Click to play videoNew Delhi: It seems that Government’s bigger headache in the future might not be out-of-school children. It could well be the out-of-school teachers.
UNESCO’s report card on Indian education has brought mixed news for India.
While the Global Monitoring Report 2007 says that more children are attending school in India, it also finds growing absenteeism of teachers.
The news about higher enrollment rates augurs well for India’s flagship government scheme to provide primary education – the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
The effective implementation of the scheme has considerably brought down the number of out of school children in India, but the worrying factor is something else.
"Absenteeism in Indian schools is as high as 25 to 30 per cent,” says UNESCO representative, Minja Yang.
A surprise survey conducted in six countries including India shows that, on an average, about 20 per cent teachers are missing from schools at any given point of time.
This tendency is more prevalent among headmasters and those teachers who are older or more educated than their other colleagues. Also male teachers were found away from school more than their female counterparts.
"There is a World Bank report which says that 25 per cent teachers are absent," says Joint Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Subhash Khuntia.
The Government spends a little less than four per cent of the GDP on education, but there are talks to increase the figure to six per cent.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)
More on IBNLive Right Now
TOP NEWS
PHOTOGALLERY
