Public education in India is underfunded. Rural schools lack electricity. The country also faces a COVID-19 pandemic. Besides the lack of resources, children are also at risk from logistical and technical issues. Here are some reasons why public education in India is not well funded.
Rural schools lack electricity
Approximately 1.3 billion people and 290 million schools in India do not have electricity. Lack of electricity has severe consequences for education, health, and safety. It also hinders economic development. Without electricity, farms do not yield much, food spoils easily, and small businesses cannot operate. Electricity is critical for village economies to thrive. A comprehensive study was undertaken to identify the causes of insufficient electricity. A comprehensive report is now available that provides recommendations on how to improve the situation.
In one of the regions of Chhattisgarh, 67,902 government schools do not have electricity. In Bhopal alone, there are 855 schools without electricity. According to the government, this situation is caused by the low enrollment. Many of these schools did not even have electricity until 2002. Students in these schools studied near fireplaces, and some teachers were teaching without lighting for a decade. The students had to rely on the help of local villagers to study. Even the existing schools do not have proper roads that lead to their institutions.
Without electricity, students cannot study or work effectively. The lack of light in rural schools hinders students’ learning and affects their health. Electricity also allows teachers and students to use technology. With better lighting, students can study more effectively and reduce their reading effort. Lack of electricity also has a negative impact on school desertion, child labor, and poor nutrition habits in extreme poor households. Therefore, it is important to provide power to rural schools.
The government is working to provide electricity to rural schools. The Deendayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DUJY) program aims to improve access to electricity in rural areas. Schools needing electricity can approach their state power utility. They can then get the electricity they need according to the rules in place.
In the meantime, the lack of electricity in rural schools has been a significant challenge for the government. Many students and teachers have been unable to continue learning due to blackouts and lockdowns. In addition to these problems, a lack of electricity has prompted many schools to transition to remote learning models, which require electricity. Without electricity, these models are exponentially more difficult.
Underfunded public education in India
The budget of India’s government has reduced the allocation to education for the next two years. This will have a negative impact on girls, whose dropout rates are expected to soar. This will also undermine efforts to bring gender equity to the country’s education system. However, the government should not make this cut without first addressing the problems in the sector.
The budget has not been enough to cover the costs of public education. The government has to come up with a new plan that will improve the quality of public education in India. This must include a focus on private sector investment and public-private partnerships in education. This will require a broader view of education in India.
According to government data, less than thirteen percent of schools in India meet the minimum standards set by the government, including a roof over the head of every child, a teacher in every classroom, basic teaching and learning materials, and adequate sanitation facilities. Government schools in small towns and rural areas do not even meet these standards.
While the No Child Left Behind Act highlights the need for public education funding, it also highlights the structural issues in the education system in India. In order to address the underlying problems, the government needs to release data about public schools. This will help investors understand the challenges in the country’s educational system.
The STARS project places a great deal of faith in private sector solutions to improve public education. It aims to introduce international standardised tests to evaluate students. However, the document ignores the context of India’s education system, and fails to take into account the social exclusion and marginalisation of minority groups.
While the government has rolled out several schemes to improve education, it has not met its commitment to fund the education sector. The NEP recommends a 6% allocation for education, but the government has only pledged to meet this figure. In addition, the government fails to pay teachers on time. The NEP also creates yet another divide in the Indian education system.
Logistical and technical issues
The closure of children’s schools in India and South Asia has resulted in alarming inequities in the educational opportunities for children. According to UNICEF, nearly 60 per cent of children in these countries are not able to read and write simple texts by the time they reach the age of 10. In addition, more than 16.5 million children at the primary and lower secondary levels are out of school.
Several factors are holding back the opening of more children’s schools in India. First, low connectivity has hindered efforts to roll out remote learning. In a recent survey, 42 per cent of children in India aged six to 13 reported that they did not use remote learning, while 23 per cent did not own a device that supported remote learning. Children from poor and disadvantaged households have been particularly affected, with many households unable to afford even one device.
COVID-19 pandemic is not only risk to children
The COVID-19 pandemic poses a number of risks to children, but is not the sole one. The pandemic is affecting basic services, including schools and kindergartens, as well as routine medical care. In some countries, like Sweden, schools and day-care centers remain open without major changes. In Sweden, officials have not tracked cases of infections in children attending school. In other countries, large outbreaks have forced hospitals to close and reorganize their services.
Children are as likely as adults to get the virus, although they are less likely to be severely ill. About 50% of children and adolescents may have the virus but not show any symptoms. However, a small number can develop a severe illness and need treatment in the intensive care unit, including being on a ventilator. Children of Hispanic descent are at a higher risk than non-Hispanic white children. Babies under the age of one may also be at greater risk than other age groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic poses numerous mental health risks. Child psychiatrists must be prepared for these challenges and provide continuity of care. Children who live in disadvantaged or marginalized communities will be disproportionately impacted by these risks. In order to address these risks, more research is needed to assess the implications of various policies and measures. This will help to determine the risk-benefit ratio of various measures.
Children with certain medical conditions are more likely to develop serious illness if they contract COVID-19. Genetic and neurologic conditions, chronic lung disease, and sickle cell disease may all increase the risk. If your child has any of these conditions, consult a health care provider immediately. Additionally, speak with the child’s teacher about possible COVID-19 symptoms.
The coronavirus disease affects the lives of people around the world. Contact restrictions and isolation create a psychosocial environment that can exacerbate the condition. Children and adolescents may experience increased anxiety and stress, resulting in reduced opportunity for peer and family bonding. A lack of social support may also increase the risk for mental illness and domestic violence.
The summer months can be challenging for school age children, but learning does not stop when classes return. By the time classes start back in the fall, schools should be prepared to help struggling students make up for lost time during the summer. While some review of last year’s materials is inevitable, it’s important to avoid forcing struggling students to go over material they’ve already mastered.
Less time spent at home
Summer learning loss is a common phenomenon that can affect kids of all ages. Research suggests that students can lose significant amounts of knowledge over the summer, especially in reading. It’s especially troublesome for students of low socioeconomic status. Luckily, there are some ways to combat summer slide and improve academic performance.
One method is to ensure your child spends enough time playing outdoors. Kids can improve their cognitive skills and improve their problem-solving skills by playing outside. According to the Natural Learning Initiative at the University of North Carolina, outdoor play can reduce the chances of a child developing conditions such as attention deficit disorder and nearsightedness.
Another effective method is to encourage children to engage in community service. Volunteering with a community group can make a child learn better and reduce their chances of acting out. Another way is to suggest that your children set aside a portion of their allowance to a charity. The web site «Big Help» by Nickelodeon is a great way to engage children in community service.
Another effective strategy is to get your child to read. Studies have shown that children who spend more time on reading are more likely to improve academically after the summer break. While reading is not a guaranteed way to prevent summer learning loss, it can help a child stay in school and make up for lost time in the classroom.
Parents should also set up a schedule to help their kids stay on track with learning. Setting a schedule for learning and doing homework can also help parents and children build a routine. A few simple activities can include reading before bed, playing math games online, or practicing writing skills in a workbook. If a child struggles with math, parents can also encourage them to write down questions they may have in math and look up the answers together.
More time spent at summer camps
Summer learning loss is a major issue for school age children. According to the National Summer Learning Association, two to three months of reading and math skills are lost for most students. Low-income children also experience more severe summer learning losses. The lack of outside opportunities and resources can account for this problem. More research needs to be done to determine how to combat the problem and how to improve school learning during the out-of-school period.
The summer slide affects children of all income levels and causes the lowest-income children to fall behind their peers. Children who are affected by summer learning loss are at a higher risk of not completing high school and not attending college. Consequently, more time spent at summer camps can help combat this problem.
Many school districts offer four to six-week summer programs for school age children. The remainder of the districts have programs that last two to ten weeks. In Florida, Miami-Dade County public schools offered a 10-week summer program in 179 schools last year. In Georgia, Cobb County public schools offer two-month summer programs to help children with special needs.
A recent study conducted by RAND Corp. evaluated 43 summer programs. The most effective summer programs are those that last at least five weeks and provide three hours of instructional time each day. The study found that more time spent at summer camp programs can help combat summer learning loss for school age children. The RAND study also found that summer learning loss was not consistent across IQ levels, gender, or ethnicity. In addition, the study found significant economic differences between students. Children in middle-class families tended to make gains in math and reading while children from disadvantaged families tended to lose ground.
Researchers also looked at the extent of racial achievement gaps over summer break. They tracked groups of students across grades K-8. The researchers found that while the Black-White achievement gap is wide during the school year, it narrows over the summer. The findings also indicated that Asian students tended to catch up to White students during the summer. This summer learning loss is not consistent across the country.
More time spent on educational games and activities online
While it is difficult to accurately measure the effects of summer learning loss on school-aged children, research on the issue has been underway for decades. According to recent findings, students in the first eight grades lost an average of 17 to 34 percent of their learning from the previous school year during the summer. The research is based on anonymous test scores and does not account for varying student socioeconomic factors.
Keeping children engaged in learning activities during the summer breaks is a good way to combat summer learning loss. Parents need to make sure their children are stimulated and having fun in order to keep their kids’ brains working. Children also need to practice new skills regularly to avoid their knowledge from fading.
Research shows that children who read four or more books over the summer perform better on reading comprehension tests in the fall. Parents should choose materials that are appropriate for the child’s age group. This will help prevent a summer learning loss that can have disastrous consequences for children in low-income households.
While summer learning loss affects many students, it is especially significant for historically disadvantaged children. It is not unique to the United States but is widespread around the world. Research by the National Summer Learning Association has shown that it has a particularly negative impact on students with low socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that this summer learning loss is a significant problem that can widen the achievement gap between children with higher socioeconomic status.
Researchers have been studying this problem for at least 25 years, and they have come to the conclusion that kids lose a significant amount of knowledge over the summer break. These losses tend to snowball over time and can affect kids in multiple academic disciplines.
Less time spent on standardized achievement tests
Many studies have shown that children lose valuable learning during the summer. One study found that children lost an average of two and a half months’ worth of grade equivalency in math. This is particularly significant for students who struggle with math classes in school. In addition, children of all income levels typically lose two or more months of reading skills during the summer. This results in even greater achievement gaps between children of lower and higher incomes.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is one way to measure SLL. It includes millions of anonymous test scores from kindergarten to eighth grade. While MAP Growth is not nationally representative, it allows us to see the effects of summer learning loss on students. MAP Growth data are also limited, and lack socioeconomic data on students. These findings may not adequately reflect the impact of summer learning loss on academic achievement.
The results of the NAEP study could be an argument for changing the school calendar. This change would replace the long summer vacation with shorter attendance breaks. By reversing the long summer break, more children would be in school for longer. This approach could be particularly effective for low-income and at-risk students.
However, the study found that students of color and those from lower-income families suffered even greater losses than white students. In math, for example, Black and Latino students typically lost six months of learning compared to their White counterparts. The researchers concluded that these losses may be even greater because of historical inequities. Asian and White students did not experience these results.
Summer learning loss has a huge impact on the education of children. Moreover, low-income students are significantly behind their higher-income peers, and the effects of the summer months are profound. Research suggests that summer learning loss is responsible for up to two-thirds of the achievement gap. It is also associated with low school graduation rates and poor college enrollment.
Although it sounds plausible, the research does not support the conclusion that less time spent on tests will prevent summer learning loss. However, if the results are replicated, the research could be helpful in combating summer learning loss.
