Political challenges of providing elementary education

CNBC-TV18 in association with ICICI Foundation is trying to find a road map to address some of India’s most challenging problems from education to healthcare, from skills development to financial inclusion. The special show will assess the efficacy of government programmes both at the Centre and the State. It will explore where and how the private sector can get involved and evaluate the success of public, private partnerships.

The show takes a serious look at the political challenge of providing quality elementary education. With the drop out rate of almost 50%, how do we get our children to stay in school? How can we improve the quality of education while ensuring equity and affordability? 
 
One can find the answers to some of these in a school in Shankapur village in Bihar’s Madhepura District. This school stands out because it has a boundary wall, a water pump, play area, separate toilets for girls and boys. The school has classrooms that have electricity, blackboards, teachers and even students. This could very well be one of the model schools that the Right to Education Act 2009 talks about. In Bihar alone, in the last four years the Nitish Kumar government has constructed 15,000 schools under the Central Government’s flagship “Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan” this has translated to a fourfold jump in enrolments. Today across the country 98% of Indians have a primary school within 1 km of their homes and upper primary school within 3 km. Apart from this basic school infrastructure, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan whose mandate is universal coverage also addresses needs of specific communities and demographic groups, usually that are let out of the net. Also watch the accompanying video for the full show.