HVK Archives: Primary priorities - Learning lessons from Himachal
Primary priorities - Learning lessons from Himachal - The Times of India
Jean Dreze
()
23 July 1997
Title: Primary priorities - Learning lessons from Himachal
Author: Jean Dreze
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 23, 1997
The universalisation of elementary education in India, mentioned in the
Directive Principles of the Constitution as an overwhelming national
priority, has turned out to be an elusive goal. According to recent NCAER
data, only 1 0 per cent of the adult population in rural India has studied
until class 8. And the number of illiterate persons in India today is about
as large as the total population of the country in 1975.
While the overall picture is bleak, it is not without bright patches.
Kerala's outstanding experience of educational advancement at an early
stage of development is the most prominent example. Less well-known is the
case of Himachal Pradesh, which may be of particular interest to the
lagging states of north India.
As recently as 1961, literacy rates in Himachal Pradesh (21 per cent for
males and nine per cent for females) were below the corresponding all-India
averages. By 1987-88, literacy rates in the 10-14 age group in Himachal
Pradesh were as high as 95 per cent for males and 81 per cent for females.
The only state with higher literacy rates in that age group was Kerala (98
per cent for both males and females).
Healthy Experience
In several respects, the experience of educational advancement in Himachal
Pradesh in recent decades is even more impressive than that of Kerala.
First, the transition from mass illiteracy to near-universal primary
education has taken place over a much shorter period of time in Himachal
Pradesh. Second, educational expansion in Himachal Pradesh has been based
almost entirely on government schools, with relatively little contribution
from private schools, missionary organisations and related institutions.
Third, Himachal Pradesh has an unfavourable topography. Fourth, the
historical features that are commonly mentioned in connection with Kerala's
success (such as the early role of missionary institutions and the
matrilineal tradition of specific communities) do not apply in Himachal
Pradesh.
Little research has been done on the roots of Himachal Pradesh's success in
the field of elementary education. However, a recent survey on primary
education initiated by the Centre for Development Economics (CDE) sheds
some tentative light on this issue.
The relatively low level of poverty in Himachal Pradesh is one relevant
consideration. This factor alone, however, does not explain why Himachal
Pradesh has higher school attendance rates than Punjab and Haryana, which
are even better off economically. Nor does the hypothesis that Himachal
Pradesh's success is income-driven receive much support from recent studies
of the relationship between private income and school attendance in rural
India. The CDE survey points to two additional ingredients of success: a
high level of parental motivation, and active state involvement in the
promotion of elementary education.
Parental Motivation
As far as parental motivation is concerned, several aspects stand out.
First, the general level of interest in primary education is very high in
Himachal Pradesh. Most parents take it for granted that a child should go
to school, and many also attach importance to regular attendance and
sustained progress at school. Second, educational motivation cuts across
the barriers of caste and class that have been so pernicious elsewhere in
India. In Himachal Pradesh, the notion that primary education is an
essential part of every child's upbringing has acquired the character of a
widely-shared social norm, in contrast with the socially fragmented nature
of educational opportunities and aspirations in other north Indian states.
Third, parental motivation in Himachal Pradesh involves little gender bias,
at least at the primary level.
While the level of parental motivation in Himachal Pradesh is impressive,
it could not have gone very far on its own in the absence of
well-functioning educational facilities. This is where the initiative of
the state has played a major role. And here too, Himachal Pradesh has done
quite well, particularly in comparison with other north Indian states.
Further, the CDE survey suggests that the crucial contrast is more
qualitative than quantitative. In terms of the quantitative aspects of the
educational infrastructure, Himachal Pradesh does not seem to be far ahead
of, say, Bihar or Uttar Pradesh. The functioning of schooling facilities,
on the other hand, is strikingly different.
To illustrate, the CDE survey brings out that the following have become
accepted norms of the teaching profession in Himachal Pradesh: the
enrolment register is accurate; pupil attendance is carefully recorded;
enquiries are made about non-attending children; formal tests are held at
regular intervals, and there is a Board examination at the end of class 5;
and, last but not least, school hours are spent in active teaching. None
of this applies in the typical rural school of Bihar or Uttar Pradesh.
While rural primary schools in Himachal Pradesh remain far from exemplary
in many respects, they do illustrate the possibility of far-reaching
improvements in the quality of schooling facilities. Achieving these
qualitative improvements, however, is not just a matter of administrative
competence but also one of political commitment and social conditions. Here
again, several distinctive features of Himachal Pradesh are worth noting.
First, elementary education has been at the forefront of the policy agenda
ever since Himachal Pradesh became a separate state in the early 1970s. In
other north Indian states, the typical pattern has been one of resilient
neglect of the problem of endemic illiteracy. Second, Himachal Pradesh has
relatively active community institutions, including functioning village
panchayats and mahila mandals. These community institutions do not always
play a major direct role in schooling matters, but their dynamism is
symptomatic of a well-developed potential for collaborative public action
at the village level, which has been put to good effect in various contexts
including the promotion of education. Third, the village school in Himachal
Pradesh is: genuinely a "common school", which brings together children of
different classes and castes.
Private Schools
There is no extensive network of private schools, and in most villages
alternative education facilities are quite distant. This contrasts with the
growing "dualism" of the education system elsewhere in north India, where
privileged families often send their children to private or urban schools
while disadvantaged sections of the population are left with a
dysfunctional government school. Finally, the divisions of class, caste
and gender appear to be less sharp in Himachal Pradesh than in other north
Indian states. This has probably facilitated the emergence of consensual
educational norms and the collective monitoring of village schools.
(The author is visiting professor at the Centre for Development Economics,
Delhi School of Economics.)
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