KFPE - Projects - Echangesuniv

home sitemap

SCNAT - click here to go to the start page.

SCNAT Home

Impressum
Disclaimer

> > Echangesuniv

Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires"

Basic Education in the Rural Context of Gujarat, India: A Tool to Rehabilitate Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Children. Difficulties, Chances and Perspectives

Revised Project Abstract

Division
Development cooperation

Country / Region
India / Gujarat

Background
Education, no matter whether it is formal or informal, is one of the pillars of every society or civilization. Education is also a human right. In recent years, education has been given top priority in human development, both in social and economic terms. India is often seen as a country which tunrs out highly trained professionals in various fields. Still, the country lags behind in education. The current scenario paints a rather dismal picture of the situation, whereby the high dropout rates in Gujarat and in the whole country are seen as the challenge the Indian education system is presently facing; at the stage of elementary education in Gujarat, statistics indicate that 44.5% of all boys and 53.0% of all girls drop out before finishing the minimum eight years of elementary education, being above the overall Indian average and being even higher for specific social groups and in rural areas (Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development 2011). Considering that the majority of India’s population lives in rural areas which includes at the same time the majority of India’s poor people, the importance of rural education as an engine of development becomes obvious.

Objective
This project specifically addressed and analyzed challenges in universalizing elementary education (UEE) in rural Gujarat, India, taking a focus on the institutional impact on school dropout. The objective was to analyze individually perceived aspects and determinants of school dropout in rural India. This was done by looking at factors related to (1) the individual student, (2) the school and the institutional environment and (3) the individual family background and environment of children concerned. This study suggests that it less the students’ background than the school or the school system’s response to it that determines success and consequently dropping out from school. The findings of the project are presented in a Master’s Thesis at University of Basel.

Empirical Research Methods

During five weeks of field work and primary data collection, both quantitative (oral questionnaire) and qualitative (case studies) statistical methods were used in order to analyze the various factors and determinants for school dropout in rural Gujarat, India.

The basis for the quantitative analysis was a pilot survey among 266 children in rural areas of four selected districts of Gujarat. The survey instrument was an oral questionnaire addressing (a) school attending children and (b) dropped out children. Out of the 266 children interviewed, 130 were still attending school and 136 dropped out one or several times from school and are presently out-of-school-children. The sample criteria and size were defined in advance and were addressing children specifically in terms of their caste affiliation, their gender and the school standard attending.
The qualitative analysis comprised five case studies of both dropped out and school attending children which were selected according to caste affiliation, gender and area under study. The case studies based on the same oral questionnaire used for the quantitative analysis. They were used to examine individual single cases which are at the same time standing as an example for many other children.

General conclusion

This study sought to approach the institutional environment of the education system in a critical way and identified the major problems and challenges which lead to students drop out of school before having achieved certain skills and certain grades. There has been much success and progress during the last decades in terms of educational indicators in India, as major programmes and policies in education were launched during the 10th and 11th Five Year Plan, targeting at universalizing elementary education in many ways. However, this study showed that there still are deficiencies to be addressed and improved. By identifying direct as well as indirect impacts the education system has on dropping out, some of the major issues regarding the direct impacts contain poor infrastructure in government schools; difficult access to school; poor performance of the teacher; discrimination of certain social groups; poor quality and attractiveness (esp. of government schools); un-contextualized curriculums. Among the indirect impacts are that schools do not provide (enough) intellectual support for children of poor educational background; schools do not provide place for children to study peacefully and under guidance and aid; curricula and methods are not adapted to needs and interests of the children; a lack of flexibility to adapt to the children’s cultural and economic background; a lack of parent and community involvement; school misses to show children importance, utility and future impact of education. However, the study also showed that these findings are context-specific and are much interrelated and interacting with various other aspects related to the socio-economic and cultural background of the child as well as to the geographic location, the community environment and factors related to the individual perception of the student.

Duration
June 2010 – December 2010

Contact

Prof. Dr. Rita Schneider-Sliwa (Rita.Schneider-Sliwa@unibas.ch)
Principal Investigator: Esther Gloor (Esther.Gloor@stud.unibas.ch)
Department of Geography/Urban and Regional Studies
University of Basel, Switzerland

Rajesh and Sandhya Bhat (mst_edu@hotmail.com)
Matrusmruti Trust (MST)
Ahmedabad, India

Fig.1 Out-of-school children were often found to be involved in household activities, especially girls. Female household members fetching water from a pumpwell, Jekhda, Southern Ahmedabad District (photo: Esther Gloor)

Fig.2. Empirical research methods: interview with a girl (from left: interviewer, local interpreter and interviewee), Rajpur, Gandhinagar District (photo: Nishit Patel)

Taking interviews in an Ashram Shala (boarding school), Amirgadh, Banaskantha District (photo: Nishit Patel)

Fig. 3. Taking interviews in an Ashram Shala (boarding school), Amirgadh, Banaskantha District (photo: Nishit Patel)

Fig. 4. Caste affiliation is a strong direct and indirect determinant for the risk of children dropping out from school. Settlement and interview setting of a De-Notified Tribal community, Jawaraj, Ahmedabad District (photo: Esther Gloor)


Search	home sitemap

News About KFPE Key-Activities Swiss Projects Echanges Universitaires Jeunes Chercheurs Success Stories - Electronical Appendix Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences NCCR North-South Research Partnerships with Developing Countries Fellow Partnership Agriculture Scopes Swiss Institutions Funding Possibilities Events Links SCNAT Home Impressum Disclaimer © 2012 SCNAT
		Home > Projects > Echangesuniv

		Programme de bourses "Echanges Universitaires" Basic Education in the Rural Context of Gujarat, India: A Tool to Rehabilitate Disadvantaged and Vulnerable Children. Difficulties, Chances and Perspectives Revised Project Abstract Division Development cooperation Country / Region India / Gujarat Background Education, no matter whether it is formal or informal, is one of the pillars of every society or civilization. Education is also a human right. In recent years, education has been given top priority in human development, both in social and economic terms. India is often seen as a country which tunrs out highly trained professionals in various fields. Still, the country lags behind in education. The current scenario paints a rather dismal picture of the situation, whereby the high dropout rates in Gujarat and in the whole country are seen as the challenge the Indian education system is presently facing; at the stage of elementary education in Gujarat, statistics indicate that 44.5% of all boys and 53.0% of all girls drop out before finishing the minimum eight years of elementary education, being above the overall Indian average and being even higher for specific social groups and in rural areas (Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource Development 2011). Considering that the majority of India’s population lives in rural areas which includes at the same time the majority of India’s poor people, the importance of rural education as an engine of development becomes obvious. Objective This project specifically addressed and analyzed challenges in universalizing elementary education (UEE) in rural Gujarat, India, taking a focus on the institutional impact on school dropout. The objective was to analyze individually perceived aspects and determinants of school dropout in rural India. This was done by looking at factors related to (1) the individual student, (2) the school and the institutional environment and (3) the individual family background and environment of children concerned. This study suggests that it less the students’ background than the school or the school system’s response to it that determines success and consequently dropping out from school. The findings of the project are presented in a Master’s Thesis at University of Basel. Empirical Research Methods During five weeks of field work and primary data collection, both quantitative (oral questionnaire) and qualitative (case studies) statistical methods were used in order to analyze the various factors and determinants for school dropout in rural Gujarat, India. The basis for the quantitative analysis was a pilot survey among 266 children in rural areas of four selected districts of Gujarat. The survey instrument was an oral questionnaire addressing (a) school attending children and (b) dropped out children. Out of the 266 children interviewed, 130 were still attending school and 136 dropped out one or several times from school and are presently out-of-school-children. The sample criteria and size were defined in advance and were addressing children specifically in terms of their caste affiliation, their gender and the school standard attending. The qualitative analysis comprised five case studies of both dropped out and school attending children which were selected according to caste affiliation, gender and area under study. The case studies based on the same oral questionnaire used for the quantitative analysis. They were used to examine individual single cases which are at the same time standing as an example for many other children. General conclusion This study sought to approach the institutional environment of the education system in a critical way and identified the major problems and challenges which lead to students drop out of school before having achieved certain skills and certain grades. There has been much success and progress during the last decades in terms of educational indicators in India, as major programmes and policies in education were launched during the 10th and 11th Five Year Plan, targeting at universalizing elementary education in many ways. However, this study showed that there still are deficiencies to be addressed and improved. By identifying direct as well as indirect impacts the education system has on dropping out, some of the major issues regarding the direct impacts contain poor infrastructure in government schools; difficult access to school; poor performance of the teacher; discrimination of certain social groups; poor quality and attractiveness (esp. of government schools); un-contextualized curriculums. Among the indirect impacts are that schools do not provide (enough) intellectual support for children of poor educational background; schools do not provide place for children to study peacefully and under guidance and aid; curricula and methods are not adapted to needs and interests of the children; a lack of flexibility to adapt to the children’s cultural and economic background; a lack of parent and community involvement; school misses to show children importance, utility and future impact of education. However, the study also showed that these findings are context-specific and are much interrelated and interacting with various other aspects related to the socio-economic and cultural background of the child as well as to the geographic location, the community environment and factors related to the individual perception of the student. Duration June 2010 – December 2010 Contact Prof. Dr. Rita Schneider-Sliwa (Rita.Schneider-Sliwa@unibas.ch) Principal Investigator: Esther Gloor (Esther.Gloor@stud.unibas.ch) Department of Geography/Urban and Regional Studies University of Basel, Switzerland Rajesh and Sandhya Bhat (mst_edu@hotmail.com) Matrusmruti Trust (MST) Ahmedabad, India Fig.1 Out-of-school children were often found to be involved in household activities, especially girls. Female household members fetching water from a pumpwell, Jekhda, Southern Ahmedabad District (photo: Esther Gloor) Fig.2. Empirical research methods: interview with a girl (from left: interviewer, local interpreter and interviewee), Rajpur, Gandhinagar District (photo: Nishit Patel) Fig. 3. Taking interviews in an Ashram Shala (boarding school), Amirgadh, Banaskantha District (photo: Nishit Patel) Fig. 4. Caste affiliation is a strong direct and indirect determinant for the risk of children dropping out from school. Settlement and interview setting of a De-Notified Tribal community, Jawaraj, Ahmedabad District (photo: Esther Gloor)