Page 20 - EducationWorld December 2022

Education News

education minister Dharmen- tra awarded the highest score
dra Pradhan on November 7 of 928.
in response to Supreme Court Although there is
judgment. understandable euphoria
Curiously the 399-page in the education ministry
majority judgement of the in Maharashtra about the
Supreme Court is silent on the exalted status awarded to
issue of merit and efficiency in the state’s school education
higher education and govern- system, experienced aca-
ment — the rationale for impo- demics are cynical. “While
sition of the 50 percent ceiling PGI provides a useful picture
in Indra Sawhney’s Case. of the relative health of the
Evidently, the learned judges school education system in
meticulously interpreting finer various states, this annual
points of law in the ivory tower exercise provides a macro
of the apex court seem unaware Government school in Maharashtra: poor connectivity perspective. To reform the
that of India’s 1,041 universities school system, more time,
— some of over 150 years vintage — Therefore news that under the resources and personnel need to be
none is ranked among the authori- Performance Grading Index (PGI) invested,” says Rishikesh B.S, pro-
tative Top 200 World University 2020-21, released on November 3 by fessor of education at Azim Premji
Rankings of QS and Times Higher the Union education ministry, Maha- University, Bengaluru.
Education, while a dozen Chinese rashtra together with Kerala and Pun- Other studies of children’s learning
universities are. Nor do they seem jab are the country’s top-ranked states outcomes indicate that Maharashtra is
aware that sloth, corruption and for K-12 education countrywide has less than an out-performer. Accord-
inefficiency in government minis- generated euphoria within the state ing to the Annual Status of Education
tries and offices is going from bad to government’s education ministry. In- Report (ASER) 2021, published by
worse (see editorial p.14). troduced in 2017-18, PGI measures the highly-respected Pratham Educa-
Autar Nehru (Delhi) the performance of states/Union ter- tion Foundation, during the Covid-19
ritories on “a uniform scale to catalyse pandemic induced lockdown, only
MAHARASHTRA transformational change in the field of 50 percent of households in the state
Unwarranted school education”. (pop.115 million) received learning
materials for children at home.
Data for compiling the index is
euphoria drawn from the Unified District Infor- oreover according to ASER
mation System for Education, 2021, M2019, which measured the early
National Achievement Survey 2017, years learning of classes I-III children
aharashtra — india’s most MDM (midday meal) portal and data in the last year before the outbreak of
industrialised state which provided by states/UTs. Information the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020,
Maccounts for almost 25 per- gathered from these sources is ana- 31 percent of class III children in rural
cent of the country’s annual industrial lysed to construct PGI which grades primaries were unable to read and/or
production — has experienced huge states according to scores awarded comprehend class I textbooks and 14
political upheavals in recent times. under the parameters of learning out- percent couldn’t recognise numerals
On June 30, the Shiv Sena, Nationalist comes, access, infrastructure and fa- 1-9. Following the closure of schools
Congress Party and Congress coalition cility, equity and governance process. statewide for 80 weeks in 2020-21
government which had assumed office States are awarded grades 1-10 with during the pandemic and learning
in 2019 was toppled in a coup engi- states scoring over 950 points award- materials not reaching 50 percent
neered by the BJP which had ruled ed Grade I status and those scoring of children, learning outcomes have
Maharashtra for a full term (2014-19) less than 551 Level 10 status. undoubtedly plunged further. Ac-
in alliance with the Shiv Sena. With In PGI 2020-21, none of India’s cording to UDISE Report 2022-23,
leaders of all political parties engaged 29 states are awarded Level I grade. 19 percent of Maharashtra’s 1.09 lakh
in horse-trading and plots and con- However six states — Kerala, Pun- schools (and 28 percent of govern-
spiracies, education of the state’s 22.5 jab, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Andhra ment schools) are managing without
million school-going children who had Pradesh, Gujarat, and the Union ter- computers and 49 percent (and only
just emerged from the prolonged Co- ritory of Chandigarh — have been 28 percent of government schools) are
vid lockdown of all education institu- awarded Grade II (scores 901-950) connected with the internet.
tions has been on the backburner. with Kerala, Punjab, and Maharash- At best Maharashtra’s high rating

20 EDUCATIONWORLD DECEMBER 2022