National

“No Teacher, No Class” – UNESCO report

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) launched its 2021 State of the Education Report (SOER) for India: “No Teacher, No Class”.

Report is largely based on analysis of Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) data (2018-19).

Findings of the report

  • Lack of Teachers: There are nearly 1.2 lakh single-teacher schools in the country of which an overwhelming 89% are in rural areas. The report projects that India needs 11.16 lakh additional teachers to meet the current shortfall.
  • Increase in Number of Teachers in Private Sector: The proportion of teachers employed in the private sector grew from 21% in 2013-14 to 35% in 2018-19.
  • Lack of Digital Infrastructure: The overall availability of computing devices (desktops or laptops) in schools is 22% for all India, with rural areas seeing much lower provisioning (18%) than urban areas (43%). Access to the internet in schools is 19% all over India - only 14% in rural areas compared to 42% in urban areas.
  • Increment in Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER): For elementary schools, it has increased from 81.6 in 2001 to 93.03 in 2018-19 and stands at 102.1 in 2019-2020.

Recommendations:

  • Increase the number of teachers and improve working conditions in North Eastern states, rural areas and 'aspirational districts'.
  • Increase the number of physical educations, music, art, vocational education, early childhood and special education teachers.
  • Value the professional autonomy of teachers.
  • Build teachers' career pathways.