UNIVERSALISING SECONDARY EDUCATION IN INDIA: SEEKING EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND EQUITY IN PLANNING ENHANCED ACCESS AND IMPROVED QUALITY Gaurav Siddhu RMSA-TCA Shashiranjan Jha RMSA-TCA Prof. Keith Lewin University of Sussex

Purpose This presentation presents preliminary findings from the research on planning secondary education expansion in India. The main aim of the research is to demonstrate how existing secondary education expansion policies may create an inefficient and unsustainable system. This presentation: Identifies recent patterns of growth Discusses the implications for efficiency, effectiveness and equity of changes in the composition of types of secondary schools Investigates effects related to school size Projects the impact of demographic transition on demand Illustrates how school mapping can inform decision making on school location Presents policy relevant conclusions

Growth of Small Schools and Implications First Secondary Education Commission ( ): school size criteria for setting up new schools Subsequent shift to use of distance as criteria More recently Joint Review Missions, Government of India 12th Five Year Plan express concern re: proliferation of small schools –implications for teacher deployment, resourcing; costs. “The new schools that have been established have tended to be small in terms of the number of pupils. Small schools find harder to offer a full range of curriculum options – both general and vocational – to students. In the siting of secondary schools, therefore, consideration should be given to increasing the average size of schools” (5 th JRM). Small secondary schools (< 150 in grades 9 and 10) are expensive to operate; difficult to attract specialist teachers; difficulty offering full curriculum; may not be academically successful.

Expansion of Secondary Education Rapid expansion: GER 31% in to 72% in GERs vary between states. Some large enrolment states - less than 50% of children complete secondary school Gender gap declining: near parity 0.98 in , from 0.65 in Overall increase – but regional and social inequality in retention persists Share of private enrolment increased from 26% (2009) to 33% (2014)

Growth of Small Schools : 65% of secondary schools had fewer than 150 students. Between and percentage of small government schools declined marginally Marginal increase in % of districts with high concentration of small schools between 2009 and 2013 Percentage of small schools increased in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka during RMSA period

Vast majority of schools, government or private, established after 2011 are very small Of all government schools established since 2011: 35% have average enrolment <25

Provision of Resources Pupil Teacher Ratio (PTR): range 4 to 38 Rural-urban difference in PTR widens with increase in school size Student classroom ratio (SCR): range 8 and 75 Government schools are better resourced in terms of teachers; private schools have lower SCRs 7% smallest schools have all core facilities; 11% in largest school category

33% schools have all four core subject teachers; increases to 45% in schools with pupils 16% teachers in smallest schools have no professional qualification; 11% in largest school category

Efficiency of Schools by Size Input-output model: to establish efficiency of school size in converting four inputs (PTR, SCR, toilets and seven key facilities) into learning output (measured by pass % in board examination)

In terms of cost, per child recurrent cost in smallest schools is seven times that of schools with over 150 children. Marginal gains are minimal after enrolment size of 150. Costs: per child recurrent cost in smallest schools 3 x that of schools with 150 students If resourced as per RMSA norms: cost of smallest schools 6 x cost of schools with >150 pupils Marginal gains are minimal after enrolment size of 300.

Effectiveness of Small Schools Smallest schools: lower exam scores than schools with >100 students. Private schools: performance increases with size above this level; but not for government schools Students in private secondary schools perform better than students in government schools Composite schools outperform stand-alone schools; irrespective of size Children from Scheduled Caste and Tribes perform better in large and composite schools

Student Demographics Demographic transition: number of 6-year-olds is already declining, most states Population of 14 & 15-year-olds (secondary school ages) will start to decline before 2020, almost all States

The population of 14 & 15-year-olds (secondary school ages) will start to decline before 2020 in almost all Indian States. Demand for public secondary education will plateau between , then decline Following RMSA expansion policies & norms, without accounting for demographic change, will generate surplus capacities This will happen across most States including those that now have acute resource shortage

GIS Case Study on School Size and Population Map shows that catchment areas of government secondary schools severely overlap the 5 km norm which indicates that most, but not all, of these schools are closer to each other than 5 km.

There appears to be no relationship between the distribution of secondary school age population and the availability of government secondary schools. School capacity utilisation was less that 50% in a selected region of Assam

Conclusions Policies for secondary education expansion has resulted in inequitable distribution of resources and creation of large number of small secondary schools Small schools are inefficient, as compared to large schools, in converting resources into learning outcomes and are highly cost inefficient Expansion of secondary education without consideration to demographic changes may result in generating surplus capacity Apparent absence of linkage between school location and demand for secondary education, in the case study district

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