Missing the school bus

The second problem is the allocation of resources between higher educationand primary education. The state spends far too much on higher education and relatively less on primary education. Though the allocation for primary education has been rising it still remains only 40 per cent of the total expenditure on education. Yet, the social rate of return to primary education is much higher than the private rate, which would necessitate public investment. On the other hand, the private rate of return is higher for higher education and hence private funding should be encouraged.

Third, there is the usual problem of leakages of resources and poor implementation. Schools are ill equipped, are sometimes too far for students to attend and suffer on a large scale from absentee teachers. There is also the usual problem of corruption and leakages as a result of which even the limited resources provided are not put to efficient use.

This leads to the fourth problem 8212; the quality of syllabi used in schools. Unfortunately, the education system in India is not creating individuals who are employable. The rise of an educated yet unemployed class has its own social problems in the form of crime and violence. A lot more emphasis should be placed on vocational education. Also in rural areas people should be educated about agriculture and non-agricultural rural activities, which would open new avenues for employment.

Solutions to these problems need a little creativity and innovation. The responsibility of allocating a greater share of GDP to education rests, of course, with the State. It will have to find ways to do this, whether by channelising some of the proceeds from disinvestment to this sector or by cutting down on defence spending and downsizing a bloated bureaucracy.

The second problem of allocation between primary and higher has to betackled at the level of both the Centre and the states. As a rule all centrally funded universities must rely more on self-finance and corporate help and more money should be allocated to primary education.

The third problem of leakages and poor implementation can be solved throughdecentralising authority. Panchayats must be handed complete functional and financial autonomy with regard to primary education. The success of the Education Guarantee Scheme in Madhya Pradesh is proof that decentralisation does work. The poor, when they can organise, will not only be able to educate themselves but also try and get out of the poverty trap.

The last problem of quality is an important one. A commission should be set up to look into the restructuring of syllabi. Education, if it has to be relevant, must make people employable. People have to be convinced that it will bring them good returns otherwise they will have no incentive to learn.

India has failed conclusively in its attempt to educate its people over the last 53 years. In the current era of liberalisation, globalisation andfiercely competitive market economies, uneducated people have no chance ofbeing employed and are thus destined to be poor. No amount of economic reformcan achieve prosperity for all if a large number are uneducated. Very few governments, if any, have addressed the important question of education, in any constructive or organised way over the last 10 years, even while they talk about economic reform. Education must be a part of the second generation of reforms or else the majority of the next generation of Indians will continue to live in poverty. And India will continue to labour under the label of being the world8217;s biggest under-achiever.