Budget 2017: Address school education crisis

he Budget 2017-18 is an opportunity for the Central government to concentrate on improving school education for over 260.5 million children who enrolled in elementary and secondary school in 2015-16 – children who will form the core of India’s working-age population one billion by 2030, the largest in the world.

Not a primary area for govts

• Over 260.5 million children enrolled in elementary and secondary school in 2015-16 
• In 2015-16, only 88.94 per cent of primary school-age students enrolled l
• Higher education budget rose by 13%, whereas school education saw just 3.2% hike in outlay
• 46.1% Grade I rural children couldn't read letters in 2016 
• 39.9% children couldn't recognise numbers 1 to 9, as per ASER
• School year begins in April, but learning enhancement gets implemented between September and November
• The government does not monitor learning outcomes regularly. 
• One way of improving learning outcomes could be through outcome-linked financing for states"Business as usual" will not solve the problem, submitted Pratham, an education non-profit, in a pre-budget consultation with the Finance Ministry. "Unless major shifts are undertaken on an urgent basis to build children's foundational skills, we are losing huge opportunities each year for improving the life chances of an entire generation of children and youth in this country," the consultation note added.
  
  
  Higher education dominated last year's education budget (with an increase of 13 per cent over the 2015-16 budget) and the conversation about education revolved around improving the quality and ranking of higher education, creation of a higher-education financing agency and approval of new higher-education institutes. 
  
  
  In contrast, the school education and literacy budget increased 3.2 per cent in 2016-17, compared to the 2015-16 revised budget estimates.
  Over the financial year 2016-17, the central government allocated Rs 43,554 crore to school education and literacy, and Rs 28,840 crore to higher education.
  
  
  In 2014, though the government implemented a programme, ‘Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat’ (If India learns, India advances), to improve early-grade reading, writing and math, data on learning outcomes do not show improvements in rural schools. For instance, elementary school education in public and private schools is plagued with low outcomes – 46.1 per cent of Grade I rural children couldn't read letters in 2016, while 39.9 per cent couldn't recognise numbers 1 to 9, according to the Annual Status of Education Report.
  
  
  If children do not have basic education reading, writing, comprehension and math skills India will have a workforce that is unproductive, not fit to be hired, and unprepared for higher education or skill development. "It is clear that for quality and outcomes to improve in higher