Status of Secondary Education in India

Ever since the Constitution was adopted in 1950, the focus of educational programmes was concentrated on elementary education. Since the constitutional commitment is free and compulsory education to all children up to the age fourteen, all efforts were focused on achieving the goal of universal elementary education. But despite significant progress in every sphere of elementary education, the goal to achieve universal elementary enrolment is still a far distant dream. Within the elementary education, primary education remained in the focus all through since the independence. Even, the coverage of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) is also limited to the primary level only. However, it is the upper primary education, which is now getting attention of the planners and policy makers. The DPEP is now being extended to the upper primary level initially in the phase one 52 districts. Sporadic attempts have been made in the past to consider both the primary and upper primary education as one component. The Bihar Education Project and the World Bank Uttar Pradesh Basic Education Project considered the entire elementary education as one unit. The new initiative, namely the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) also envisages the entire elementary education as one component. Secondary education had never been in the focus and all the activities were concentrated on elementary education. The Government recently constituted a task force on secondary education. Even there is now mention of Universalisation of Secondary Education. It is in this context, the present article takes an overall view of the entire secondary level.

Like other levels of school education, a significant progress is made in all the spheres of secondary education. More than 84 per cent habitations had secondary school/section within a distance of 8 km as compared to 70 per cent within 5 km. The number of unserved habitations declined from 21 per cent in 1986-87 to 15 per cent in 1993-94. During 1950-51 to 1999-2000, the number of secondary and higher secondary schools increased from 7 thousand to 117 thousand. The increase (16 times) is much more rapid than the corresponding increase in the primary (3 times) and upper primary (14 times) schools. In the latest decade (1990 to 99), more than 37 thousand secondary and higher secondary schools were opened. The ratio of upper primary to secondary schools also improved from 1.83 in 1950-51 to 1.69 in 1999-2000. The number of secondary/higher secondary teachers increased from 127 thousand in 1950-51 to 1,720 thousand in 1999-2000. Despite the increase in number of teachers, the pupil-teacher ratio increased from 21:1 in 1950-51 to 32:1 in 1999-2000; thus indicating significant increase in enrolment at this level. From a low 1.5 million in 1950-51, it has now been increased by more than 19 times to 28.2 million in 1999-2000. The percentage of girl’s enrolment increased from 13 per cent in 1950-51 to about 38 per cent in 1999-2000. Enrolment in secondary/higher secondary level increased by almost doubles the rate than the increase in the primary enrolment. The GER, though low but improved from 19.3 per cent in 1990-91 to 30.0 per cent in 1993-94 and further to 41.2 per cent in 1998-99. Almost 50 per cent children of age group 14-17 year were attending schools in 1995-96. The retention rate (I to IX) is also improved but still it is low at 27 per cent. The transition rate from upper primary to secondary level is as high as 85 per cent.

Over time facilities in secondary schools have improved impressively. The majority of secondary schools have got school buildings (69 per cent). The average number of instructional rooms in a secondary school is as high as 8. More schools have now got drinking water (41 per cent), urinal (77 per cent) and lavatory (57 per cent) facilities in schools than in 1986-87. More than 63 per cent schools have furniture for teachers and almost the same percentage of schools science laboratories. The plan allocation on secondary education increased from Rs. 20 crore during the first plan to more than Rs. 2600 crore in the ninth plan. However, expenditure on secondary education always remained below one per cent of the GDP.

Impressive progress has also been made at the primary and upper primary levels of education. But despite all these significant achievements, the goal to achieve universal elementary enrolment still remains far out of the sight. The goal of universal secondary education cannot be achieved unless the goal of universal elementary enrolment is achieved.

To review quantitative expansion of secondary education, information on a variety of indicators over time needs to be analyzed. Availability of schooling facilities, unserved habitations, schools according to type & management, physical and teaching/learning facilities, average number of instructional rooms, ratio of upper primary to secondary schools, pupil-teacher ratio, average number of teachers in a school, trained & female teachers, subject specialization & qualifications of teachers, student enrolment, retention rate etc. are some of the important indicators that have been critically analyzed in the present article. The analysis will help to understand the status of secondary education vis-à-vis elementary education. Needless to mention that secondary education cannot be expanded unless the upper primary education system is efficient enough to send the adequate number of elementary graduates to the secondary level. Once the students complete elementary education, they are expected to transit to secondary classes in the subsequent years. Therefore, an attempt has been made in the present article to see how students transact between the secondary classes. For this purpose, transition rate from upper primary to secondary level and between secondary grades have also been computed and critically analyzed.

The analysis is confined to the all-India level. By and large the article is focused on the quantitative analysis but qualitative variables have also been analyzed. Though secondary level is in the focus of the article, wherever necessary, information pertaining to other lower levels, such as, upper primary and primary levels have also been presented and analyzed. The analysis presented is confined to the secondary sources of information. The MHRD is the main agency responsible for the collection and dissemination of educational statistics on a regular basis on all aspects of school education. However, compared to elementary level, secondary level does not have the rich data set. Therefore, other sources of information, such as, NCERT have also been explored. Since, the NCERT data set is latest (Sixth Survey) available for the year 1993-94, the analysis in the present article is also confined to that year only. The MHRD data is disseminated through two of its annual publications, namely, the Selected Educational Statistics and Education in India. Information disseminated through the Education in India is comprehensive and final while those published in the Selected Educational Statistics is provisional in the nature. Education in India is latest available for 1993-94 and Selected Educational Statistics for 1999-2000. Both of these publications have been extensively utilized in the present article. In addition, data generated by the NSSO have also been analyzed.

ACCESS

Provision of schooling facilities to all children is the constitutional commitment. Opening of a school is linked to the population size of the habitation and also the distance from the residence to school. A habitation is entitled to have a primary (population 300 & more), upper primary (500 & more) and secondary school, if it does not have the same within a walking distance of 1, 3 and 5 km. The distribution of habitations according to availability of secondary schools/sections reveals that 54 thousand of the total 1,061 thousand habitations had a secondary school/section within the habitation itself; which is just 5.04 per cent of the total habitations. (Table 1). About 69.73 per cent habitations had the schooling facilities with in a walking distance of 5 km. compared to 84.82 per cent within a distance of 8 km. In as many as 161 thousand habitations (15.18 per cent), schooling facilities were not available even beyond 8 km. However, if compared with the Fifth Survey, the number of unserved habitations declined from 21.08 per cent in 1986-87 to 15.18 per cent in 1993-94. This improvement is termed significant because of the increase in total number of habitations from 992 thousand in 1986-87 to 1,061 thousand in 1993-94. On the other hand more than 77 and 90 per cent population in the rural areas had access to secondary schools/sections within a distance of 5 and 8 km. The analysis further reveals that availability of secondary schools increases with the increase in population size of the habitation.

Population Slab	Number of Habitations ('000)	Population of Habitations (in Million)	% of Habitations Served by Secondary Sections		% of Population Served by Secondary Sections
			Within Habitation	Up to 8 Km.	Within Habitation Up to 8 km	Up to 8 Km.
Below 500	662	52	1.21	81.93	1.58	83.62
500-999	213	150	4.05	87.77	4.25	87.90
1000-1999	125	171	11.22	90.30	11.96	90.47
2000-4999	53	149	33.83	94.30	36.62	94.66
5000 & Above	7	138	68.96	98.61	71.01	98.72
Total	1061	660	5.04	84.82	18.29	90.00

There has been substantial expansion of primary, upper primary and high and higher secondary schools in the country. Growth of upper primary schools is influenced by the expansion of primary education and high and higher secondary schools by the growth of upper primary education in India. The number of primary schools increased from 210 thousand in 1950-51 to 642 thousand in 1999-2000; thus showing an average annual growth of 2.37 per cent per annum (Table 2). During the same period, upper primary schools increased from 14 thousand to 198 thousand, a growth of 5.62 per cent per annum. On the other hand, high and higher secondary schools increased from 7 thousand in 1950-51 to 117 thousand in 1999-2000; thus showing a growth of 5.92 per cent per annum. The primary schools registered an increase of almost three-fold while the upper primary schools increased by 15 times and high and higher secondary schools by more than 16 times during the period 1950-51 to 1999-2000. Although the progress look impressive compared to the primary and upper primary schools, it needs to be noted that the base of the high and higher secondary schools was too narrow in 1950-51 compared to primary and upper primary level (Table 2). During 1990-91 to 1999-2000, about 81 thousand primary schools were opened against 47 thousand upper primary and 37 thousand high and higher secondary schools. A clearer picture about the availability of schools will emerge when the ratio of primary to upper primary and upper primary to high and higher secondary schools is analyzed, which is presented below. The ratio is treated an indicator of access conditions or the spread of facilities for upper primary and high and higher secondary education.

Table 42 reveals that the ratio of primary to upper primary schools has considerably improved from 1:15.4 in 1950-51 to 1:6.7 in 1960-61 and further to 3.2 in 1999-2000. Similarly, the ratio of upper primary to high and higher secondary schools has also improved from 1.83 in 1950-51 to 1.69 in 1999-2000. The improvement in ratio indicates that more schooling facilities are now available. The Programme of Action (1992) also envisaged an upper primary school for every two primary schools. However, it is silent on the ratio of upper primary to high and higher secondary schools. The trend shows that the expansion of primary and upper primary education has exerted considerable pressure on upper primary and high

Number of Institutions: 1950-51 to 1999-2000

Year	Primary	Upper Primary	Ratio of Primary to Upper Primary	High & Higher Secondary	Ratio of Upper Primary to High & Higher Secondary
1950-51	209671	13596	15.42	7416	1.83
1960-61	330399	49663	6.65	17329	2.87
1970-71	408378	90621	4.51	37051	2.45
1980-81	494503	118555	4.17	51573	2.30
1990-91	560935	151456	3.70	79796	1.90
1998-99	626737	190166	3.30	112438	1.69
1999-2000	641695	198004	3.24	116820	1.69
Growth Rate: 1990-91 to 1999-2000	1.51	3.02	-	4.33	-

and higher secondary education system to expand. The government has responded positively by providing larger number of schools and school places for children who are completing primary and upper primary level of education. As of now, the country has almost a high and higher secondary school for every two upper primary schools it has. The demand for the secondary schools is expected to increase once the goal of universal elementary education is achieved.

Next to number of schools, type, management and facilities in secondary schools is analyzed below.

SCHOOL MANAGEMENT

The majority of secondary schools in 1993-94 were in the rural areas and most of these were co-educational schools. Of the total 66 thousand schools, rural areas had more than 47 thousand schools (71.21 per cent). Schools distributed according to management reveals that the majority of schools had either the government (37.46 per cent) or private management (51.25 per cent). Majority of private schools were aided schools (68.62 per cent). On the other hand, percentage of schools run by the local body and private unaided managements were only 11.29 and 16.08 per cent respectively. A close look at the distribution of schools according to enrolment reveals that the highest percentage of enrolment was in schools run by the private aided management (46.04 per cent) followed by the government (37.67 per cent), private unaided (8.72 per cent) and local body schools (7.57 per cent). It may however be noted that private schools had higher enrolment and the government schools lower enrolment than their share in the total number of secondary schools.

TYPE OF SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Across the country, a variety of secondary schools are available (Table 3). The majority of secondary schools in 1993-94 were integrated with the upper primary schools (33.99 per cent) followed by the independent secondary schools (23.79 per cent). On the other hand, about 17.37 per cent secondary schools were the integrated with either primary or upper primary schools. Only 5.44 per cent secondary schools in 1993-94 were integrated with the higher secondary schools. Upper primary integrated with secondary and higher secondary (13.95 per cent); and primary integrated with upper primary, secondary and higher secondary (5.46 per cent) were the other types of schools. Further, it has also been revealed that private managements (aided 29.12 and unaided 40.45 per cent) had the majority of independent secondary schools. More than 62 percent secondary schools under local body managements were integrated with the upper primary schools. Schools under private managements also had the highest percentage of integrated schools from primary to higher secondary level. Future expansion of secondary education should be viewed in the light of the existing arrangements of secondary schooling, as well as, the management type. With the limited set of data, it is not possible to know which arrangement is the most economic one. It may also be recalled that Secondary Education Commission (1952) recommended a national system of education covering 11 years of education and the Kothari Commission 10+2 pattern. The states have accepted 10+2 pattern but still the system is not uniform across the country.

Percentage of Secondary Schools/Sections According to Type and Management: 1993-94

School Management	Secondary Only	Upper Primary and Secondary	Primary, Upper Primary and Secondary	Secondary and Higher Secondary	Upper Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary	Primary, Upper primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary	Total Number of Secondary Schools/Section
Government	15.56	42.15	16.30	5.74	16.10	4.14	24559
Local Body	9.91	62.77	17.35	1.76	4.49	3.72	7401
Pvt. Aided	29.12	24.86	15.45	6.76	17.90	5.90	23060
Pvt. Unaided	40.45	17.83	25.25	3.53	4.03	8.91	10544
Total	23.79	33.99	17.37	5.44	13.95	5.46	65564

FACILITIES IN SCHOOLS

Information on facilities in schools is latest available for 1993-94. However, the same concerning to secondary education has never been adequately analyzed. The same is briefly analyzed below.

		Table 4
		Percentage of Secondary Schools According to Type of Buildings: 1993-94
Management			Schools Having Buildings
			Pucca	Tents	Open Space	Others*	Open Space+Tents
Government			64.51	0.23	0.80	1.03	1.83
Local Body			72.91	0.04	0.07	0.11	0.18
Private Aided			70.92	0.02	0.15	0.17	0.32
Private Unaided			70.08	0.26	0.06	0.32	0.38
Total			68.61	0.14	0.37	0.51	0.88
	* Others include partly pucca, kachcha and thatched huts.

School Buildings

The distribution of schools according to buildings reveals that unlike the primary schools, the majority of secondary schools have got the school buildings. Only 0.51 per cent of the total 66 thousand schools were functioning either in the tents or in open space (Table 4). The majority of such schools were the government run schools. About 64 per cent schools in the rural areas had the pucca (permanent) buildings compared to 82 per cent in the urban areas. About 65 per cent government schools had pucca buildings compared to 26 per cent partially pucca and another 7 and 2 per cent schools were functioning in the thatched huts and tents. On the other hand about 72 per cent schools run under the local body managements had pucca school buildings. A little more than 70 per cent private aided and unaided schools had pucca buildings and not a single school under this category was functioning in the open space.

Further, it has also been noticed that about 74 per cent schools owned buildings and rest of the 26 per cent schools had either rented or they rent-free buildings (Table 5). Schools in the urban areas (63.71 per cent) had lower percentage of owned buildings than schools in the rural areas (78.63 per cent). On the other hand, it has been noticed that the majority of government and local body schools had their own buildings but the same is not true in case of the schools run by the private aided (59.49 per cent) and unaided (47.17 per cent) managements. Most of the private schools had rented buildings.