Sainath. 1996. Everybody Loves a Good Drought: Stories from India’s Poorest Districts. New Delhi: Penguin. ISBN: 9780140259841
This is the Way We Go to School: Getting Educated in Rural India (pp. 47-68)
Published in 1996, Sainath’s book captures stories from India’s poorest district. This section on education, presents three stories that represent the diverse settings in which education in India takes place.
The section overview presents statistics that show that only 5% of children who enrol into primary school are able to complete high school education.[i]Further, quoting the census data, Sainath argues that over half of children in India never attend school. The fifth All India Educational Survey by NCERT (1989) shows that access to primary school is provided within one kilometre to 94% population. This however ignores knowledge of the rough pathways that children have to tread to reach school. In other words, this one kilometre distance may still be enough to make the school inaccessible. In addition, schools in India have little facilities, including provision of only one or two teachers for five classes, inadequate water and sanitation facilities, and sometimes the absence of a building. This despite Article 45, making it a State responsibility to provide free and compulsory education for all children till the age of 14 years. The problem is further compounded by reduction in State budget fir education in each successive five year plan.
Significantly, Sainath highlights that given higher rates of dropouts amongst girls, boys far outnumber girls in the classroom. Similar imbalance in numbers can be seen between education of the marginalised and the majority. Even in regions where SC/ST population dominates, the same is not reflected in school teachers. The author links this denial of knowledge to the poor to ancient times of denial of education to sudras. He points to the hypocrisy of the Indian elite that are politically erudite but continue to deny education. This is further compounded with literacy being used as a tool to abdicate responsibility of providing education to all[ii]. In addition it creates a gulf between the kind of education that is accessed by the poor and the elite.
There’s no place like school
Sainath portrays the pictures of some schools in Godda, Bihar. Largely, the schools seem to exist only on paper. Students are not registered or if registered, do not attend schools. One school has more teachers than the number of students attending. In another, the headmaster hasn’t visited the school in two years. Yet another is being used as a warehouse. Multiple problems, including poverty, lack of government involvement, and the terrain of the area, plague the education system in this area.
Recounting the experiences of an honest teacher, the author points out that the difficulties of the area prevent most teachers from wanting transfers in this area. Further, children are busy tending cattle and thus do not reach school before noon. Teachers in turn need to leave before dark and thus there is very little time spent on education in school.
The way out for this community is provided by residential schools that provide the financial support needed to provide education to children of this area.
The Head of Departments
This essay presents the state of education in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh. Primarily focussing on the experiences of ‘Jain Saab’, a professor in a Post Graduate who is able to function as the head of several departments in the college since there are few students studying in college. The roots of the problem seem to be in primary education. Not only is the overall enrolment rate poor, the system is designed against the education of Adivasi students. This is peculiar particularly because education in the region runs on the funds for tribal welfare. Dropout rates in the Adivasi dominated area are highest for Adivasis and higher education is particularly dominated by non-tribals. Significantly then, focus needs to be on government commitment to providing education to Adivasis.
Where Students want to be Masters
The essay brings forth the aims of students in a residential school in Koraput, Orissa. Despite the hardships that they face, they wish to grow up to be teachers and provide education to other children in their village. Sainath brings forth how infrastructural facilities influence education and performance in school. Things often taken for granted in urban areas, and probably by policy makers, influence performance of children in schools and hamper their chances for growth through higher education. What is also significant to note is the role played by residential schools in promoting education in rural areas.
The three essays on education are important to highlight the needs of education in India’s poorest areas. Policies made and implemented need to be understood in the light of conditions in these far off areas.