Saraswati Namastubhyam

Varade Kamarupini

Vidyarambam Karishyami

Siddhir Bhavatu Me Sada

Saraswatyei Mahamaye Vidye Kamalalochane

Padma Patram Vishalakshi Vidyam Dehi

Namastute.


Saturday, February 27, 2010

Orissa features among non-performing states

Indian Express, Bhubaneswar,26/02/2010:

Concerted efforts to develop and strengthen elementary education from Class I to Class VIII notwithstanding, Orissa continues to feature among the non-performing states in terms of quality deliverance.

The State occupies a low rank of 29 and 27 in the Composite Education Development Index (CEDI) for the upper primary and primary segments respectively.

The CEDI developed by the National University of Education Planning and Administration (NEUPA) assigns scores and ranks to a particular State by separately evaluating the four primary variables like Access, Infrastructure, Teachers and Outcome at the primary and upper primary school level.

Orissa has been given a score of 0.513 with corresponding rank of 21 in the `Access’ parameter that primarily accounts for percentage of households not served and schools per 1000 population in the age group of 6-11 years.

In `Infrastructure’ that takes into account indicators from student-classroom ratio to water and toilet facilities in the schools, the State scores 0.489 and ranked 26. In two other parameters, `Outcome’ and `teachers’, the State with scores of 0.795 and 0.536 was ranked at 13 and 22 respectively.

The State performed better in the `Outcome’ parameter by improving 13 places over 2007-08. The apparent survival rate of 83 percent at the V grade helped the State to gain more points. But with the pupil-teacher ratio at 27 and with only 34 percent female teachers against 43 percent nationally, the State fares poor nationally in the `Teachers’ parameter. The percentage of professionally trained teachers at 78 percent in Orissa against 82 percent nationally also counted much in the ranking.

However, the State has failed badly with regard to provisioning of minimum basic necessities in its schools. As high as 43 percent schools don’t have a toilet facility at all. Only 34 percent schools were being provisioned with girl’s toilet and only 18 percent schools have electricity connection.

Over 40 percent schools don’t have a boundary wall here.

And, the average number of classrooms per school and average student-classroom ratio for the State remains below the national average.
With these slip-ups in basics, the low penetration of computers in schools is not astonishing.

But, the disconcerting fact is computer penetration has declined to seven percent from 12 percent in 2006-07.

No comments: