School education, particularly for children from underprivileged sections, suffered badly during the Covid-19 lockdown across the country. For states like Bihar, where schools were closed for prolonged periods, this has widened the inequalities in education.
A survey released today has found that government schools in Bihar are woefully short of teachers and two-thirds of primary schools and almost all upper-primary schools in the sample have a pupil-teacher ratio of above 30, the maximum permissible under the Right to Education Act.
The survey was conducted by civil society organisation Jan Jagran Shakti Sangathan (JJSS) in primary and upper-primary schools (referred to as middle schools) of Katihar and Araria districts in January and February 2023.
The survey also found student attendance to be abysmal. In primary schools, only 23 per cent of students enrolled were present at the time of the survey.
Pupil attendance was even lower in upper-primary schools at just 20 per cent. Teachers, it was found, routinely inflated attendance figures in school registers.
“But even the inflated figures are very low (44 per cent and 40 per cent in primary and upper-primary schools, respectively),” it said.
Around 11 blocks in Katihar and Araria were part of the survey. In each block, 10 schools (five primary and five upper-primary) were randomly selected. In all, 81 schools were surveyed (40 primary and 41 upper-primary).
“Although this sample is not representative of all government schools in Bihar, it is likely to be fairly representative of the schools accessible to disadvantaged children in North Bihar,” the surveyors said, while acknowledging that due to paucity of time all schools of the sample could not be covered.
At least 50 per cent enrolment was of students from socially disadvantaged groups (Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, Muslim), the survey found.
The prolonged closure of schools – for nearly two years – due to Covid-19 caused massive learning losses in the government schools of Bihar. Half of the schools reported that most students in Classes 3-5 had forgotten to read and write by the time they reopened, according to the survey.
“Little has been done to make up for these losses and other adverse effects of prolonged school closure on children’s education and wellbeing,” the survey said.
While the survey is confined to only two districts of Bihar, subject experts and academicians say that Covid-19 badly impacted school education across the country, especially for those who come from the poor strata of society.
The survey also found that schools in Bihar have dismal infrastructure and amenities, especially at the primary level.
Most primary schools (90 per cent) have no proper boundary wall, playground or library. And some schools (9 per cent of all surveyed) do not even have a building.
It said that one-fifth of the surveyed schools reported that the midday meal budget was inadequate.
“Government schools in Bihar seem to be in danger of mass displacement by private coaching centres,” the survey said.
It added, “While a minority of privileged children were able to study online or in private tuition, others were left to fend for themselves. This has exacerbated existing inequalities in educational opportunities.”
The worrying evidence from neighbouring Jharkhand also shows that many children have forgotten what they had learnt prior to the crisis, and that no serious measures have been taken to help them catch up, it said.