Despite suspect statistics indicating a general rise in literacy, it is hardly a secret that illiteracy in rural India is steadily rising and needs to be redressed. Before joining Jain Vidyaniketan (JVN), I had my own notions about education in rural India, coming as I do, from a rural background and having done my primary schooling and higher education in rural institutions. However coastal Karnataka where I received my education, is in many ways different from other rural areas of the country. Thanks largely to the yeoman service of the early Christian missionaries, it is better endowed with literacy — and education — compared to rural areas in general. Sometime ago, as principal of JVN I received a strange request from the parent of a girl seeking admission into upper kindergarten. The parent was from a nearby village and his daughter had failed to get admission after the routine oral interview conducted at the school. While he acknowledged that we had limited seats, he had his own peculiar problem. His wife, he said, had threatened to commit suicide if their daughter was refused admission in our school. Therefore, we were confronted not merely by an admission problem but also of saving a life. Unfortunately for this family, we stood our ground and explained to them that succumbing to such blackmail would set a bad precedent. Surprisingly, the following day, I was confronted by a powerful zilla panchayat member who came to plead his case and strongly recommended a seat for the same child. I had no option but to reverse my decision. However, before doing so, I insisted that the mother who blackmailed us by threatening to commit suicide should be reprimanded.
The point of this recitation is that it illustrates the lengths to which supposedly ignorant rural parents are prepared to go to ensure that their children get the best education, even if it means using politicians to exert pressure on school managements. This is not to say that rural parents are interested in quality education only if it is free (as is the case with Jain Vidyaniketan). They are more than willing to cut consumption and/ or dip into their savings to purchase it. Indeed motivating parents to send their children to school is now a thing of the past. Despite this there’s no denying that the dropout statistics of children in primary education are uncomfortably high. But with proper planning and incentives such as transport, mid-day meals and provision of free uniforms, better infrastructure etc, this high rate of attrition can be reduced. In the past four years that JVN (which offers students a free mid-day meal and uniforms) has been in existence, not a single child has dropped out of school.
Though it is undeniable that a growing number of parents in rural India are willing to send their children to school and teachers are putting forth great efforts to help children during school hours, the major problem of first generation village students is lack of supportive home environments. Normally, children spend five hours in school and the rest of their time at home with parents who at best may be mere literates, (capable only of identifying the alphabet) or comprehensive illiterates.
Because of the neglect of primary and elementary education for the past five decades since independence, it is a regrettable reality that the overwhelming majority of agriculturalists and farm labourers are not able to supplement their children’s academic needs. To expect them to lend a helping hand and reinforce what is taught in schools is asking for too much. The result is that the children walk from their homes back to school the following morning with their schoolbags unopened and books unread.
Therefore it is imperative that in rural schools whatever is expected of children, has to be completed in school itself. Home and project work assignments given to urban school children are quite out of place in a rural scenario, since home environments are wholly unsupportive. This may require that school timings be extended to accommodate homework and project assignments. Perhaps teachers may also be required to become mobile, like barefoot doctors and visit the homes of students to aid and assist them with their homework and with supplementary reading and writing sessions after school hours. How far this can be made possible is a matter that requires detailed thought and discussion and subsequent implementation with the assistance of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and teachers unions.
Nevertheless the good news is that the education scenario in rural India is gradually changing for the better. In a growing number of villages, elders are becoming increasingly aware of children’s right to education and are monitoring the work of school teachers. This is a welcome development.
A final word: Despite the best efforts of state governments, there is still a huge digital divide between urban and rural India and a real danger that the information technology revolution sweeping the globe will by-pass village India. For children in rural areas, access to the internet and related technologies is still a mirage. They are ignorant about the massive volume of information available through networks, websites and CD ROMs. To make a beginning, a determined effort needs to be made to bridge the urban-rural digital divide by training teachers in rural areas so they become aware of the huge opportunities presented by information technology to bring knowledge and learning to their doorstep. If this overdue effort is made, it will go a long way in reducing the rural-urban education divide swiftly.
(B. P. Kishore is the principal of Jain Vidyaniketan School, Bangalore)
