PLIGHT OF RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOL: A CRITICAL
STUDY IN THE BARPETA DISTRICT OF
Dulumoni Goswami
Pradip Roy
INTRODUCTION
Of the three basic pillars
of rural development i.e. village school, village panchayat and village
co-operative, the school is the most vital component of human development and
the most enduring tool for rural transformation. Education of rural children
plays a crucial role in enabling them to meet the complex challenges of the
world around them. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan has been launched in 2001 throughout the country
including
*All children in school,
Education Guarantee Scheme, Alternative School, ‘ Back to School’ camp by 2003;
*All children complete five
years of schooling by 2007;
*All children complete
eight years of elementary schools by 2010;
*Focus on elementary
education of satisfactory quality, emphasis on education for life;
*Bridge all gender and
social category gaps at primary stage by 2007 and at elementary level by 2010;
*Universal retention by
2010.
The quality of education is
one of the most important components of SSA to promote universalisation of
elementary education. No doubt quality of education depends to a great extent
on factors like physical condition,
learning environment, activities outside the classroom etc. A few
primary school indicators as per
NIEPA 2004 were as follows:
No. of Govt. provincialised
primary schools -1839;
No. of Govt provincialised
rural primary schools - 1773;
Percentage of single
teacher schools -12.0%;
Percentage of single classroom schools -7%;
Percentage of schools with
common toilet – 14.2%;
Percentage of schools with
girls’ toilet - 1.1%;
Percentage of schools with
drinking water facilities - 28.1%;
Percentage of schools
without blackboard -13.0%;
Percentage of SC enrolment
in primary school -7.4%;
Percentage of ST enrolment
in primary school- 7.7%;
Percentage of girls’
enrolment in primary school - 49.3%;
Percentage of female teacher in primary school - 22.1%; and
Teacher pupil ratio (PTR) -
1.37.
OBJECTIVES
To find out and analyse the
(a) Infrastructural
condition;
(b) Teaching Learning situation;
(c) Teacher’s condition; and
(d) Implementation of
Midday Meal scheme in the rural primary schools in Barpeta district.
METHODS
Sample
Sample was taken from all the eight educational blocks
of Barpeta district. Five schools from each block, (8 x 5 = 40 rural provincialised primary schools) were
selected randomly.
Tools
For collection of primary
data, two types of questionnaires - one for school head masters and another for
assistant teachers were constructed in Assamese language. An observation
schedule was also prepared by the investigators to observe the school
environment and classroom transaction.
Procedure
The present study was
conducted under descriptive survey method. The questionnaires were administered
to 40 Head Masters and 80 assistant teachers of different 40 sample
schools.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
Barpeta district is
situated in Western part of
The present study covered
various aspects of rural primary schooling in Barpeta district. It found that 22.5
% schools had kaccha building, 57.5 % schools did not have ceiling and 42.5 % schools did
not have partition. No school had separate library room. 23 % students had no
bench for sitting, 42.5 % teachers had
no chair for sitting and only 15 % schools had separate office room. 50 % schools had no boundary wall, 67.5 % schools had no toilet facility, 30 %
schools had no drinking water facility and not a single school had separate
toilet for girls.
Although 35% of the
teachers reported that they followed approved lesson planning while teaching,
during observation of classroom transaction, it was found that no teacher
followed approved lesson planning. 85 % schools reported that they had adequate
blackboard, whereas 12.5 % reported inadequate numbers of blackboard and 2.5 %
had no blackboard.
Again 90% teachers
mentioned that they used Teaching Learning Materials (TLM) and only 10% said
that they never used. During
observation, it was found that TLMs were kept inside the box, almost in bad
condition and teachers were not motivated to use these in classroom
transaction. Teachers mostly followed lecture method. They read the lesson and
explained it later. Not a single teacher was found practising improved
methodology like competency based, activity based, child centric, joyful
learning centered strategies. The average percentage of single teacher schools
in the district was 12 %, but the percentage of single teacher schools as found
in the sample was 25 %. The average Teacher Pupil Ratio (PTR)
in the rural schools of the district was 1:19, which was below the state
norms. PTR varied from 1:10 to 1:90 in
different schools. As regards
qualification of the teachers, it was found that large numbers of teachers in
the rural schools of Barpeta district were untrained and ill qualified. 2.17 % teachers were below secondary level,
54.34 % up to secondary level, 21.73 % up to higher secondary level and 17 %
were up to graduate level qualification. 30.43 % teachers were still untrained.
It was also found that teachers in primary schools were engaged in
activities other than teaching. The percentage of female teacher was
only 34.78 % and only 15% head masters were female.
As regards implementation
of Mid-Day-Meal Scheme, 75% of the schools
reported that they provided cooked meal, while other 25% schools distributed uncooked meal to the children, as
these schools did not have any
infrastructure for mid-day-meal. During observation, it was found that the meal was cooked in very unhygienic
condition. Only 56 % schools had separate kitchen for cooking, while
others cooked in open space. 30 %
schools had no provision of drinking water. Some schools used to borrow water from nieghbours. Community
participation was found poor in
mid-day-meal arrangement. All the head masters and assistant teachers expressed their dissatisfaction in
the Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
RECOMMENDATIONS
The school building should
have either separate room orat least a
partition for each classroom, separate office room and teachers’ common
room.There should be toilet facilities including separate toilet for girls
and drinking water facility in all the
rural schools. The schools committees should consist of committed local persons
and should be made responsible for physical infrastructure of the school and
also should look after teachers’
attendance. Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR) should be as per norms. Special
allowances should be paid to primary school teachers for serving in backward
areas.There should be proper inspection and supervision. All the teachers
should be trained.Training should be followed by follow up action. Social
awareness should be developed on the importance of primary education for rural
people. Budget allocation should be increased for planning and providing
educational facilities in rural areas.
As far as possible, the engagement of teachers as well as head
masters in activities other than teaching should be reduced. Community should be
involved in arrangement of mid-day-meal.
CONCLUSION
Educating people in rural
areas is crucial for achieving goals of sustainable development. In the rapidly
globalising world, the sooner the challenges are taken up, the better it is for the future
progress of the nation.
REFERENCES
NIEPA (2004) District
Report Card, 2004. NIEPA,