1. What are the challenges confronting the Indian education system with respect to schools?

The economic growth of the country not only depends on natural

resources, technology and capital but mainly on the quantity and
quality of manpower.​ By quality of manpower, we mean the efficiency
and productivity of work force.

The efficiency of the manpower depends on many important factors

like health and nutrition, education and training, housing facilities,
safe drinking water and sanitation.

‘human capital formation’. By human capital we mean “the body of

knowledge attained by the population and capacity of the
population to use the knowledge effectively”.
a. No. of schools
i.
b. Infra
i. Toilets
1. some 417,000 toilets have been built in 261,000 
schools.
2.  The fact is that lack of sanitation facilities is a reason 
for high dropout rates in schools—particularly of 
girls. It is also linked to higher disease burden. It is a 
basic human need—as basic as eating or 
breathing—and needs to be secured for human 
dignity. Most critically, toilets in schools are 
potential game-changers in society: quite simply, 
children learn the value of personal hygiene and 
bring it home.
3. are the toilets that have been built at this breakneck 
speed in use? Do they have running water; is there 
provision for regular cleaning and maintenance? 
4.
ii. Uniforms
iii. Books
iv. Bag weight

Poor infrastructure: Most rural schools lack good infrastructure, including well-trained
teachers. This leads to poor quality of education being imparted. Various studies
 have demonstrated a wide gap between rural and urban education. In urban
areas, the number of schools per person is higher, as is the quality of education
delivery—due to relative lack of infrastructure, including reliable electricity. Also, it
has been seen that schools in rural India have numerous non-academic issues to
deal with, including staff and infrastructure, and thus are not fully capable of
focusing on student development.

We need new learning techniques for the betterment of rural education, and here
technology can help—for example, electricity shortage can be met by, say, solar
power. Also, we need to rethink education delivery in the face of existing
challenges—there has to be more focus on conceptual learning and practical
knowledge

Children often don’t get encouragement from their parents. Parents 

seem to be indifferent to their child’s education and only see 
them as additional hands for work. There is also neglect, 
insufficient public financing and accountability, and a lack of 
encouragement among some teachers to pay special attention to 
poor children from lower castes.

c. Location and distance

i. Lack of ample schools: Local transportation is a problem in rural India,
and this assumes greater significance when it comes to education. At
many places, good schools are outside the villages, and this can deter
parents from sending their kids to such schools. Lack of affordable
schools: As compared to urban areas, government schools are not as
spread out in rural areas, and this can discourage parents to spend on
their kids’ education.
d. Teachers
i. Training
ii. Absenteeism

Lack of qualified teachers is a problem in most schools, both government 

and private schools in India. This is because teaching is always 
the last career option for most young career people. Teachers of 
government school get posted to rural areas. It’s a known fact 
that they will either go on leave or apply for immediate transfer. 
The teachers at government ​primary schools​ in India not only 
handle combine age group in a single classroom, but they get 
exhausted too. 
 

e. Governance
 i. School checking
f. Mid-day meal scheme
i. Veg non bveg
ii. Nutriotion
iii. Aadhar Card
iv. Food Poisioning
v. Caste based discrimination

g. Curriculum
i. Ethics
ii. Sexual education
iii. Vocational education
h. Examination and Evaluation
i.
2. Critically examine the focus/​strengths and limitations of the government education
policie​s in the post-independence period.
a. Kothari Commission:
i. ad hoc commission set up by the ​Government of India​ to examine all aspects
of the educational sector in India, to evolve a general pattern of education
and to advise guidelines and policies for the development of education in
India
ii. The terms of reference of the commission was to formulate the general
principles and guidelines for the development of education from primary level
to the highest and advise the government on a standardized national pattern
of education in India.
iii. the medical and legal studies were excluded from the purview of the
commission.
iv. Strengths:
1. Formulation of a ​National Policy on Education​ was one of the
important recommendations of the commission and in 1968, the
fourth ​Lok Sabha​ elected to office in 1967 under the leadership
of ​Indira Gandhi​, passed the bill.​[9]​ The policy covered many
recommendations of the Kothari Commission such as free and
compulsory education, Status and pay scale revision of teachers,
equalization of educational opportunity and science education.​[9]
2. Another recommendation of the commission for the alignment of the
educational system on 10+2+3 pattern has been achieved by the
government on a national level.​[6]​ The education has been modeled
as per commission's recommendation to stratify the sector with state
and national bodies and a central board, ​Board of Higher Secondary
Education​ was set up in 1986.​[10]
3. Kothari commission, fourth education commission in the independent
India,​[7]​ and its recommendations are also reported to have influenced
the 1986 revision of the ​National Policy on Education​ by the ​Rajiv
Gandhi​ ministry.​[11]​ The guidelines laid out by the commission were
 revisited by the ​National Knowledge Commission​ headed by ​Sam
Pitroda​ in 2005.
3. MERITS
4. v  The report redefines education, restates its aims and objectives and it focuses our attention
on the social and national aspects of its function.
5.  v It presented a comprehensive study of the educational problems in the context of the
national needs and aspirations.
6.  v Vocationalisation of education and work experience in all educational activities are rightly
stressed.
7.  v The commission’s recommendations with regard to emotional integration and ‘International
understanding’ are praise-worthy.
8.  v The recommendation for abolition of fee in the interest of poor students in the schools
resulted in a hike in school enrolment.
9.  v The emphasis on the teaching of science in the curriculum rightly laid on the development
of science.
10.  v The recommendation for providing work experience as an integral part of education is
likely to encourage the new generation to participate in productive activities and earn while
they learn.
11.   ​DEMERITS​
12.  v The commission points out the educational goals but doesn’t adequately tell us how to
reach them.
13.  v The commission’s recommendations on medium of education and the language formulae
were not only conflicting but also controversial.
14.  v The commission report kept silent about the position of the heads of the schools.
15.  v The report doesn’t provide adequate guidance in the actual steps that might be taken to
make the transition of existing schools to the new type as envisaged by the commission.
16.  v The commission solicited a huge investment in the field of education which was not
economically and socially feasible for a nation where majority were below the poverty level.

The National Policy on Education :1986

The new policy called for "special emphasis on the removal of disparities and to equalise
educational opportunity," especially for Indian women, ​Scheduled Tribes​ (ST) and the ​Scheduled
Caste​ (SC) communities.​[6]​ To achieve such a social integration, the policy called for expanding
scholarships, adult education, recruiting more teachers from the SCs, incentives for poor families to
send their children to school regularly, development of new institutions and providing housing and
services.​[6]​ The NPE called for a "child-centred approach" in primary education, and launched
"Operation Blackboard" to improve primary schools nationwide.​[7]​ The policy expanded the ​open
university​ system with the ​Indira Gandhi National Open University​, which had been created in
1985.​[7]​ The policy also called for the creation of the "rural university" model, based on the philosophy
of Indian leader ​Mahatma Gandhi​, to promote economic and social development at the grassroots
level in rural India.​[7]​ 1986 education policy expected to spent 6%of GDP on education.

National Curricula Framework

NCF focused on
● Learning without burden​ to make learning a joyful experience and move away from textbooks to
be a basis for ​examination​ and to remove stress from children. It recommended major changes
in the design of syllabus.
● To develop a sense of self-reliance and dignity of the individual which would for the basis of
social relationship and would develop a sense of nonviolence and oneness across the society.
● To develop a child centered approach and to promote universal enrollment and retention up to
the age of 14.
● To inculcate the feeling of oneness, democracy and unity in the students the ​curriculum​ is
enabled to strengthen our national identity and to enable the new generation reevaluate.
● J. P. Naik has described equality, quality and quantity as the exclusive triangle for Indian
education.
● With respect to social context NCF 2005 has ensured that irrespective of ​caste​, ​creed​, religion
and sex all are provided with a standard curriculum.

RTE: 2009:

1. stipulates that private schools reserve 25 per cent of seats at the entry level
for children belonging to ‘disadvantaged groups’ and ‘weaker sections’.
2. defined a ‘child belonging to a disadvantaged group’ as one belonging to a
Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, socially and educationally backward class or
such other group facing disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economic,
geographical, linguistic, gender or other similar factors.
3. Mentally and physically challenged children, entitled to free education in
special schools, were included in the definition through an amendment last
year.
4. Section 10 of the Act states that parents are duty-bound to ensure that their
children pursue elementary education.
5. the obligation imposed on private schools to reserve 25 per cent of seats, the
Act requires the State government as well as local bodies to make sure that
every child between 6 and 14 years of age is admitted in a class appropriate to
his age (in order to avoid embarrassment) and provided with special training
to cope.
6. Section 28 asserts that no teacher should engage in private tuition or private
teaching activity
7. Section 21 mandates the State government, local bodies and government
aided private schools to constitute School Management Committees (SMCs)
consisting of representatives of the local authority, parents or guardians of
children admitted in such schools, and others, for performing various duties.
8.
9. Limitationa:
a. Lack of awareness about the Act,
b. inability to meet the distance criteria
 c. difficulty in obtaining necessary certificates from government
authorities
d. non implementation of the 25% EWS reservation criteria: ​ Act does not
speak of penal action against private schools if they fail to reserve the
requisite seats,
e. Section 12 (2) of the RTE Act, the government should reimburse the
expenditure incurred by private schools for admitting students free of
cost.
f. Private unaided schools run by religious and linguistic minorities in the
State have been exempted from the purview of the Act.
g. The SMCs are supposed to ensure enrolment and continued
attendance of all children from the neighbourhood of the school. But
these obligations remain only on paper as we continue to see children
either begging on the roads or involved in child labour.
h. the Act would not apply to Madhrasas and Vedic Patshalas.
i. Educationists point out ​that the distance criteria contained​ in the Act
is problematic. The HRD Ministry has sought to clarify the reference to
“neighbourhood schools”.
17.

Conclusion:

For all its flaws, the RTE Act is a progressive piece of legislation that aims to take
education to the masses and fill the gaps in the social system.

1.
18. What are the forms of inequalities in health and how does it impact overall
development?
a. Concept of Health:
i. Positive wellbeing: state of mind
ii. Ability to perform social role: productivity
iii. Absence of disease/ tied up to 'normality'
b. When we consider health as the subject of study, it can be divided in two dimensions,
i.e. individual health and population health.
c. Individual health takes into account the health issues of each individual whereas the
population health takes into account health aspects of several individuals. Population
health is not just about the aggregation of health of every individual but also its
distribution among the individuals (Inequity) depending upon several factors of the
society.
d. Population Health is represented by indicators like IMR, MMR and TFR, which are also
development indicators: Acknowleding the close link between health and development.
e. Health care systems are those institutions/ systems created bynation states to respond
to the health care needs of its population. Generally, these systems ought to cover
 preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative services though in Indian context it is
dominated by curative care services. Thus in Indian context, the linkages between health
and development becomes more importatnt.
f. Despite India’s impressive economic performance after the introduction of economic
reforms in the 1990s, progress in advancing the health status of Indians has been slow
and uneven. Large inequities in health and access to health services continue to
persist and have even widened across states, between rural and urban areas, and
within communities. Three forms of inequities have dominated India’s health sector.
Historical inequities that have their roots in the policies and practices of British
colonial India, many of which continued to be pursued well after independence;
socio-economic inequities manifest in caste, class and gender differentials; and
inequities in the availability, utilisation and affordability of health services.​ Of these,
critical to ensuring health for all in the immediate future will be the effectiveness with
which India addresses inequities in provisioning of health services and assurance of
quality care.
g. The forms of inequality in health in india:
i. under-five-mortality rate (U5MR):
1. Taking the under-five-mortality rate (U5MR), i e, mortality among
children younger than five years; as an indicator, we describe inequities
in the health status. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS 2005-06)
reveals sharp regional and socioeconomic divides in health outcomes,
with the lower castes, the poor and the less developed states bearing
the burden of mortality disproportionately.
2. The Indian average for U5MR decreased from a rate of 101 (per 1,000)
to 74 (per 1,000) during the accelerated economic growth from 1998 to
2006. However, this is a period marked by increasing inequities, as
shown by a high U5MR among the SCs and STs, when compared with
the backward classes and others. This social gap had increased
dramatically in the 1990s for the STs, in comparison with the general
population, while the social gap between the SCs and others; and
backward classes and others have persisted from the early 1990s to
2006.
3.
ii. Three major forms of inequities have been largely responsible for the persistent
and even widening differentials in health outcomes: historical inequities,
socio-economic inequities and inequities in provision and access to health
services.
iii. Among the various factors that influence health, availability, accessibility and
affordability of health services are important determinants for improving
population health. Healthcare financing and provisioning arrangements play a
critical role in reducing or perpetuating existing inequities and shape the pattern
of health service use and expenditure.
iv. The rural-urban and interstate variations in the distribution of public facilities
and human resources are well known (Duggal et al 2005). These interstate
variations are explained by several factors including insufficient public
investments and failure to focus attention on the synergies between the role of
the centre and the states financing, provisioning and administration of health
 services. Constitutionally, the responsibility for implementation of health
interventions lies largely on the state governments, with the central
government providing policy directions and the financing of national health
programmes.
v. Insurance Sector:
1. Apart from direct state financing, covering only a small segment of the
population, there are several public insurance schemes for employees in
the organised sectors such as the employees’ state insurance scheme,
central government health scheme, railways and posts and telegraph
services. Public and private insurance schemes cover barely 11% of the
population (GoI 2006). Consequently, healthcare is financed
substantially through out-of-pocket (OOP) payments by individuals and
households.
vi. Private Health Care:
1. The private sector, constituting both “for profit” and “nonprofit”
institutions, has a sizeable presence in delivery of health services, which
comprises a wide array of institutions with varying degrees of
sophistication in terms of services and qualified personnel.
2. The “for profit” sector is proportionately larger than the “non-profit”
sector; the latter includes community level programmes, dispensaries
and hospitals that are funded by religious and secular organisations.
3. There is diversity and hierarchy in the institutional composition of the
for profit sector consisting of a range of informal practitioners, clinics,
small and large nursing homes, corporate hospitals, diagnostic centres
and pharmacies
4. The informal practitioners constitute the largest proportion in terms of
numbers and spread, and provide primary level services in rural and
urban areas
5. The secondary level consists of small and large nursing homes that are
owned by mostly physician entrepreneurs and provide outpatient and
inpatient services. The majority of these are small institutions, with 85%
having less than 25 beds. Tertiary specialty and super-specialty private
institutions comprise only 1%-2% of the beds in private sector
institutions. They include large specialist hospitals promoted by mostly
big business groups and managed as corporate entities. The secondary
and tertiary hospitals are largely skewed towards urban areas and
developed states (GoI 2006). ​The distribution of private sector facilities
between states and regions is even more unequal than those in the
public sector. This reflects the tendency to concentrate on better-off
states and regions within them.
vii. 3 Inequities in Access to Health Services
1. The availability of these services is, however, uneven across Indian
states because of ​differences in infrastructure, human resources,
supplies and spatial distribution.
2. There ​ is an interstate health access variation.
a. Kerala
 b. Kerala over the past two decades, the relatively better
functioning of PHCs and the much higher health status in
comparison to other states of India is essentially due to the
investment and provisioning of basic services by the state
government.
c. Studies on Kerala have further highlighted the role of the state
in investing in social development, even at low levels of per
capita income, and achieving improvements in the health, which
are comparable to those in middle- and high-income countries
viii. Inequities in Utilisation of Preventive Services
1. The ​utilisation of preventive services​ such ​as childhood immunisation
and ANC​ are effective indicators for assessing the availability,
accessibility and quality at the primary level of health services
provisioning.
2. The all-India average for full immunisation coverage for the year
2005-06 was 44%. The rural-urban differential was substantial, with a
coverage rate of 39% among the rural and 58% in the urban
populations.
3. While the all India immunisation coverage is low (44%), there is
considerable variation across socio-economic groups. The coverage in
the highest income quintile (71%) is three times that in the lowest
quintile (24.4%). There is a substantial gap in immunisation coverage
between the STs (31.3%) and others (53.8%).
ix. Inequities in Utilisation of Curative Services
1. The ​evidence for recent years shows a high (80%)​ d​ ependence​ on the
private sector for outpatient care​, which ​is largely due to the weakness
in the ​delivery of public health services
2. In 2004, a mere 21% of people in rural and 19% in urban areas utilised
the public sector for outpatient services
3. As the utilisation of inpatient public services decreases with an
increase in the income quintiles, in the absence of a strong public
sector, the poorer groups are the most severely affected
4. Interstate variations occur in the utilisation of public services for
outpatient treatment. Kerala and Tamil Nadu, which have better
developed and administered services at the primary level, show a
slightly higher level of utilisation of the public sector than the all-India
average, whereas poorer states like Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and UP
show lower levels of utilisation than the all-India public level.
x. Affordability of Health Services​:
1. : Affordability of health services is determined by the cost of treatment,
households’ ability to manage these costs, and its impact on the
livelihood of households.
2. In India, OOP payments form a disproportionately large component of
total health expenditure. OOP expenditures include direct payments for
consultations, diagnostic testing, medicines and transportation. Indirect
costs, such as loss of earnings due to the illness, are not included in
calculating OOP expenditures. It is estimated that ​80% of total health
 expenditure and 97% of private expenditure are borne through OOP
payments.
3. The ​largest component of OOP expenditure​ is on the ​purchase of
medicines.
4. Estimates from the National Sample Survey (NSS) for 1999-2000 shows
that ​70% of the total OOP expenditure in urban and 77% in rural areas
are spent on medicines.
5. Adverse socio-economic differential in OOP expenditure is exhibited by
the fact that the poorest rural quintile spends 87% of OOP expenditure
on medicines, whereas the corresponding expenditure for the richest
urban quintile is comparatively smaller at 65%.
6. In the ​absence of financial risk protection​, the ​high OOP expenditure
affects the poorer quintiles adversely​. Based on estimates for 2005-06,
after adjusting for health expenditure due to OOP payments, an
additional 3.5% of the population, or 35 million people, fell below the
poverty line..
7. Expenditure on consumption of healthcare​ is ​higher in the rural than in
the urban population​. This apparent anomaly is probably because
people living in towns and cities have better access to public and private
services compared with those in rural areas, and therefore, experience a
higher financial burden when they access healthcare.
8. In the 60th round of NSS (2004-06), the average direct health
expenditure on outpatient care per treated person in rural areas was
nearly 20% of total household consumption expenditure, whereas the
corresponding percentage for urban areas is lower at about 13%.
9. With indirect costs and income loss for that period due to illness are
added, the proportion is close to 33% in rural and 17% in urban areas.
10. High ​day-to-day morvbidities in rural areas
xi. Sources of Financing Healthcare:
1. Analysis of data from the NSS shows that the high burden of
expenditure on healthcare, is largely financed through two major
sources: (a) household’s own resources, and (b) borrowings.
2. The reliance on borrowing is significantly higher for the poorer sections
of the population compared to the better-off with sharp differentials,
especially in urban areas.
xii. Factors Affecting Equity in Access to Health Services
1. five key health service factors that affect equity in access to health
services. These include –
a. insufficient investments in public sector;
b. variable quality of care in public and private sectors;
c. unregulated commercialisation and rising costs;
d. health sector reforms;
e. lack of accountability in the public and private sector.
h. How Forms of Inequality affect the Development:
i. λ​Health in Development:
1. whether development takes into consideration health
 ii. λ​Health as Development:
1. IMR as an indicator of development
2. MMR is an indicator of the health inequity.
3. Developing countries constitute 99% of annual maternal deaths in the
world.
4. TB is a disease of poverty
a. These deaths mainly affect the young people at their most
productiove age.
5. Non-communicable diseases impact the ppoor and ofrcing millons into
the poverty
6.
iii. λ​Health for Development​:
1. Human capacity as resource for development

i. Conclusion
i. Digital health has great potential towards reducing inequity in provisioning and
distribution of healthcare resources and services and it can greatly facilitate
proactive treatment for disabled patients, children with developmental delays
and deformities and people suffering from mental health illnesses and for those
suffering from stigmatic infections such as HIV/AIDS, leprosy and tuberculosis.”