A STUDY OF SOCIAL CONSUMPTION ON EDUCATION IN INDIA

ARTICLE ON THE THEME OF “A STUDY OF SOCIAL CONSUMPTION ON EDUCATION IN INDIA” Dr. Shahla Tabassum Assistant Professor,  Department of Political Science Zakir Husain Delhi College (Evening), University of Delhi. Email Id: [email protected] AND Dr. T. Sadashivam, Assistant Professor Department of Public Administration Pachhunga University College(PUC), (Only Constituent College of Mizoram Central University, Aizawl.) Published in the University New-A Weekly Journal of Higher Education, published by Association of Indian Universities, Volume.55, No.14, April 03-09, 2017, New Delhi, PP.15-19. Introduction The society growth and development depends upon one of the most important factor i.e. ‘Education’. It is the education, through which individual personality develops and ultimately leads to a strong nation. All the countries in this world, spends huge amount of money in the field of education. Even, India is not far away from this, during the 2017-18 General Budget, the total amount allocated for education sector was Rupees 79,686 crores. But still for big county like India, this amount is not enough, that is the reason, why we are finding many problems related to the education sector ( from lack of infrastructure to shortage of teachers etc). However, the story not ends here; the individuals also incur expenditure for getting education in the form of course fees, examination fees, cost of books, stationery etc. The data about how much governments (both Centre and State) spend on education is easily available in public domain. But, regarding the private expenditure incurred by individuals is very difficult to get. In this regard, the National Sample Survey (NSS) conducted a household survey on ‘Social Consumption: Education’ (during the period 1st January 2014 to 30th June 2014) which is also called as ‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. The present survey is the latest data available with us. The last such survey conducted during 64th Round of NSS (July 2007-June 2008). The present article will try to analyse some key aspects of NSS 71st Round Survey on Education. Analysis of NSS 71st Round Survey on Education: The NSS 71st Round Survey on Education collects information, about the person aged 5-29 years who are in pursuit of education in our country. If, we see the demographic profile of population at both rural and urban level between the age group 5-29 years, it estimated that around 36 crores for rural population and 14.5 crores for urban population. Table 1.1: Literacy Rates (%) for persons aged 5 years and above for selected States SL. No States Literacy Rates Percentage (%) 1) Kerala 95% 2) Assam 86% 3) Maharashtra 83% 4) Tamil Nadu 81% 5) Punjab 80% 6) Gujarat 80% 7) West Bengal 79% 8) Haryana 77% 9) Odisha 76% 10) Karnataka 76% 11) Chhattisgarh 73% 12) Madhya Pradesh 72% 13) Jharkhand 71% 14) Uttar Pradesh 70% 15) Telangana 69% 16) Rajasthan 68% 17) Andhra Pradesh 68% 18) Bihar 67% All India 76% Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.21. Table No. 1.1 shows that out of 18 selected states, a total of 8 states (Bihar 67%; Andhra Pradesh 68%; Rajasthan 68%; Telangana 69%; Uttar Pradesh 70%; Jharkhand 71%; Madhya Pradesh 72% and Chhattisgarh 73%) are below the national average literacy rate of (76%), whereas, Haryana (77.1%); West Bengal (79%); Gujarat (80%); Punjab (80%) and Tamil Nadu (81%) are just marginally ahead of the national average. The position of BIMARU (Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh ) is very bad. Also, only 10 states ( Odisha76% ; Karnataka 76%; Haryana 77%; West Bengal 79%; Gujarat 80%; Punjab 80%; Tamil Nadu 81%; Maharashtra 83%; Assam 86%; and Kerala 95%) have literacy rate equal to or above the national average rate. One interesting fact about the (Table No. 1.1) is that, states which are created in the year 2000 are doing better than their parent states like Jharkhand (71%) carved out from Bihar(67%) and Chhattisgarh(73%) from Madhya Pradesh(72%). Table No.1.2: Comparison of Literacy Rates (%) over Periods for Persons in Different Age-Groups Age Rural Urban Rural+ Urban Male Female person Male Female Person Male Female Person 2014(NSS 71st Round) Age 5 & above 80% 62% 71% 91% 81% 86% 83% 68% 76% Age 7 & above 80% 62% 71% 91% 81% 86% 83% 68% 76% All Age(age 0 & above) 72% 57% 65% 84% 75% 80% 76% 62% 69% 2011(NSS 68th Round) Age 5 & above 78% 61% 69% 90% 80% 85% 82% 66% 74% Age 7 & above 79% 61% 70% 91% 80% 86% 83% 66% 75% All Age( age 0 & above) 72% 56% 64% 84% 75% 80% 75% 61% 68% 2007-08(NSS 64th Round) Age 5 & above 77% 57% 67% 90% 78% 84% 80% 63% 72% Age 7 & above 77% 57% 67% 90% 78% 84% 81% 62% 72% All Age ( age 0 & above) 68% 51% 60% 82% 72% 77% 72% 56% 65% Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.20. If we see (Table No.1.2), the comparison of literacy rates percentage over the periods from NSS 64th round survey on Education in 2007-08; NSS 68th round-Employment & Unemployment Survey in 2011-12 and NSS 71st round on Education in India in 2014. The study of above mentioned surveys starting from 2007-08 till 2014 have shown increase in the literacy rates, firstly across various age groups and secondly, genders both in rural and urban areas. Among all age (age 0 and above) the literacy rates percentage have seen increase of (4%) over the periods from (65%) in 2007-08 to (69%) in 2014. Similarly, between age 7 & above; and age 5 & above an increase of (4%) have seen in both age groups. In case of former, it increase from (72%) in 2007-08 to (76%) in 2014, whereas in case of later, it increase from (72%) in 2007-08 to (76%) in 2014. Among the category of genders, it has seen that the literacy rates percentage among the females in comparison with males saw increase across various age groups. For instance, in the category of all age (age 0 and above) for females, the literacy rates percentage has increase from (56%) in 2007-08 to (62%) in 2014, which is increase of (6%); whereas for male, the literacy rates percentage increased from (72%) in 2007-08 to (76%), which is increase of only (4%). Similarly, in the category of age 7 & above; the female literacy rates was (62%) in 2007-08 and increase to (68%) in 2014, which is increase of (6%), in comparison with male, it just marginally increase of (2%) from (81%) in 2007-08 to (83%) in 2014. Likewise in the category of age 5 & above, the female literacy rates was increase from (63%) in 2007-08 to (68%) in 2014, which is an increase of (5%). For male, the literacy rates was (80%) in 2007-08 and increase to (83%) in 2014, just an increase of (3%) over the periods. Also, the literacy rates for population, in the category of age 5 & above and age 7 & above were almost similar. However, still the literacy rates gap between rural and urban areas across all ages and gender is substantial. For example, in the category of all age (age 0 & above), the gap difference between rural and urban areas in 2007-08 was (17%); 2011 (16%) and in 2014 it was (15%). Also, the gap between male and female literacy rates both in rural and urban areas were also high in favour of male. Table No. 1.3: Percentage Distribution of Current Attendance Status of persons (aged 5-29 year) Status Male Female 2007-08 (NSS 64th Round) Currently Attending 55.1% 48.4% Ever Enrolled 35% 33.5% Never Enrolled 9.8% 18.2% 2014(NSS 71st Round) Currently Attending 58.2% 53.5% Ever Enrolled 34.3% 34.2% Never Enrolled 7.1% 11.9% Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.28. It can be observed from (Table 1.3), that currently attending any educational institutions by the female has shown increase of (5%) from (48.4%) in 2007-08 to (53.5%); whereas for male, we have seen an increase of (3%) from (55.1%) in 2007-08 to (58.2%). Similarly, the never enrolled among females had seen a drastic reduction of (6.3%) from (18.2%) in 2007-08 to (11.9%) in 2014. However, still it can be noticed that the male-female differences in never enrolled(in any educational institutions) in age group 5-29 year is (4.8%), i.e., for male it was (7.1%) and female(11.9%). Table No. 1.4: Percentage of Literates (Age 7 years & above) by Social Group Rural Urban Rural +Urban Social Groups Male Female Differences Male Female Differences Male Female Differences ST 73% 55% 18% 90% 76% 14% 75% 57% 20% SC 75% 56% 19% 86% 72% 14% 78% 60% 18% OBC 81% 61% 12% 90% 78% 12% 84% 66% 18% Others 87% 73% 14% 95% 88% 7% 90% 79% 11% Note: ST: Scheduled Tribe; SC: Scheduled Caste; OBC: Other Backward Caste. Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.21. The variation in literacy rates not only exist geographical and gender wise, but also among different social groups in the society. According to the (Table No. 1.4), in rural areas, the literacy rates for both male and female in the social group ‘Others’ is high, in comparison with rest of the social groups. In rural areas, the social group ‘Others’ had the male literacy rates of (87%) and female (73%). In urban areas, it is (95%) and (88%) for male and female respectively. Overall (rural + urban), the literacy rates for male was (90%) and female (79%). Furthermore, the (Table no.1.4) highlights that, the male-female literacy rates differences in rural areas have more for OBC social group with (-20%); whereas, in urban areas, it is equal for both STs and SCs with (-14%) differences each respectively. Overall (rural + urban) the differences is more for STs with (-20%). In rural areas, the SCs literacy rates for both male and female are slightly much better than STs. In contradictory, in urban areas STs Literacy rates is much better than SCs. Table No.1.5: Average Expenditure (Rupees) per student for different types of education Year General Education Technical/Professional Education Vocational 2007-08 2461 32,112 14,881 2014 6788 62,841 27,676 Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.80. The present survey (2014) (Table No.1.5), shows that an average expenditure by individual students has more in technical/professional and vocational education, in comparison with general education in both the periods (2007-08 and 2014). In general education, the average expenditure for students is Rupees (2461) in 2007-08, which increased to average Rupees (6788) in 2014. Similarly, for technical/professional education, the average expenditure in 2007-08 was Rupees (32,112), and increased to Rupees (62,841) in 2014. The students for vocational education spent average Rupees (14,881) in 2007-08, which increased to Rupees (27,676) in 2014. Overall, the students are spending more on technical/professional education, in comparison with vocational and general education. The technical/professional and vocational education spending by the students is 9(Nine) times for the former and 4(Four) times for the latter respectively, is more than that of general education. Table No. 1.6: Average Expenditure (Rupees) per Student in Current Academic Session by type of Education (Rural + Urban) Type of Education State/UT General Technical/Professional(except Vocational) Vocational Andhra Pradesh 7358 43400 14927 Arunachal Pradesh 5917 43632 46810 Assam 4152 41632 16736 Bihar 4251 75629 36693 Chhattisgarh 2993 35522 12578 Delhi 19491 67537 33799 Goa 8465 54798 15128 Gujarat 7442 60491 22423 Haryana 13905 74260 33450 Himachal Pradesh 8367 78886 23534 Jammu & Kashmir 7311 60699 29548 Jharkhand 4543 39084 35177 Karnataka 7863 59803 20811 Kerala 9326 82232 19646 Madhya Pradesh 4894 55192 28504 Maharashtra 9292 69181 31179 Manipur 10012 81152 24195 Meghalaya 7037 49363 13135 Mizoram 10041 59649 32665 Nagaland 11501 60751 20518 Odisha 4584 66159 34740 Punjab 12600 69520 39139 Rajasthan 6804 47822 35852 Sikkim 5853 104922 29691 Tamil Nadu 9773 79689 35469 Telangana 9600 47788 14744 Tripura 6174 51610 15861 Uttar Pradesh 5074 58567 28073 Uttarkhand 5893 96342 30177 West Bengal 6692 58436 21104 A & N Islands 8191 39897 11684 Chandigarh 18426 81480 29364 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 7092 75212 15423 Daman & Diu 11926 43074 12274 Lakshadweep 2504 35796 3357 Puducherry 11436 59629 9366 All India 6788 62841 27676 Note: UT: Union Territory Source from-‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India, p.102. The (Table No.1.6) clearly spelt out the average expenditure by the students for different type of education in various States/UTs of our country. As already seen in the (Table No.1.5), the average expenditure per student, for general education is less, in comparison with technical/professional and vocational education. Also, among the three type of education, the technical/professional education is very costly. As mentioned above, the same thing applies to, if we see the data for various States/UTs. In general education, the average student’s expenditure in the UT of Delhi has highest with Rupees (19491), whereas Lakshadweep has the cheapest with Rupees (2504). Regionwise, among the different States (except Union Territories), starting with North India, where the state of Haryana is costly with average expenditure Rupees (13905). In South India, Tamil Nadu with average Rupees (9773) and in West and East India, it is the state of Maharashtra with average Rupees (9292) and Nagaland average Rupees (11501) respectively. The all India figure is average Rupees (6788) for general education. Similarly in vocational education, the costliest State/UT is interestingly Arunachal Pradesh with average Rupees (46810), whereas the cheapest is in the UT of Lakshadweep (3357). Among the UTs, the Delhi students have to spend highest with average Rupees of (33,799). Regionwise, in North India, the state of Punjab is costly with average Rupees (39,139). In South India, again the State of Tamil Nadu with average Rupees (35469); in West India, Rajasthan average Rupees (35852) and in East India, it is Arunachal Pradesh as already mentioned. The all India figure is average Rupees (27676) for vocational education. Lastly, in technical/professional education, the State of Sikkim was more costly amongst all States/UTs with average Rupees of (1,04922), while the cheapest is in the State of Chhattisgarh with average Rupees (35,522). Among the UTs, Chandigarh students spend highest with the average Rupees (81480). Regionwise, in North India, the students of the State of Himachal Pradesh have spent (more) average Rupees (78886), on technical/professional education. In South India, Kerala got the highest average per student expenditure with Rupees (82,232). In West India, it is the State of Gujarat with average Rupees (60491); and in East India, it is the State of Sikkim which has already mentioned. The all India figure is average Rupees (62841) for technical/professional education. Conclusion The ‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’ clearly gives us good picture about our education sector in India. Still even after near about seven decades of India’s independence, there are many problems exist in the education sector. From low literacy rates in rural areas; differences in access to education between male and female (both in rural and urban areas) and social groups; and to more importantly, wide variations exists across States/UTs and quality of education (at all levels) etc. Thus, all the stakeholders in our society should take into account, the above mentioned problems in our education sector very seriously. The reason being in this era of market dominance both the role of public and private sectors is equally important. So that in this knowledge era, we, as a country should not be left behind. Because, education being one of the most important pillars for the socio-economic development of the country as a whole, and individual in particular. Selected Bibliography 1) ‘NSS 71st Round Survey –Education in India’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. 2) ‘NSS 64th Round Survey –Participation and Expenditure in Education’. National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India. 3) Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Source from-http://mhrd.gov.in/, accessed on 1st March 2017.