Neglect of Government School Infrastructure: A Threat to Safety and Learning
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Governance (National Education Policy - NEP 2020, Foundational Literacy and Numeracy - FLN), Social Issues (Education, Child Safety), Indian Economy (Demographic Dividend).
Mains:
GS Paper 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Education, Human Resources; Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population and the performance of these schemes; Government policies and interventions.
GS Paper 1: Social empowerment; Poverty and developmental issues.
Key Highlights from the News
The collapse of a government school building in Jhalawar district, Rajasthan, which killed seven students, highlights the deplorable state of infrastructure in government schools across India.
Most of the deceased students belonged to tribal communities.
In Rajasthan alone, approximately 8,000 government schools are estimated to be in poor condition.
The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 had recommended increasing government spending on education to 6% of GDP. However, this goal has not been achieved even after five years.
The current focus of governments is on reducing government support, promoting self-financing, and increasing private sector participation.
The article argues that providing basic school education is the primary duty of the government.
Discussions on improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) should not be confined to pedagogy but should focus on essential matters such as infrastructure development and teacher recruitment.
Only by providing quality basic education can India fully leverage its demographic dividend.
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