Zone 5: Children Who Drop Out from Upper Primary School

Almost all data sources indicate that drop out rates among older children (11-14 years) is much higher than among lower age groups. The situation at the upper primary level (grades 6-8) is quite alarming as around half of the children who enroll in upper primary schools do not complete the upper primary cycle. Time series data given in the government’s Selected Educational Statistics, 2004-05 (GoI, 2007a) shows that over a period of 45 years drop out rates have decreased substantially, from 78.3% in 1960-1961 to 50.8% in 2004-2005, but this is far from satisfactory. As the data presented in Table 22 and Figure 6 illustrates, the decrease is essentially due to the improved retention of girls in the school system, as between 1990-2005 the drop out rate reduced by nearly 15 percentage points for girls. Gender disparities have therefore practically disappeared in drop out / retention rates at the upper primary level.

Table 22: Drop Out Rates (%) from Upper Primary School

Upper Primary (Grades 5-8) Year

Boys Girls Total

1990-1991 59.1 65.1 60.9 1995-1996 56.6 61.7 58.8 2001-2002 52.9 56.9 54.6 2002-2003 52.3 53.5 52.8 2003-2004 51.9 52.9 52.3 2004-2005 50.5 51.3 50.8

Figure 7: Drop Out Rates in Upper Primary School 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 19 60- 1 9 6 1 19 70- 19 7 1 19 80- 19 8 1 19 90- 19 91 20 00- 20 01 20 01- 20 02 20 02- 20 03 20 03- 20 04 20 04 -2 0 0 5 Year Pe rc e n ta g e Boys Girls Total

Source: GoI (2007a)

The situation is particularly serious with respect to socially under-privileged groups, as is evident from the data in Table 23. The rate of drop out of SC children, which was 67.8% in 1990-1991, came down to 57.3% in 2004-2005. There has also been considerable decline in the drop out rates of ST children over the same period (78.6% in 1990-91 to 65.9% in 2004-2005). It remains clear that much still needs to be done to retain SC and ST groups in upper primary education. That said, it is also encouraging to note that drop out rates for SC and ST girls have declined steadily at the upper primary stage, although the rates continue to be higher than SC and ST boys.

Table 23: Drop Out Rates (%) for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Children from Upper Primary School

SC Children ST Children

Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

1990-1991 64.3 73.2 67.8 75.7 82.2 78.6

1995-1996 64.7 70.5 67 62.3 71.2 66

2001-2002 58.6 63.6 60.7 67.3 72.7 69.5

2003-2004 57.3 62.2 59.4 69 71.4 70.1

2004-2005 55.2 60.00 57.3 65.0 67.1 65.9

Source: GoI (2007a)

Mukherjee (2005) observed that although the years enrolment rates for children have substantially improved over the years, poor retention and completion rates in school are a matter of continuing concern. According to her analysis, only 32% of enrolled students completed their school education in the year of 2000-2001. She also observed that even in 2000, only 63% of the relevant age group children completed primary; 46% completed upper primary and 33% completed secondary schooling. The situation was found to be most alarming in Bihar where 70% of children dropped out at primary and upper primary levels; more than 80% dropped out at the secondary level in Bihar and West Bengal between 1995-2000. At the same time, completion rates in Bihar and West Bengal were only 10% and 22% respectively. Her study also revealed that regional disparities in completion rates increased at all stages of schooling during the period 1995-2000. As far as completion rates in primary and the upper primary

levels education are concerned, the study showed that some states, for example Bihar (with 22% completion at primary; 20% at upper primary), Uttar Pradesh (39% at primary; 26% at upper primary), and Rajasthan (43% at primary; 38% at upper primary), have low completion rates. Other states, including Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal have also experienced low completion rates (below 45%) at the upper primary level, although in some of these states more than 60% of children completed primary education. In general, the proportion of girls who completed primary or upper primary schooling continued to be much lower than boys at the national level. Inter-state variations in school completion rates for girls were particularly striking. While several states had more than 70% of girls completing primary education, Bihar had only 15% of girls completing, Rajasthan had 23%, Uttar Pradesh had 28%, Orissa had 45%, West Bengal had 53% and Andhra Pradesh had 58%. Mukherjee’s analysis revealed considerable gender inequalities both in access to and completion of education. It identified poverty, child labour, the absence of secure employment after schooling and infrastructural problems as factors responsible for the large numbers of drop outs. In 1999-2000, fore example, 14% of the out-of-school children in the 5-14 year old age group cited supplementing household income as the main reason for dropping out of school (Mukherjee, 2005).

3.5.1 Why Do Children Drop Out from Upper Primary Schools?

Table 24 presents information on why children drop out of primary and upper primary schools. The data indicates that boys aged 10-14 were more likely than girls to drop out in order to support household income, while girls are more likely to drop out in order to carry out domestic chores. In contrast, a smaller proportion of children in the 6-11 year age group were found to be leaving school for those same reasons. Apart from this, a large proportion of girls of 10-14 years old had to leave school due to ‘other’ reasons, which could include socio-cultural factors such as early marriage.

Table 24: Children Aged 5-14 (per 1000) Who Dropped Out of Schooling in 2004

Rural Male Rural Female Urban Male Urban Female Reason

10-14 5-14 10-14 5-14 10-14 5-14 10-14 5-14

School too far 3 2 16 8 0 0 5 3

Has to support household income 171 72 70 36 231 116 57 36 Education not considered

necessary 73 33 21 53 116 14 98 56

Has to attend domestic chores 12 5 109 54 15 10 177 95

Other Reasons 170 89 142 88 221 129 176 118

Source: GoI (2006b)

Other surveys seem to confirm that income earning is a major reason for older boys to drop out. The NFHS-2 (IIPS and ORC Macro, 2000) found that 38% of boys and 32% of girls in the 6-17 year old age group dropped out because they were engaged in work either at home or outside (Sinha and Reddy, forthcoming). According to the 52nd NSS (GoI, 1998), the most important reason cited for boys to drop out was the need to carry out paid work (20.3%). Other reasons included financial constraints (12.4%), parents’ lack of interest in the education of their children (9.4%), and participation in other economic activities (7.8%).

Currently there is no national data that allows estimates of children falling into Zone 6 – i.e. enrolled but failing to learn at an appropriate level. It is clear that many children

are failing to reach attainment levels that indicate mastery of outcomes at different grade levels. More research is needed to produce estimates of the magnitude of under achievement since this is part of a definition of loss of access.

3.5.2 Transitions from Upper Primary to Secondary: Backwash Effects on Upper Primary Schooling

As noted earlier, the free and compulsory education period described in the Indian Constitution corresponds to the eight years of elementary schooling, generally divided into lower primary and upper primary. The availability of facilities for accessing secondary education could have a significant backwash effect on the participation of children in the elementary stage, and particularly in upper primary schools. Some parents are likely to view elementary schooling as inadequate, but in the absence of further schooling opportunities nearby may decide not to bear the costs of upper primary schooling. Moreover, due to low achievement levels many children are unable to make the transition to secondary school. In 1998-1999, around 30% of students at the upper primary level did not perform well enough in their final examination or found it difficult to get entry into an appropriate secondary school, and so dropped out of school after 8 years.

Table 25: Transition Rates (%) from Upper Primary to Secondary Schools in Major States in India, 1991-1998

Upper Primary to Secondary Transition Rates State 1991-1992 1995-1996 1998-1999 Andhra Pradesh 98.4 91.7 91.6 Assam 77.5 85.7 83.8 Bihar 80.2 79.9 83.5 Gujarat 81.7 81.1 80.3 Himachal Pradesh 82.9 62.7 74.2 Haryana 72.9 49.4 73.9

Jammu & Kashmir 101.3 91.7 90.4

Karnataka 86.8 95.5 90.2 Kerala 83.2 83 84.5 Madhya Pradesh 60.9 74.6 60.7 Maharashtra 91.6 86.2 88.9 Orissa 85.6 85.6 83.5 Punjab 87.5 79.3 83.6 Rajasthan 91.4 79.9 62.9 Tamil Nadu 66.0 59.3 53.7 Uttar Pradesh 70.2 73.5 95.5 West Bengal 62.1 83.4 75.6 All India 77.9 78.7 72.3

Source: GoI (1995), GoI (2002) and GoI (2005b)

In 1991-1992, transition rates from upper primary to secondary level at the all India level was 77.9%, which declined to 72.3% in 1998-1999. In 1991-92, states having a less than 70% transition rate from upper primary to secondary stage were Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Assam had

transition rates ranging from 70% to 80%. Surprisingly, while an educationally advanced state like Tamil Nadu had a very low transition rate from upper primary to secondary level in 1991-1992, transition rates in educationally backward states like Bihar, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh was much higher, and above the national average. During the period from 1991 to1998, there was a decline in the transition rate from upper primary to secondary level in many states, including Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. Interestingly, educationally backward states such as Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam performed much better in terms of increasing the transition rate during the same period. This shows that merely increasing enrolment in lower levels of schooling is no guarantee that participation in higher levels will improve.