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Context
The Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2017’s findings wrt basic education
Findings
A national-level finding is that as a group, 14.4% of youth aged 14 to 18 years are not enrolled in school or college. Yet, this figure conceals variations by age: while it is 5.3% for 14-year-olds, it rises to 30.2% at age 18
Need for Skill-Building programs
Only 5.3% of the age group is enrolled in a vocational course, while 60.2% of out-of-school youth are engaged in some form of work
- These trends underscore the need to scale up substantive skill-building programmes, making them free or highly subsidise
Measures
- “dual” German model: classroom instruction plus apprentice training can be looked into
- Agriculture: The role of agriculture as a provider of jobs and prosperity must be viewed. Among those who are already working in the 14-18 age group, 79% are engaged in farming, and that too in their family farms
- It appears to show that for a significant number of youth, a useful education in agriculture, coupled with access to the formal economy for finance and marketing, could raise the quality of life. In fact, the ability of farmers to adopt technology, avail benefits offered by the government and demand stronger institutions would be enhanced, if elementary education is improved
- It would also produce the additional benefit of promoting health-seeking behaviour among these youth
