Lessons in neglect

However, it did encourage 200 other tribal children from six tehsils in Thane district to march to Vidhan Bhavan in March, demanding a better deal for education. Studentsfrom the K.J. Khilnani School in Dadar, Chief Minister Manohar Joshi8217;s constituency, shouted themselves hoarse at Vidhan Bhavan and courted arrest. They were protesting the closure of their school in December last year despite the Supreme Court8217;s 1994 ruling that the government-requisitioned premises on which the school was located be returned to its original owner.

Buckling under political pressure, the state government announced in the just-concluded Assembly session that it was willing to hand over the school back to the management. But three other schools in Dadar have also been closed for the same reason.

In view of the apex court8217;s judgment, the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government amended the Rent Act, protecting about 600 diverse groups of tenants. But none of these schools were clubbed in the protected categories. The government was obviously more interested in the prime property on which the schools were located, since big bucks were at stake. The Opposition repeatedly raised the issue inthe state legislature, but the government was hard-pressed for an answer.

If the interests which dictated the government8217;s decision to shut down the Dadar schools are clear, the authorities clearly had none in the instance of the government-run ashram schools, which account for 410 of the 734 ashram schools in the state. And here lies the rub. Rural education has long been neglected, and the trend threatens to seep into urban centres as well, if the state of schools in Mumbai is any indication.

Ashram schools owe their genesis to the recommendations of a committee set up by former chief secretary D.M. Sukthankar. They were opened to implement the tribal sub-plan for improving education among the tribal population and speeding up social and economic development. These schools were also meant to provide a stipend, free meals, school uniforms and accommodation to the students. The Tribal Development Department even scripted comprehensive guidelines on the quantity and quality of food to be served.

But withpractically no follow-up action and lameduck excuses read replies to Opposition members8217; queries during Question Hour, the government has reduced these elaborate plans to a lark.

Teachers play truant, headmasters gobble up the schools8217; ration quotas, and inebriated guards beat up students. The schools aren8217;t even subjected to regular inspection by departmental officers.

Even tribal children in areas close to the metropolis aren8217;t better off. quot;Despite being close to Mumbai, the literacy rate of the tribal population in Thane district has dropped to 36.77 per cent. The district otherwise has a literacy rate one per cent higher than that of the state 76.56 per cent,quot; says Vivek Pandit, managing trustee of Vidhayak Sansad, a voluntary organisation whose research wing, the Centre for Budget Studies, conducted a detailed study on the state budget provisions.

If anything, Thane8217;s proximity to the megapolis has backfired on its tribal population. Over the years, the district has been plundered for itsabundant raw materials used in Mumbai8217;s thriving construction industry.

Simultaneously, its migrant tribal population is squeezed for its labour value. It therefore makes good business and political sense for the government to ignore tribal education and concentrate on its commercial objectives.

Children of migrant labourers also have little incentive for education, because the mobile schools bonga shalas catering to them are poorly run. Those run by voluntary organisations don8217;t receive sufficient government aid.

But the tribals can take solace from the fact that the government is not discriminatory in its approach. It has unilaterally ignored education in the state, and it is evident.

The increment in the number of new schools and students enrolled has consistently decreased over five successive decades, even if the absolute figures have gone up, according to statistics prepared by the Directorate of Economics and Statistics of the state planning department.

The plunge was particularlysignificant between 1990 and 1997 compared with earlier decades. But the data is especially depressing for primary education.

quot;The decrease if any is only understandable,quot; points out the Minister of State for Education, Anil Deshmukh, saying the government has strictly followed the norm which stipulates that there should be a primary school every 1.5 km and a minimum population of 200. The norm for tribal areas is 1 km, and the minimum population figure has to be 100. This is in keeping with the National Education Policy8217;s total literacy programme. Because the norm has been faithfully implemented, the need to open new schools is less. And in the coming decade, it will be even lesser, Deshmukh explains. Asked if he thought the number of schools is sufficient to cater to the growing population, Deshmukh said: quot;There has been a substantial increase in the number of schools even in view of the rise in population.quot; If that is cryptic, the reasons for the deterioration in higher education are even more baffling.Between 1996-97 and 1997-98, the number of higher educational institutions beside colleges and enrolment in the state is static. Deshmukh refuses to comment on the issue.

The allocation for general education in the state budget has fallen drastically from 8.03 per cent in 1994-95 to 5.01 per cent in 1998-99, Vivek Pandit points out.

But vehemently denying allegations that the Sena-BJP government has ignored education more than its predecessors, Deshmukh released another clutch of statistics on the government8217;s budget. In the Five Year Plan 1997-2002, the total estimated budget is Rs 45,125 crore, and of this, Rs 2,086 crore has been allotted for education planned, i.e., 4.62 per cent of the total budget. Between 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, the total planned and non-planned budget for education out of the whole outlay went up from 15.5 per cent to 16.54 per cent to 14.26 per cent in the last case, the budget provision will go up further due to supplementary provisions, Deshmukh explains.

Soundsgreat, but can impressive statistics and ambitious financial outlays teach children to read and stave off students8217;s agitations? With the government8217;s agenda cluttered with political and commercial priorities, any optimism on the education front appears misplaced.