Page 32 - EW August 2021

Expert Comment

Towards a level playing

field in K-12 education

GEETA KINGDON

HE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS BEAMED A spot- If government can provide a children’s
light on the extent of private-public school inequal-
ity and its tragic consequences. In the Covid period, education allowance (DBT) of Rs.2,250
Taccess to education has become highly unequal per month per child to all Central
between digital haves and have-nots. This digital divide is government employees, why can’t it do
correlated with economic status and the private and gov-
ernment/public schools divide. It has important lessons for the same for children of the poor?
education policy, which should create a level playing field
for children of poor and middle class households.
The latest National Sample Survey (2017-18) with data One powerful way would be to give every poor household
on access to Internet connectivity confirms that access is a direct benefit transfer (DBT) income for schooling. This
heavily dependent upon whether children are in the coun- will enable parents to choose tech-savvy schools — includ-
try’s top or bottom income quartiles. It indicates that in the ing private schools if they wish — and to purchase digital
10-14 year age group, a mere 8 percent of children in bottom devices for children to learn from home.
income quartile households have Internet connectivity as Currently, government’s per-pupil expenditure in public
against 51 percent in top quartile households. In the 15-19 elementary schools according to latest available data (2017-
age group, the difference is an even higher 46 percentage 18) is above Rs.2,500 per month, in some states above
points, although the private/public school difference in Rs.4,000 per month, and in Himachal Pradesh and Delhi,
Internet connectivity is less stark (21 percentage points). over Rs.5,000. Conversely, tuition fees paid by parents of
The digital divide is so wide because few government school private unaided schools averaged a mere Rs.1,460 per month
children have access to digital devices. based on NSS 2017-18 data. This is because private schools
Private schools are more likely to have installed com- pay teacher and staff a fraction of salaries paid by govern-
puters and trained ICT (information communication tech- ment schools. NSS also reveals that 90.4 percent of private
nologies) teachers who quickly trained other teachers after school children paid less than Rs.1,500 per month and 94.2
imposition of Covid lockdown of March 2020. As a result, percent less than Rs.2,000 per month. In other words, a
many private schools have been able to provide online edu- smaller amount than government’s per-pupil expenditure in
cation through Zoom and Google Meet video technologies. public schools would be sufficient to enable poor households
Government schools are at a disadvantage because very few to provide their children education of their choice.
students have Internet connectivity and digital devices at hile s.12 (1) (c) of the Right of Children to Free &
home, and schools also are less likely to have computers WCompulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, attempts to
and computer teachers. redress educational inequality by making it obligatory for
Understandably, the Central and state governments private schools to reserve 25 percent capacity in elementary
are embarrassed by such glaring inequality in education, classes for poor children in return for reimbursement by the
particularly when it is highlighted in the media. Their re- state, this provision hasn’t been effectively implemented for
sponse is interesting, varied and often bizarre. To maintain various reasons. Among them: many well-off and ineligible
a semblance of equality between public and private schools, children are grabbing this benefit; states are not reimburs-
some state governments have resorted to forcing competi- ing private schools under the Act; the Act exempts minority
tive budget private schools to shut down on one excuse or schools so it is anti-Hindu, etc. Indeed the draft National
another, to leave children no option but to return to govern- Education Policy (para 8.4.2) recommended deletion of s.12
ment schools. Others are directing private schools not to (1) (c), though NEP 2020 doesn’t incorporate this recom-
run online classes so the failure of public schools to provide mendation.
online education is not so starkly apparent. The Covid pandemic has exposed glaring inequalities in
This glaring digital divide with the poor majority de- India’s K-12 education system. Therefore, the government
prived of online learning has massive implications for needs to seriously consider a DBT education-funding pro-
inequality which is likely to widen with time as hybrid, gramme for low-income households to multiply parental
blended teaching-learning becomes the new normal. The choice. If government can provide a children’s education
big question for education policy-makers is how to redress allowance (DBT) of Rs.2,250 per month per child to all Cen-
this inequality, and equalise the life chances of poor chil- tral government employees, why can’t it do the same for
dren through improving government schools. Instead of a children of the poor? This has become necessary to prevent
perverse interpretation of equality that tries to level down deepening inequality in education in the post-pandemic
schools for the better-off, a more constructive approach digital world.
would be to improve access of children of low-income (Geeta Gandhi Kingdon is professor, Institute of Education, University Col-
households to digitally-enabled schools. lege London and president, City Montessori School, Lucknow)

32 EDUCATIONWORLD AUGUST 2021