Written By: Prachi Chowdhary, a second-year student at the National Law Institute University, Bhopal.

Education can be used as a weapon to eradicate poverty. The implementation of this realisation seems to be glaringly missing in the working of the developing world. A plethora of issues plague the education system in such nations as they often thrive on disconnect and lack of state accountability. The state seems like a distant entity lacking will to advance an impactful change. There’s minimal focus being given to attributes like knowledge building, personality enhancement and holistic development of the child. Three persisting issues remain in the forefront for the developing nations to tackle. Firstly, failure of the state machinery to achieve international promises. Secondly, the socio-cultural barriers to schooling and lastly, lack of a streamlined step by step approach to tackle the loopholes in the education system.

The world has become a global interconnected hub that is growing with the mindset of ‘We’re here to help.’ It is however not surprising to note that the execution of this idea provides limited support only to a handful of nations. Most developing and under developed nations live under the shadow of extreme poverty and misery. The serious dearth of resources makes it impossible for these nations to fulfil their dream of utilizing the best minds of the country to their fullest potential. Making a living is prioritized over quality education and the mindset individually is not blameworthy because the lack of monetary resources and socio-economic capital is a reality in poverty stricken developing nations of the world.  Educational institutions are seriously underfunded and inadequately staffed thereby paralyzing any bona fide change one intends on bringing to reform the system. Most parents in rural households prefer keeping their children especially their girl child confined to the four walls due to the prevalence of toxic social stigmas suggesting a woman’s place is in the home.^[1] The role of gender stereotyping results in most girls dropping out of school even before reaching the higher secondary level. While there has been a remarkable decline in the number of out-of-school children worldwide, from nearly 100 million in 2000 to 58 million in 2012, it is nearly certain that the developing world has not achieved the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education in 2015.^[2]

 “An increase in school enrolments from 40 to 60 percent is applauded as a success, not recorded as a violation of the right to education of the 40 percent of children who remain excluded from school.” – Katarina Tomasevski, former United Nations special rapporteur on the right to education, 2006. The developing side of the world clearly experiences an “Education Deficit”-  a shortfall between the educational reality that children experience around the world and what governments have promised and committed to through human rights treaties.[3] Behind this failure stands governments with arbitrary policies, minimal budget allocation to education and the lack of engagement with foreign help groups and civil societies due to prevailing sentiments like their help might affect the sovereignty of the nation. It is time for these nations to realize that international commitments play a motivating role in creating a symbiotic relationship between different nations and transnational organizations. This should be seen as an opportunity to establish their presence on the global map and to discard the notion of viewing the relationship as a threat to their state security and power.

Secondly, the presence of socio-cultural barriers often plays a crucial role in slowing down the outreach of education in the developing nations. For instance, a common perception that plagues the system is the notion that children with disabilities are not fit for learning. Parents and caretakers tend to raise objections over schooling as they don’t want their child to interact with students of other caste, religion or ethnic origin. The idea of keeping the “purity” of the child intact by not letting them come in contact with individuals belonging to different cultures, gender and origin defeats the purpose of an inclusive and diversified education system. Other technical difficulties include non-functional government education programmes that were started with good intentions but failed to improve the ground reality due to factors like inter department bribery, ineffective teaching pedagogy and mismanagement in schools among others.

One can surely make a list of issues that have hindered the expansion of education in such nations but in the author’s opinion one must revamp their ways according to the adversities they face. A change in approach formula can be adopted by different developing nations to increase their education levels by firstly identifying with a high degree of confidence both the ability of a program to have an impact and the potential size of that impact on educational outcomes. For the policy to work out we have to think of solutions that involve effective use of communication and technology. If children can’t go to school can the school come to them? It is exactly at this point wherein a mobile phone or a computer can revolutionize the process of learning in rural areas. Due to geographical isolation many students don’t have the privilege to attend school but with combined efforts of all stakeholders the idea of home-schooling can be made accessible and acceptable for all.^[4] This idea involves the satisfaction of the basic point of making an internet connected device powered by a satellite dish or solar power being made available to the village community so that a self-organized learning environment can be created thereby yielding positive results. The idea of traditional classroom coaching needs to be revamped and we must give a serious thought to the development of alternative ways of learning and evolving.

Classroom education follows a certain pattern which is applicable for all categories of students having different cerebral capacities and response mechanisms. It is not possible to provide tailor made syllabus for each and everyone. Forcing children to study those subjects is almost pointless. An example of Sugata Mitra’s Hole-in-the-Wall experiment can be given in this context. In 1999, Sugata Mitra and his colleagues dug a hole in a wall bordering an urban slum in New Delhi, installed an Internet-connected Personal Computer and left it there, with a hidden camera filming the area. They saw kids from the slum tinkering with the computer and, in the process, learning how to use it. The kids then started sharing their acquired knowledge with their peers. These famed “Hole in the Wall” experiments demonstrated that, in the absence of supervision and formal teaching, children can teach themselves and each other if they’re motivated by curiosity. As a concept, Hole-in-the-Wall has multiple dimensions and a potential which is virtually limitless. What it offers depends on the perspective one is looking from and finally for children, it is an extension of their playground where they can play together, teach each other new things, and more importantly, just be themselves.

This in no way means that the requirement of a teacher is redundant but it primarily acknowledges the role of the teacher as a facilitator and not as a rigid follower of the curriculum set by the state. In developing nations where there is a clear lack of teaching faculty and reading materials, revamping of primary education syllabus can serve as a boost to the idea of “minimally invasive education” thereby producing effective learning outcomes.  Capitalising on the prime years of a student and nurturing their impressionable minds is one of the key features of a strong education system. Additionally, measures like providing supplemental or remedial instruction, decreasing pupil-teacher ratios, increasing parent-teacher partnerships can be adopted and carefully implemented.

Technological solutions to government shortfalls cannot solve all of the problems found in developing nations, they are at best palliative measures. A step-by-step rectification of errors has to be done if one wants to improve the quality of education in such nations. Starting from the appointment of government school teachers, change in the scheme of examination with a rigorous selection process and constant evaluation of their progress by way of student teacher evaluation forms must be done at all levels of schooling. This ensures that only sincere teachers are being rewarded for their performance. Increasing the base level of performance pay and positional promotions for teachers can be objective considerations for the state to look into. To solve the second issue of lack of enrolment and participation of students in government schools, the state along with other PSU’s must focus on building schools where local access is lacking. Waiver of fees in village education centres, strict implementation of school meals program, providing bicycles for easy locomotion of students and counselling sessions for parents and caretakers of drop outs can be viable options to undertake. Merit based scholarship system ensures that the deserving candidate gets the advantage of their scholastic success which in turn can increase their interest in learning. Involving culturally relevant materials in classrooms can ensure greater participation and relatability among students in regions where traditional barriers are a constraint on attendance. Lastly, sensitization and awareness building by involving influential personalities, civil societies and other socio-corporate entities to promote the cause of education can act as light at the end of the tunnel.

A change of vision by understanding the socio-political landscape of the nation coupled with infrastructural building and intellectual stimulation can change the face of the education policy of a nation. It is indeed always easier said than done. We’re all an outcome of our lived experiences and surroundings. Embracing education with necessary modifications can impact and change these lived experiences of many children around the world.

^[1]  Kutnick, P. Jules, V. Layne, A. 1997 ‘GENDER AND SCHOOL ACHIEVEMENT IN THE CARIBBEAN’ ISBN: 1 86192 080 6.

^[2] UIS & UNICEF, 2015

[3] https://www.hrw.org/report/2016/06/09/education-deficit/failures-protect-and-fulfill-right-education-through-global

^[4] Taylor, P. Mulhall, A. 1997 ‘CONTEXTUALISING TEACHING AND LEARNING IN RURAL PRIMARY SCHOOLS: USING AGRICULTURAL EXPERIENCE’ Vol 1 ISBN: 1 861920 45 8 Vol 2 (Case Studies) ISBN: 1 86192 050 4.