration (NUEPA)

1. National University of Educational Planning & Administration (NUEPA) Education, Equality and Social Justice: An Indian Scenario Prof. Ved Prakash Vice-Chancellor April 24, 2008 at Brazil pved@nuepa.org

2. India: Unity in Diversity • India – largest democracy – multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-religious • Accommodates 16.7% of the world population in 2.4% of the world surface area • Second most populous with 1.28 billion people • 200 spoken languages – 22 scheduled languages • Stratified society with social inequalities • SCs, STs and Minorities constitute 37% population

3. Constitutional Provisions • Social justice and Equality– cardinal principles of the Indian democratic system • Constitution upholds the principle of equality before law and also provides for affirmative discriminatory action in favor of disadvantaged • Compensatory discrimination-an Indian version of affirmative action • Special provisions for the advancement of SCs and STs and OBCs under Articles 15, 16, etc.

4. Contd… • The 86th Amendment to the Constitution inserting Article 21-A Making elementary education a fundamental right will have positive impact on education of SCs, STs, OBCs and Women • NPE, 1968 aimed at correcting regional imbalances and inter-group disparities in education • NPE, 1986/1992 emphasises the removal of disparities and equalization of educational opportunities • Both the Policies suggest interventions to meet the educational needs of SCs, STs, minorities and women

5. Protective Measures for Inclusivity • Kelkar and Mandal Commission suggested for providing special benefits to OBCs • Ministry of Minority Affairs – Created in 2004 • National Commission for Minority Education in 2004 • National Monitoring Committee for Minorities Education (NMCME) in 2004 • Standing Committee of NMCME in 2004 • Rajindar Sachar Committee, 2005

6. Population of India in 2001 and Literacy (1961-2001)

7. Growth of Educational Institutions

8. Growth of Educational Institutions at Higher Level

9. Gross Enrolment Ratio at School Education by Gender and Social Group

10. Measure of Social Parity, 2006

11. GER in Higher Education

12. Policy Interventions at Elementary Level • Special interventions for SCs & STs under SSA: • supply of free text books and uniforms • remedial classes for improving the learning competency • development of instructional material in local dialect for STs • training of teachers at BRCs and CRCs on tribal pedagogy • child tracking

13. Contd… • Interventions for Girls: • Free text books to all girls up to class VIII • Separate toilet for girls • Back to school camps for out-of-school girls • Bridge courses for older girls • Recruitment of 50% women teachers • ECCE centers in schools/convergences with ICDS programme • Gender-sensitive teaching-learning materials including textbooks • Intensive community mobilization efforts

14. Contd… • Innovation fund per district for need based interventions for ensuring girls’ attendance and retention • National Programmes for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) • Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV)

15. Policy Interventions at Secondary Level • Remedial and special coaching for SCs and STs in classes IX-XII • 15% seats are reserved for SCs and 7.5% for STs in KVS, and no tuition fee • Many states provide free uniforms, textbooks and bicycles to all SC and ST girl students • In residential schools like Ashram schools & Jawahar Navodya Vidyalayas seats are reserved for SCs and STs in proportion to their population in the district • Provision for 6000 high quality model schools at block level • Up-gradation of 15000 existing primary schools to secondary schools

16. Contd… • Expansion of KVS and JNVs • More hostels for girls, SCs and STs and OBCs • Establishment of girls secondary schools at block headquarters and in towns with more than 10,000 population • Intensive use of ICT, etc.

17. Policy Interventions at Higher Education Level • 15% reservation for SCs and 7.5% for STs is mandatory in all public funded institutions • 27% reservation to OBCs in all centrally funded institutions of higher learning • Relaxation in the minimum qualifying marks • Free coaching for SCs & STs for entry into services and other competitive exams • Free remedial coaching for SCs & STs to enable them to upgrade their merit • Seats are reserved in hostels for disadvantaged

18. Contd… • Scholarship for SCs & STs who get into notified institutions to meet the requirements for full tuition fees, living expenses, books and stationery • ‘Book Bank Scheme’ for SCs & STs pursuing professional courses • Students with disabilities amongst SCs and STs are also provided specified special allowances like readers allowance, transport allowance, escort allowance etc. • 17 overseas scholarships – each year to the meritorious SC and ST students for pursuing higher studies abroad

19. Contd… • Government proposes to establish 370 new colleges in districts with GER less than national average • 14 world class universities and 16 Central Universities in hitherto uncovered states • Increased support to institutions with large percentage of SC, ST, OBC, girls and minority population • To build more hostels for the students belonging to underprivileged sections of the society

20. Major Challenges at Elementary Level • Wide gap between supply and demand because of large number of students and vastness of the country • Bringing all children into the fold of elementary schooling • Increasing the internal efficiency of schools • Increasing the intake capacity of existing institutions • Setting up of new institutions • Ensuring competent and qualified teacher in each classroom • Reinventing curriculum • Introduction of appropriate pedagogy • Implementation of continuous and comprehensive evaluation

21. Contd… • Increasing the number of learners with increased learning • Improving the transition rate from lower primary to upper primary • Creating equal opportunities for accessing elementary schooling • Bridging gender and social gaps • Reducing dropout rates • Providing research based interventions in backward areas • Mobilization of public resources, etc.

22. Major Challenges at Secondary Level • Increasing access besides creating equal opportunities in backward areas • Up-gradation and rationalization of infrastructure and teaching learning facilities in existing institutions • School mapping to ensure requirements of existing schools and opening of new institutions • Teacher preparation • Meeting additional teacher requirements • Professional development of teachers • Equity concerns with regard to gender, social groups and minority communities

23. Contd… • Special interventions in terms of differential treatment to ensure both participation and success of one and all • Up-gradation and diversification of curriculum to make it more relevant in today’s context • Integration of ICT in all public institutions • Expansion of open and distance learning facilities • Building district and sub-district data base

24. Major Challenges at Higher Education Level • Increasing access ratio to a minimum threshold of 20% • Optimizing the existing institutions • Creating new facilities in backward areas to make higher education more inclusive • Ensure larger participation of SC, ST, Women and minority students in progressive disciplines • Capping the tuition fees to protect the interest of underprivileged class • Increase in public funding • Appropriate regulations to contain the menace of commercialization

25. Contd… • Ensuring co-existence of both public and private systems • Regulation of Distance Education in terms of its quality and cost • Promotion of research and its integration with teaching • Industry-academia collaboration • Successful implementation of affirmative actions for the promotion of deprived sections • Autonomy and Accountability • Periodic assessment and accreditation of institutions • Development of Educational Management Information System

26. ICT Development in Education in India • ICT-Key leveraging factor in national development • Manifold increase in the number of institutions providing IT education • IT enabled services made significant impact on Indian economy • IT sector accounts for 4.1% of the national GDP • National e-governance plan, SWAN & CSCs • CICs to address the needs of disadvantaged groups • Multilingual ICT infrastructure • 44 Software Technology parks • Current base of internet subscribers iss 4.2 million

27. ICT contd.. • Use of IT for exam results, election results, land records, registration, etc • 23 million subscribers for mobile handset • Vision 2010 with zero duty regime • Vidya Vahini and Gyan Vahini for education & training • Multimedia distance education • Free software for government schools • INSAT- used for Education Television Services (ETS) • EMIS of 1.2 million elementary schools by NUEPA

28. Summing Up • Civil societies are obliged to support all humans for fullest development • Wise affirmative action policy on the grounds of social justice • Excellence is the outcome of diversity • Quality without social justice is meaningless • Improving access and success be complemented with systemic responses to improve the quality of output indicators

29. Contd… • Possible interventions for developing the concept of knowledge to include new areas of knowledge and experience • Social context must be addressed both in its design and implementation • Cardinal principle of promoting equality is not to provide for equal opportunity to all in terms of access but also in the condition for success