145;Credit alone can146;t check rural indebtedness146;

Credit measures alone will not be enough to tackle the problem of rising indebtedness in rural India, says a report

Credit measures alone will not be enough to tackle the problem of rising indebtedness in rural India, says a report, submitted by a technical committee8212;appointed by the Reserve Bank of India and headed by Vice-Chairman of the Punjab State Planning Board Sardar Singh Johl8212;on rural indebtedness. Improving access to education, health and employment in rural India is as important as improving credit delivery, says the report.

To improve farm incomes, farm size must increase and farming must become a viable business. The report points out that this can happen only when a sizeable portion of farm population either moves out of this sector or becomes part-time farmers on small and medium size farms.

8220;Mere macro-level decisions to inject higher doses of credit into the agricultural and rural sector will not improve incomes and living conditions of marginal and small farmers and alleviate their poverty and distress. It needs equalisation of opportunities and access to education, health, life amenities and gainful employment opportunities,8221; the report says.

Pointing to the findings of a survey by the Punjabi University at Patiala8212;where only 6 per cent students are from rural areas8212;and another study which showed that no rural student has taken admission in the College of Agriculture at Punjab Agricultural University for over a decade, the committee finds 8220;no reason to believe that the situation would be different in other universities or institutions imparting technical education8221;.

Almost all students are from urban areas and non-farming families because 8220;not many higher secondary schools in villages teach sciences, that too in English8221;, says the report. Entrance tests for admission to higher technical education courses are held in physical and biological sciences in English, thus making rural students incapable of competing.

With less than 5 per cent of rural families able to send their children to urban centres for education and 65 per cent rural children relying on Government schools, the committee said there was a need to encourage teaching science and mathematics in English at village schools.