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This article was published in the Indian Express on April 8, 2011
Dodging the Drafts
By Kaushiki Sanyal and C.V. Madhukar
Social activist, Anna Hazare’s fast unto death for the enactment of a strong Lok Pal Bill has provided an impetus to examine not only the Bill proposed by civil society activists but suggestions made by various experts.
The idea of establishing an authority where the citizen can seek redress against administrative acts of the government was first mooted in 1963 during a debate on Demands for Grants for the Law Ministry. Under the existing system, a citizen can either move court or seek other remedies such as petitioning his Member of Parliament. However, these remedies are limited because they maybe too cumbersome or specific grievances may not be addressed. Also, the laws that penalise corrupt officials do not have provision to redress specific grievances of citizens. Currently, corrupt public officials can be penalised under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. Both these laws require the investigating agency to get prior sanction of the central or state government before it can initiate the prosecution process in a court.
The office of the Lok Pal or an Ombudsman seeks to provide a forum for citizens to complain against public officials. The Lok Pal would inquire into such complaints and provide some redressal to citizens. The basic idea of the institution of Lok Pal was borrowed from the concept of Ombudsman in countries such as Finland, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, U.K. and New Zealand. Presently, about 140 countries have the office of the Ombudsman. In Sweden, Denmark and Finland, the office of the Ombudsman can redress citizens’ grievances by either directly receiving complaints from the public or suo moto. However, in the UK, the office of the Parliamentary Commissioner can receive complaints only through Members of Parliament (to whom the citizen can complain). Sweden and Finland also have the power to prosecute erring public servants.
The first Lok Pal Bill in India was introduced in 1968, which lapsed with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. The Bill was introduced seven more times in Parliament, the last time in 2001. Each time it lapsed except in 1985 when it was withdrawn.
Several commissions have examined the need for a Lok Pal and suggested ways to make it effective, without violating Constitutional principles. They include: the First Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) of 1966, the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution of 2002 and the Second Administrative Reforms Commission of 2007. The Lok Pal Bills that were introduced were referred to various Parliamentary committees (the last three Bills were referred to the Standing Committee on Home Affairs).
The First ARC report recommended that two independent authorities be created to redress grievances: first, a Lok Pal, to deal with complaints against the administrative acts of Ministers or secretaries of government at the centre and the state; and second, a Lokayukta in each state and at the centre, to deal with complaints against the administrative acts of other officials. Both these authorities should be independent of the executive, judiciary and legislature and shall be appointed by the President on advice of the Prime Minister, Leader of the Opposition and the Chief Justice of India.
The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution urged that the Constitution should provide for the appointment of the Lok Pal and Lokayuktas in the states but suggested that the Prime Minister should be kept out of the purview of the authority.
The Second Administrative Commission, formed in 2005, also recommended that the office of the Lok Pal be established without delay. It was in favour of including Ministers, Chief Ministers and Members of Parliament. However, it wanted to keep the Prime Minister outside the Lok Pal’s ambit. The ARC also recommended that a reasonable time-limit for investigation of different types of cases should be fixed.
The 1996, 1998 and 2001 Bill covered Prime Minister and MPs. The Standing Committee examining the 1998 Bill recommended that the government examine two basic issues before going forward with the Bill: first, MPs are deemed to be public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. If they are also brought under the purview of Lok Pal it may be “tantamount to double jeopardy”; and second, subjecting MPs to an outside disciplinary authority may affect supremacy of Parliament.
The 2001 Bill was also referred to the Standing Committee, which accepted that the Prime Minister and MPs should be included in the Bill. It further recommended that a separate legislation be enacted to ensure accountability of the judiciary. It however stated that the Bill did not address public grievances but focussed on corruption in high places.
The states have been more successful in establishing the Lokayuktas. So far 18 states have enacted legislation to set up the office of Lokayukta. While Karnataka Lokayukta is often hailed as a successful case, several other states have had limited success in combating corruption since all of them are recommendatory bodies with limited powers to enforce their findings.
A Group of Ministers is looking into ways to tackle corruption, including the establishment of a Lok Pal. A public debate on the issues raised by various committees would help iron out the weaknesses of any proposed legislation.
This article was published in the Indian Express on April 8, 2011
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 was released on July 30, 2020. It will replace the National Policy on Education, 1986. Key recommendations of the NEP include: (i) redesigning the structure of school curriculum to incorporate early childhood care and education, (ii) curtailing dropouts for ensuring universal access to education, (iii) increasing gross enrolment in higher education to 50% by 2035, and (iv) improving research in higher education institutes by setting up a Research Foundation. In this blog, we examine the current status of education in the country in view of some of these recommendations made by the NEP.
Universal access to Education
The NEP states that the Right to Education Act, 2009 has been successful in achieving near universal enrolment in elementary education, however retaining children remains a challenge for the schooling system. As of 2015-16, Gross Enrolment Ratio was 56.2% at senior secondary level as compared to 99.2% at primary level. GER denotes enrolment as a percent of the population of corresponding age group. Further, it noted that the decline in GER is higher for certain socio-economically disadvantaged groups, based on: (i) gender identities (female, transgender persons), (ii) socio-cultural identities (scheduled castes, scheduled tribes), (iii) geographical identities (students from small villages and small towns), (iv) socio-economic identities (migrant communities and low income households), and (v) disabilities. In the table below, we detail the GER in school education across: (i) gender, and (ii) socio-cultural identities.
Table 1: GER in school education for different gender and social groups (2015-16)
|
Level |
Male |
Female |
SC |
ST |
All |
|
Primary (I-V) |
97.9% |
100.7% |
110.9% |
106.7% |
99.2% |
|
Upper Primary (VI-VIII) |
88.7% |
97.6% |
102.4% |
96.7% |
92.8% |
|
Secondary (IX-X) |
79.2% |
81% |
85.3% |
74.5% |
80% |
|
Senior Secondary (XI-XII) |
56% |
56.4% |
56.8% |
43.1% |
56.2% |
Sources: Educational Statistics at Glance 2018, MHRD; PRS.
Data for all groups indicates decline in GER as we move from primary to senior secondary for all groups. This decline is particularly high in case of Scheduled Tribes. Further, we analyse the reason for dropping out from school education. Data suggests that the most prominent reason for dropping out was: engagement in domestic activities (for girls) and engagement in economic activities (for boys).
Table 2: Major reasons for dropping out (Class 1-12) for 2015-16
|
Reason for dropping out |
Male |
Female |
|
Child not interested in studies |
23.8% |
15.6% |
|
Financial Constraints |
23.7% |
15.2% |
|
Engage in Domestic Activities |
4.8% |
29.7% |
|
Engage in Economic Activities |
31.0% |
4.9% |
|
School is far off |
0.5% |
3.4% |
|
Unable to cop-up with studies |
5.4% |
4.6% |
|
Completed desired level/ Class |
5.7% |
6.5% |
|
Marriage |
|
13.9% |
|
Other reasons |
5.1% |
6.2% |
Note: Other reasons include: (i) timings of educational Institution not suitable, (ii) language/medium of Instruction used unfamiliar, (iii) inadequate number of teachers, (iv) quality of teachers not satisfactory, (v) unfriendly atmosphere at school. For girl students, other reasons also include: (i) non-availability of female teachers, (ii) non-availability of girl’s toilet.
Sources: Educational Statistics at Glance 2018, MHRD; PRS.
The NEP recommends strengthening of existing schemes and policies which are targeted for such socio-economically disadvantaged groups (for instance, schemes for free bicycles for girls or scholarships) to tackle dropouts. Further, it recommends setting up special education zones in areas with significant proportion of such disadvantaged groups. A gender inclusion fund should also be setup to assist female and transgender students in getting access to education.
Increasing GER in Higher Education to 50% by 2035
The NEP aims to increase the GER in higher education to 50% by 2035. As of 2018-19, the GER in higher education in the country stood at 26.3%. Figure 2 shows the trend of GER in higher education over the last few years. Note that the annual growth rate of GER in higher education in the last few years has been around 2%.
Figure 1: GER in Higher Education (2014-15 to 2018-19)
Sources: All India Survey on Higher Education, MHRD; PRS.
Table 3: Comparison of GER (higher education) with other countries
|
Country |
GER (2017-18) |
|
India |
25% |
|
Brazil |
51% |
|
China |
49% |
|
Indonesia |
36% |
|
South Africa |
22% |
|
Pakistan |
9% |
|
Germany |
70% |
|
France |
66% |
|
United Kingdom |
60% |
Sources: UNESCO; PRS.
The NEP recommends that for increasing GER, capacity of existing higher education institutes will have to be improved by restructuring and expanding existing institutes. It recommends that all institutes should aim to be large multidisciplinary institutes (with enrolments in thousands), and there should be one such institution in or near every district by 2030. Further, institutions should have the option to run open distance learning and online programmes to improve access to higher education.
Foundational literacy and numeracy
The NEP states that a large proportion of the students currently enrolled in elementary school have not attained foundational literacy and numeracy (the ability to read and understand basic text, and carry out basic addition and subtraction). It recommends that every child should attain foundational literacy and numeracy by grade three.
Table 4 highlights the results of the National Achievement Survey 2017 on the learning levels of students at Grade 3 in language and mathematics. The results of the survey suggest that only 57% students in Grade 3 are able to solve basic numeracy skills related to addition and subtraction.
Table 4: NAS results on learning level of Grade-3 students
|
Learning level (Grade 3) |
Percentage of students |
|
Ability to read small texts with comprehension (Language) |
68% |
|
Ability to read printed scripts on classroom walls such as poems, posters (Language) |
65% |
|
Solving simple daily life addition and subtraction problems with 3 digits (Mathematics) |
57% |
|
Analyses and applies the appropriate number operation in a situation (Mathematics) |
59% |
Sources: National Achievement Survey (2017) dashboard, NCERT; PRS.
To achieve universal foundational literacy and numeracy, the Policy recommends setting up a National Mission on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy under the MHRD. All state governments must prepare implementation plans to achieve these goals by 2025. A national repository of high-quality resources on foundational literacy and numeracy will be made available on government’s e-learning platform (DIKSHA). Other measures to be taken in this regard include: (i) filling teacher vacancies at the earliest, (ii) ensuring a pupil to teacher ratio of 30:1 for effective teaching, and (iii) training teachers to impart foundational literacy and numeracy.
Effective governance of schools
The Policy states that establishing primary schools in every habitation across the country has helped increase access to education. However, it has led to the development of schools with low number of students. The small size of schools makes it operationally and economically challenging to deploy teachers and critical physical resources (such as library books, sports equipment).
With respect to this observation, the distribution of schools by enrolment size can be seen in the table below. Note that, as of September 2016, more than 55% of primary schools in the country had an enrolment below 60 students.
Table 5: Distribution of schools by enrolment size
|
Strength (Grade) |
Below 30 |
31-60 |
61-90 |
91-120 |
121-150 |
151-200 |
More than 200 |
|
Primary schools (Class 1-5) |
28.0% |
27.5% |
16.0% |
10.3% |
6.3% |
5.6% |
6.4% |
|
Upper primary schools (Class 6-8) |
14.8% |
27.9% |
18.7% |
15.0% |
8.4% |
7.2% |
8.0% |
|
Upper primary schools (Class 1-8) |
5.7% |
11.6% |
13.0% |
12.1% |
10.4% |
13.4% |
33.8% |
Sources: Flash Statistics on School Education 2016-17, UDISE; PRS.
While nearly 80% primary schools had a library, only 1.5% schools had a librarian (as of September 2016). The availability of facilities is better in higher senior secondary schools as compared to primary or upper primary schools.
Table 6: Distribution of schools with access to physical facilities
|
Facilities |
Primary schools (Class 1-5) |
Upper primary schools (Class 1-8) |
Higher senior secondary |
|
Library |
79.8% |
88.0% |
94.4% |
|
Librarian |
1.5% |
4.5% |
34.4% |
|
Playground |
54.9% |
65.5% |
84.3% |
|
Functional computer |
4.4% |
25.2% |
46.0% |
|
Internet connection |
0.9% |
4.2% |
67.9% |
Sources: Flash Statistics on School Education 2016-17, UDISE; PRS.
To overcome the challenges associated with development of small schools, the NEP recommends grouping schools together to form a school complex. The school complex will consist of one secondary school and other schools, aanganwadis in a 5-10 km radius. This will ensure: (i) adequate number of teachers for all subjects in a school complex, (ii) adequate infrastructural resources, and (iii) effective governance of schools.
Restructuring of Higher Education Institutes
The NEP notes that the higher education ecosystem in the country is severely fragmented. The present complex nomenclature of higher education institutes (HEIs) in the country such as ‘deemed to be university’, ‘affiliating university’, ‘affiliating technical university', ‘unitary university’ shall be replaced simply by 'university'.
According to the All India Survey on Higher Education 2018-19, India has 993 universities, 39,931 colleges, and 10,725 stand-alone institutions (technical institutes such as polytechnics or teacher training institutes).
Table 7: Number of Universities in India according to different categories
|
Type of university |
Number of universities |
|
Central University |
46 |
|
Central Open University |
1 |
|
Institutes of National Importance |
127 |
|
State Public University |
371 |
|
Institution Under State Legislature Act |
5 |
|
State Open University |
14 |
|
State Private University |
304 |
|
State Private Open University |
1 |
|
Deemed University- Government |
34 |
|
Deemed University- Government Aided |
10 |
|
Deemed University- Private |
80 |
|
Total |
993 |
Sources: All India Survey on Higher Education 2018-19; PRS.
The NEP recommends that all HEIs should be restructured into three categories: (i) research universities focusing equally on research and teaching, (ii) teaching universities focusing primarily on teaching, and (iii) degree granting colleges primarily focused on undergraduate teaching. All such institutions will gradually move towards full autonomy - academic, administrative, and financial.
Setting up a National Research Foundation to boost research
The NEP states that investment on research and innovation in India, at only 0.69% of GDP, lags behind several other countries. India’s expenditure on research and development (R&D) in the last few years can be seen in the figure below. Note that the total investment on R&D in India as a proportion of GDP has been stagnant at around 0.7% of GDP. In 2018-19, the total expenditure on R&D in India was Rs 1,23,848 crore. Of this, Rs 72,732 crore (58%) of expenditure was by government, and the remaining (42%) was by private industry.
Figure 2: R&D Expenditure in India (2011-12 to 2018-19)
Sources: S&T Indicators Table 2019-20, Ministry of Science and Technology, March 2020; PRS.
Figure 3: Comparison of R&D expenditure in India with other countries (2017)
Sources: S&T Indicators Table 2019-20, Ministry of Science and Technology, March 2020; PRS.
To boost research, the NEP recommends setting up an independent National Research Foundation (NRF) for funding and facilitating quality research in India. The Foundation will act as a liaison between researchers and relevant branches of government as well as industry. Specialised institutions which currently fund research, such as the Department of Science and Technology, and the Indian Council of Medical Research, will continue to fund independent projects. The Foundation will collaborate with such agencies to avoid duplication.
Digital education
The NEP states that alternative modes of quality education should be developed when in-person education is not possible, as observed during the recent pandemic. Several interventions must be taken to ensure inclusive digital education such as: (i) developing two-way audio and video interfaces for holding online classes, and (ii) use of other channels such as television, radio, mass media in multiple languages to ensure reach of digital content where digital infrastructure is lacking.
In this context, we analyse: (i) the availability of computer and internet across households in India, and (ii) ability to use computer or internet by persons in the age group of 5-14. As of 2017-18, the access to internet and computer was relatively poor in rural areas. Only 4.4% of rural households have access to a computer (excludes smartphones), and nearly 15% have access to internet facility. Amongst urban households, 42% have access to internet.
Table 8: Access to Computer and Internet across households (2017-18)
|
Access to ICT |
Rural |
Urban |
Overall |
|
Households having computer |
4.4% |
23.4% |
10.7% |
|
Households having internet facility |
14.9% |
42.0% |
23.8% |
Note: Computer includes desktop, laptop, notebook, tablet. It does not include smartphone.
Sources: Household Social Consumption on Education (2017-18), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, July 2020; PRS.
Table 9: Ability to use Computer and Internet across persons in the age group 5-14 (2017-18)
|
Ability to use ICT |
Rural |
Urban |
Overall |
|
Ability to use computer |
5.1% |
21.3% |
9.1% |
|
Ability to use internet |
5.1% |
19.7% |
8.8% |
Note: Ability to use computer means to be able to carry out any of the tasks such as: (i) copying or moving a file/folder, (ii) sending emails, (iii) transferring files between a computer and other devices, among others. Ability to use internet means to be able to use the internet browser for website navigation, using e-mail or social networking applications.
Sources: Household Social Consumption on Education (2017-18), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, July 2020; PRS.
Public spending on education to be increased to 6% of GDP
The recommendation of increasing public spending on Education to 6% of GDP was first made by the National Policy on Education 1968 and reiterated by the 1986 Policy. NEP 2020 reaffirms the recommendation of increasing public spending on education to 6% of GDP. In 2017-18, the public spending on education (includes spending by centre and states) was budgeted at 4.43% of GDP.
Table 10: Public spending on Education (2013-2018)
|
Year |
Public expenditure (Rs crore) |
% of GDP |
|
2013-14 |
4,30,879 |
3.84% |
|
2014-15 |
5,06,849 |
4.07% |
|
2015-16 |
5,77,793 |
4.20% |
|
2016-17 |
6,64,265 |
4.32% |
|
2017-18 |
7,56,945 |
4.43% |
Sources: 312th Report, Standing Committee on Human Resource Development, March 2020; PRS.
Figure 4: Comparison of public spending on Education in India with other countries as % of GDP (2015)
Sources: Educational Statistics at Glance 2018, MHRD; PRS.
In the figure below, we look at the disparities within states in education spending. In 2020-21, states in India have allocated 15.7% of their budgeted expenditure towards education. States such as Delhi, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra have allocated more than 18% of their expenditure on Education for the year 2020-21. On the other hand, Telangana (7.4%), Andhra Pradesh (12.1%) and Punjab (12.3%) lack in spending on education, as compared to the average of states.
Figure 5: Budgeted allocation on Education (2020-21) by states in India
Note: AP is Andhra Pradesh, UP is Uttar Pradesh, HP is Himachal Pradesh and WB is West Bengal.
Sources: Analysis of various state budget documents; PRS.
For a detailed summary of the National Education Policy, see here.
