Missing buildings, shortage of classrooms, no toilets: Survey throws light on problems plaguing Bihar government schools

It found that only 23 per cent of the children enrolled were present in the primary schools and only 20 per cent in the upper primary schools on random inspection. Two-thirds of primary schools and almost all upper-primary schools sampled had a pupil-teacher ratio above 30:1, the maximum mandated under the Right to Education Act.

Teachers in most schools were found inflating attendance figures – 44 per cent in primary schools and 40 per cent in upper primary schools. Covid-19 caused massive learning losses as half of the schools reported that most students in Classes III to V had forgotten to read and write by the time schools resumed regular classes, the survey report said.

Over 90 per cent of primary schools have no proper boundary wall, playground or library and 9 per cent of schools did not have their own buildings, the survey found. One-fifth of the schools reported inadequate midday meal (MDM) budgets and issues like under-budgeting for eggs and “Brahminical opposition” to eggs. On the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system for textbooks and uniforms, most schools reported that many students had not gotten textbooks or uniforms, either because they did not receive DBT money or because they used it for other purposes.

The survey found that 50 per cent of the enrolled students were from disadvantaged groups like Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and Muslims.

The lack of infrastructure – little furniture, fewer classrooms, hardly any playground – was a common finding. Sixty-two per cent of primary schools and 19 per cent of upper primary schools sampled did not have a boundary wall. Putting a question mark on the open defecation free Bihar claim, the survey said: “Schools in North Bihar are not open defecation free – far from it. Over one-fifth of primary schools and one-sixth of upper primary schools do not have toilets. Among those that do, a large majority have toilets that can be described as “so-so” or “poor”, with only a handful having “good” toilets. In some schools, there was just one toilet for both boys and girls, which was likely not being used by either.”

Dreze’s survey also found an “extreme shortage of classrooms, tables, and chairs”, a gross violation of RTE norms. “Often students make do by sitting outside in verandahs or corridors and on sacks or mats,” it said. “One of the most shocking findings from the survey is that 9 per cent of the sample schools (7 out of 81) have no building. These schools run from another government office or building, up to 5 km away from the community they are meant for. Due to the long distance, enrolment in these schools is usually quite low. Some of these schools had no teachers of their own – they depended on teachers from another school where they had been allotted a single room,” said the survey report.

The survey said that while The National Food Security Act gives all children studying in government primary and upper-primary schools the right to a hot, tasty and nutritious meal at schools, the survey showed that 20 per cent of sampled schools (24 per cent primary and 17 per cent upper-primary) reported having inadequate funds to run MDM.

“Even though 95 per cent of the schools reported that they are providing one egg per week per child, many respondent teachers complained that the egg allowance in the MDM budget was below market price. Additionally, several schools do not have a proper cooking shed or a clean water supply to ensure hygienic cooking…Finally, eggs in the MDM are coming under attack in some areas by local efforts to thrust vegetarianism on marginalized communities. Influenced by Brahmanical ideas of purity and pollution, some groups in rural Bihar instruct their followers to give up non-vegetarian food and keep fasts to attain purity. In at least three schools, the survey team found life-size framed photographs of leaders who are known to promote these values,” the survey said.

Bihar replaced the direct distribution of textbooks and uniforms with cash transfers under the DBT system since 2017. The survey, however, said: “There are two distinct reasons why children may be deprived of textbooks under the DBT system. First, DBT money may be used for something else. Children studying in government schools tend to come from poor families, and the DBT system imposes on them a cruel choice between buying textbooks and spending the money on basic necessities. Informal conversations with parents suggest that many of them are using DBT money for other purposes, including private tuition in some cases. Second, DBT money does not always reach the children or their parents. The money is conditional on 75 per cent school attendance, and also requires an Aadhaar-linked bank account.” The survey found that over 10,000 students’ bank accounts had been rejected in the 11 survey blocks. It resulted in children not getting money for school uniforms and textbooks.

Government schools in Bihar also seem to be in danger of mass displacement by private coaching centres. The survey red-flagged what the Bihar education department has openly admitted – how the mushrooming of private coaching institutes had marred enrolment and attendance of students in government schools. “In several schools, the survey team found that the students had left for private tuitions post lunch. In others, students came late to school because school timings clashed with those of a coaching centre,” the survey said.

“While private tuitions take place in a variety of establishments, most of them are humble setups in the villages or bazaars. Though small and spartan in infrastructure, private tuitions are very popular and have started acting as a replacement to a failing schooling system in rural North Bihar. The reliance on private tuition has increased so much that it is practically replacing all teaching learning in government schools. A nexus has been formed between dysfunctional government schools and private tuitions, where the role of the school has been reduced to merely providing a midday meal and arranging examinations,” the survey report added.

The survey, however, found a “school of hope” in UMS Chargharia in Sikti, Araria in terms of enrolment and attendance of students, infrastructure and overall management.

The survey suggested addressing “abysmal school attendance” as there were “shocking levels of pupil absenteeism (about 80 per cent on an average day)”. It also recommended the reversal of DBT as benefits were not reaching all students.