Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Education for all — young and old, boy and girl. It is the basic requirement of every individual. Particularly in democracy it is a must, if democracy is to be meaningful. Education in addition, must provide for gainful employment to every able bodied individual in the working - age group. Have we achieved this objective?
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is an organisation formed with the object of fighting the evil of ignorance with missionary zeal. Every State Government in recent years has striven hard to raise the level of literacy among its people. Has it achieved its avowed purpose?
In Karnataka, for example, every village has a primary school, its bright new wall painted with the slogan: 'This is our school.' But the children that visit these schools — do they really uphold this slogan? Are they really bored of their schools?
Mid - day Meals:
Now – a - days, the students of every government school get good mid-day meals. This is really a great gift. It is supposed to kill, at one stroke, the bane of lack of nourishment among children and prevent drop-outs and the failure on the part of the parents to admit their children to the school. But have we succeeded in overcoming the obstacles on the way to universal education — of all children between the ages of 6 and 14? The children, of course, relish the good food provided to them at the school. But do they relish teaching, and also the compulsory impounding of them in the building?
A survey conducted in this regard reveals that, in spite of the mid-day meal and the white-washing of the building, the children feel that their schools are jails. They are said to learn little. Teachers, of course, have employment. The problem of school drop - outs and the lack of education for the girl-child has not been solved. A few years ago, we, the members of the Family Planning Association (FPA), Mysore, organised campaigns for carrying the message to the people of villages surrounding our city. We held placards, shouted slogans, arranged lectures, contacted the Presidents and members of the Village Panchayat to enlist their support and co-operation.
We visited the houses and tried to enlighten the parents about the advisability of sending their children to school and not deprive the girl-child of her basic right of getting good education and fair treatment. Did we succeed? I am sorry to say that our efforts were not adequately rewarded! What is wrong with our people? A pertinent answer would be, their economic condition, superstition and fear, particularly about the girls getting education! Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is striving to achieve success in this situation. We have to judge anything from its results and not from its intentions. Hell was paved with good intentions!
Education and Unemployment:
All right. Let us now examine the facts and figures available in this regard. The National Sample Survey of the Government of India conducted a survey in 2004 - 05 to know the extent of education, and its relation to employment and earnings. The survey has revealed many interesting and startling truths. You will be surprised to learn that only 3.1 per cent of the adult population in India is unemployed. This means that unemployment in India is not higher than in the US or Europe! Our belief is that education creates employment opportunities. With a large percentage of illiterates in our country, the unemployment figure for adults is only 3.1 per cent. How could it be?
Does it mean that unemployment is created by education and that illiterates somehow secure some work to engage themselves in? It appears so. The higher the education level, the higher the rate of unemployment! Look at these figures:
The percentage of unemployment among those who had not finished primary education was 1.5 per cent. Those who had finished primary education were less fortunate, for the percentage of unemployment among them was higher (2.2 per cent). What about those who had completed secondary and college education?
Well, it was 6.1 and 10.2! Higher the education level, higher is the rate of unemployment! What a paradox! Perhaps this awareness encourages pupils to dropout in the middle of their courses. The drop-out in primary, secondary and higher levels is 8, 23 and 29 per cent respectively.
The earning levels among the people of different educational attainments are really strange! An illiterate earns an average income of Rs. 1,200 a month. A secondary school educated person earns Rs. 3,500 per month whereas a graduate, Rs. 6,000 pm.
Age and Unemployment:
It may appear that education also creates unemployment. But the person waits for a long time and lives longer. Hence his income raises high with his age. A graduate starts on an average at Rs. 2,000 a month, but his salary at retirement may be Rs. 7,000. With families and children their income level goes up. The percentage of unemployment among educated persons in the age group 21 - 25 is 1.3, whereas among primary school educated persons, it is 2.2. Secondary school educated persons' unemployment figure is 11.2 per cent. For University graduates, it goes upto 31.7 per cent. About a third of the graduates remain unemployed in the early years after graduation. They have to wait patiently to get placements.
Another interesting phenomenon is that as persons advance in age, the unemployment percentage figures decrease. Illiterate, unemployed persons in the age group of 45 to 50 are unemployed only upto 0.3 per cent. Among primary school educated persons and those who have completed it, unemployment is upto 0.4 per cent. Among secondary school and University education completed persons, the percentages are 1.3 and 0.4 respectively. By the time the graduates acquire the age of forty, almost all get jobs.
Those who become graduates at the age of twenty remains unemployed for a long time, hoping to get jobs with higher enrolments. They can afford to wait and are amply rewarded. Others do not have this opportunity. Any way the statistics sometimes presents strange truths. Those who cannot interpret them say that statistics is a bundle of lies. It must be handled with care.
