However, the survey could not shed light on the real-time impact of repeated lockdowns on the education sector due to the lack of the latest available comprehensive official data as it was based on various small surveys by government and citizen-led non-government agencies. The survey, acknowledging the academic disruption caused by the pandemic, found that despite the COVID-19 situation, “enrollment in the age group of 15-16 years continued to improve as the number of children enrolled in this age group declined by 12.1%. In 2018 to 6.6% in 2021. However, the children (age 6-14 years) in the ‘not currently enrolled in schools’ category increased from 2.5% in 2018 to 4.6% in 2021.
If reverse migration from private schools continues, the survey suggests additional support to the government-run school system “to absorb students migrating from private schools, in terms of teacher-student ratio, classroom space, and teaching/learning content.” Further additional support has been called for from urban to rural areas.” Pointing out that lack of access to education, drop out, learning especially for children from marginalized communities have always been major challenges in education However, after academic disruptions due to the pandemic and online learning becoming the safe and dominant mode of learning, it has widened the existing digital divide and thus access to education. It cited a non-government report – “However, Smartphone availability has increased from 36.5% in 2018 to 67.6% in 2021, but students in lower grades found it more difficult to do online activities than students in higher grades. Non-availability of smartphones, non-availability of phones for children to use and network or connectivity issues were the challenges faced by the children. ,
However, the survey noted that although there is no government data to confirm this, “the adverse effects of the pandemic on the education system are needed to address concerns raised through private studies conducted during the pandemic period.” Steps have been taken by the government to reduce the number of children enrolled in almost all enrolled children having textbooks for their current grade (91.9%). This proportion has increased over the last year for children enrolled in both government and private schools. Further, 46.4% of children in reopened schools received learning materials/activities as compared to 39.8% of children whose schools were not reopened,” as it pointed out to PM e-Vidya, National Digital Education Architecture and Vidyanjali Cited initiatives to reduce learning losses and continuity of education.
As a forward-looking step, the survey states that the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020 aims to pave the way for transformative reforms in school and higher education systems so that all students are protected from marginalized, disadvantaged and under-represented groups. To provide quality education with special attention. ,
Based on comprehensive official data prior to 2019-20, the survey highlighted significant improvement in infrastructure in schools during the period 2012-13 to 2019-20, with medical check-ups registering 82.3% as against 61.1% Gone. Schools with girls’ toilets improved from 88.7% to 96.9% over the same period. Internet access, though much less, has registered a growth of 22.3% from 6.2%.
School infrastructure – both in terms of number of accredited schools and colleges and infrastructure in schools – and teacher availability reflected in student teacher ratio, improved in 2019-20 as compared to previous years. The Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education was recorded at 27.1% in 2019-20, slightly higher than 26.3% in 2018-19.
The survey said spending on education has increased by 20% during the pandemic, while the health sector has grown by around 73% in 2021-22 (BE) compared to 2019-20.
The combined expenditure of the Center and the states on education increased from 3.54 lakh crore in 2014-15 to 6.97 lakh crore in 2021-22 (B.E.). Education as a percentage of GDP has increased from 2.8% in 2014-15 to 3.1% in 2020-21. However, as a percentage of total spending on social services, it decreased from 10.8% to 9.7% for education over this period.
Prioritizing drinking water and sanitation in schools under the Jal Jeevan Mission, under the Swachh Bharat Mission as well as the Samagra Sikh scheme has played an important role in providing necessary resources and creating wealth in schools, the survey said. By 19 January 2022 under Jal Jeevan Mission
Tap water was provided to 8,39,443 schools. In addition, there has been a steady improvement in the availability of teachers at all levels from 2012-13 to 2019-20.
The survey further states that the year 2019-20 saw an improvement in gross
Improvement in Enrollment Ratio (GER) and gender equality at all levels. In 2019-20, 26.45 crore children were enrolled in schools. This has helped in reversing the declining trend of GER between 2016-17 and 2018-19. According to the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISF+), schools enrolled an additional 42 lakh children during the year, of whom 26 lakh were in primary to senior secondary level and 1.6 million in pre-primary.
The Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education was recorded at 27.1% in 2019-20, which is slightly higher than 26.3% in 2018-19. According to the survey, the government has taken several initiatives to revolutionize the higher education ecosystem such as revision of the National Apprenticeship Training Scheme, Academic Bank of Credit, EPGPathshala, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and scholarships for weaker sections.
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