The Indian Government, after the attainment of independence, stressed the need of primary education and provided funds for its development, but a scrutiny of statistics reveals that the desired success has not been achieved due to certain reasons.
It has been observed that some children give up primary education before completing it. As such, the money spent on them during the early years goes waste. Along with the money the labour and time of both the teacher and the taught are wasted.
This is what we call wastage. The available statistics reveal that till 1992, 40 per cent of the children have dropped out before completing primary education. Some of the reasons for this wastage are given below:
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(1) Lack of Proper Arrangements:
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In the absence of proper arrangements there is a shortage both of proper buildings and trained teachers. Besides, there is also a dearth of reading materials and equipments for healthy entertainment in schools.
In this condition of scarcity the parents feel that the present education is simply a burden. It is futile to imagine that this sort of education can foster the mental, physical and moral development of children. Therefore, many children give up study before completing primary education.
(2) Illiterate Guardians:
The statistics available in 1992 reveal that about 70 per cent population of India is illiterate. Illiterate guardians who do not understand the value and utility of education are not inclined to send their children to schools.
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Moreover, how can they be persuaded to send their children to schools which do not impart education that can fulfill one’s daily requirements? The result is that they initiate their children in some vocation even before they complete their primary education.
(3) Unsuitability of Administration:
Much of the money that has gone a waste on primary education in India has been due to mal-administration in this sphere. Under the educational expansion scheme the number of teachers, inspectors of schools and administrative officers was not increased in proportion to the increase in the number of school.
The result is that neither the teachers are able to give enough time to students nor do the inspectors have enough time to inspect the schools. The administrative officers have no time to plan and act. Lack of means of communication and other facilities of inspection are responsible for waste of money.
In most of the States of the country there are no fixed rules for joining or leaving a primary school. The students are free to join any class and fill in any birth date.
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They can leave the school whenever they desire. In this way there arises a difficulty in teaching when the children in the same class differ in age-group and mental standard. Besides, the students who do not do well in their studies are psychologically badly affected.
The unsuitability of atmosphere in the class-rooms encourages students to remain absent from the class and finally they leave the school. The reason for students remaining away from the class is poverty of the parents and bad spacing of holidays. Agriculturists are generally busier during crop- sowing and crop harvesting seasons.
At such time the children have to help their parents in their work and therefore cannot attend classes. Thus there is interruption in their education and after some time becomes the cause of waste. The administrative officers should, therefore, keep the needs of the parents in view while preparing the list of holidays for primary schools.
(4) Unsatisfactory Financial Conditions:
Poverty of Indian masses is a stumbling block in the development of primary education in the country. What to say of providing books and stationery to their children, the poor parents find it difficult even to provide two meals per day.
They, therefore, stop their children from attending school and instead introduce them to some vocation to supplement their income. In this way many children give up primary education half-way and money spent on their education proves to be a mere waste.
(5) Defective Curriculum:
Many primary schools have not so far been converted into basic schools and their curriculum is one-sided and still devoid of interest. The children of tender age neither find it interesting nor attractive; on the contrary the curriculum seems burden-some.
As they get into higher classes, their burden increases and a stage comes when not being able to cope up with it any more, they leave the school.
(6) Conservatism and Social Practices:
India, traditionally, is a conservative country. Even till this day people follow some such social traditions that can only be called bad social practices. Despite the efforts of social reformers and some legislation, the practices of child marriage, indifference and contempt towards girls, ‘purdah’ system, etc., still prevail in many sections of the Indian society.
Many do not favour coeducation even in primary classes. The result is either the girls remain uneducated or the money on their education is wasted.
One reason why people do not favour girl education is that they do not consider it economically profitable because in a traditional Indian family male members feel that the responsibility of earning and feeding the family rests on them alone. These evil social traditions are proving costly to primary- education.