27% children out of school

New Delhi: India, Nigeria and Pakistan account for 27% of the world’s out-of-school children. As for adult literacy, less than 60% of the total adult population in South and West Asia — India, Bangladesh and Pakistan — can read and write with understanding. This was revealed in UNESCO’s Education for All Global Monitoring Report-2007 released on Thursday. The report paints a poor picture of the manner in which the goal of total literacy is being taken up by various countries including India.

—(Times of India, Nov.30, 2007)

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India at the bottom

New Delhi: There’s grim news for Indian children in UNESCO’s just released Global Monitoring Report. Evaluating 127 countries in all, the report places India in the bottom rung of 15 countries with a low “Education for All” development index. Moreover, India’s ranking in the fight against illiteracy has slipped from 100 last year to 105 now. A standard response to this crisis is to call for increasing public expenditures on education. That may be fine, but it’s no longer enough. Initiatives like the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan have, of late, pumped more funds into education, without corresponding outcomes. Surveys show that teacher absenteeism in govt. schools ranges from 20 to 57% in different states even when they earn thrice or more than private sector teachers.

—(Times of India, Nov.30, 2007)

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Govt. fail in human needs

New Delhi: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has done some introspection and plain-speaking at the India Economic Summit 2007. He expressed his concern that the govt. failed to deliver on vital human needs like education, health and irrigation. Of course, the list is endless and can include housing, nutrition, medicine, food and fuel. It is high time that the government went into a retreat and figured out why a one trillion dollar economy cannot give more than 50 crores of its citizens the very basic needs. He quoted World Bank statistics that over half of India’s 1.1 billion population lives on less than $2 a day. This means that more than 50-crore people live on less than Rs. 60 per day. 

—(Asian Age, Dec.4, 2007)

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All-round crisis

New Delhi: India has slipped five ranks since last year to 105 on global education parameters, will miss Millennium Development Goals for children. Girl’s form 66% of out-of-the-school children. India’s gross enrollment ratio 95% but dropout rate is as high as 14.4%.

—(Report Submitted to UNHRC, Nov.20, 2007)