INDIA
28 March 2014
India -- the education drop-out
India withdrew from PISA, the world's "Gold Standard" for education evaluation, for 2012 and 2015, following a dismal result in 2009. But this is no way to improve an education system!
India withdrew from PISA, the world's "Gold Standard" for education evaluation, for 2012 and 2015, following a dismal result in 2009.
But this is no way to improve an education system that is in desperate need of reform!
The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the world's premier education yardstick when it comes to measuring what 15 year old students know, and what they can do with what they know. It covers mathematics, reading, and science problem-solving capabilities.
Each year, there is a special focus, with mathematics being that in 2012, the most recent edition of PISA. Foundation skills in mathematics have a major impact on individuals' life chances, according to the OECD's new Survey of Adult Skills.
Poor mathematics skills severely limit people's access to better-paying and more-rewarding jobs; at the aggregate level, inequality in the distribution of mathematics skills across populations is closely related is closely related to how wealth in shared within nations. Beyond that, the survey shows that people with strong skills in mathematics are also more likely to volunteer, see themselves as actors in, rather than objects of, political processes, and are even more likely to trust others.
None of this should be surprising. Mathematics is all about logic!
Some 65 countries went through the hoops of PISA in 2012, all the 34 OECD countries and 31 other countries/economies. This represents more than 80% of the world economy.
What is astonishing in this PISA exercise, is the success of Asian countries, especially those which are not even OECD members!
Shanghai-China came "top of the pops" for mathematics, with a score which is equivalent to nearly three years of schooling above the OECD average. Others in the top ten are: Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Macao, Japan, Leichenstein, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Germany is further down the list at 16th, just ahead of Vietnam and Australia, while the US comes in 36th. Other Asian countries are much further down the list -- Thailand 50th, Malaysia 52nd, and Indonesia 64th.
For reading and scientific capacity, Shanghai and the other leading Asian countries also topped the ranking.
Two Indian states -- Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh -- participated in the 2009 exercise. Although they are among the best-performing states in India, they were ranked in the bottom three participants, along with Kyrgyzstan, for all three criteria. In particular:
-- Only 17% of Tamil Nadu students are estimated to have a level of reading literacy that would enable them to participate effectively and productively in life. And for Himachal Pradesh, it is even lower at 11%. This compares with 81% for OECD countries.
-- Only 15% of Tamil Nadu students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways that are considered fundamental for their future development. Again, Himachal Pradesh is even lower at 12%, And these figures compare with 75% for OECD countries.
-- Only 16% of students in Tamil Nadu are proficient in science at a level that enables them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology, while in Himachal Pradesh the score is even lower at 11%. This compares to 82% for OECD countries.
But rather than using the PISA exercise as a useful tool for measuring, and tracking over time, the nation's education, the Indian government decided to blame the PISA test, which it considers to be unfair because it does not take account of India's socio-cultural milieu.
Despite the government's reaction, these very low scores square with all other indicators which suggest that India has an appalling education system.
An Asian Development Bank study showed that in 2010 Indian children had the lowest number of years schooling out of 12 leading countries from developing Asia. India's average number of years schooling (for the population aged 15 years and above) was 5.13 years in 2010. This is well below the average for "Emerging Asia" (7.05 years), and even much further below the 11.0 years of developed countries.
The results of this important ADB study would be even more damning if the ADB could have measured the quality of education, as well the quantity.
India's 5.13 years average schooling compares with the following emerging Asian countries: China's (8.36), Hong Kong (10.37), Indonesia (6.29), Korea (11.74), Malaysia (10.19), Pakistan (5.65), the Philippines (8.95), Singapore (9.19), Taiwan (11.37), Thailand (7.25), and Vietnam (6.45). Even Pakistan is doing better than India!
True, India has made much educational progress these past 40 years, but its average level of educational attainment is the same as that of advanced countries more than 6 decades ago.
Another OECD study also provided a very critical assessment of access and quality in the Indian education system. True, it noted the marked expansion of the Indian education system, rising enrollments, reduction in gender disparities and progress towards the goal of universal enrollment at the elementary level.
But it also highlighted high drop-out rates, low student attendance and enrollment rates, large disparities in enrollment across states and also across minority groups, and poor test results. The Right to Education Act, complemented by other initiatives to encourage attendance, should provide a renewed impetus to raising enrollments. And introducing programs to improve the health of children is also be needed.
Further, teacher effectiveness needs to be enhanced by strengthening accountability and incentives. Problems with teacher absence endure and employment arrangements for public school teachers need to be reformed by strengthening dismissal provisions for teachers who are not performing satisfactorily.
At the same time, student-teacher ratios are high, and teachers are often required to teach children in different grades simultaneously. The government’s goal of reducing student-teacher ratios should help lift instructional quality. But teacher development pathways, including pre- and in-service training, need to be made more accessible and effective.
In the words of OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria:
"Over the past decade, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA, has become the world's premier yardstick for evaluating the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems ... By identifying the characteristics of high-performing education systems, PISA allows governments and educators to identify effective policies that they can then adapt to their local contexts."
There is indeed much to learn. Top performers, notably in Asia, place great emphasis on selecting and training teachers, encourage them to work together and prioritize investment in teacher quality, not classroom sizes. They also set clear targets and give teachers autonomy in the classroom to achieve them. Children whose parents have high expectations perform better: they tend to try harder, have more confidence in their own ability and are more motivated to learn.
If India is to ever become a global superpower, it must improve the quality of its education. And there is no better way of doing that than learning from the experiences of other countries through the PISA programme.
Indeed, a key aspect of good governance is benchmarking a country's performance against its peers. If other countries are doing much better, there must be something wrong. And as with most problems in India, much of its education backwardness boils down to governance at several levels.
Executive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
But this is no way to improve an education system that is in desperate need of reform!
The OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is the world's premier education yardstick when it comes to measuring what 15 year old students know, and what they can do with what they know. It covers mathematics, reading, and science problem-solving capabilities.
Each year, there is a special focus, with mathematics being that in 2012, the most recent edition of PISA. Foundation skills in mathematics have a major impact on individuals' life chances, according to the OECD's new Survey of Adult Skills.
Poor mathematics skills severely limit people's access to better-paying and more-rewarding jobs; at the aggregate level, inequality in the distribution of mathematics skills across populations is closely related is closely related to how wealth in shared within nations. Beyond that, the survey shows that people with strong skills in mathematics are also more likely to volunteer, see themselves as actors in, rather than objects of, political processes, and are even more likely to trust others.
None of this should be surprising. Mathematics is all about logic!
Some 65 countries went through the hoops of PISA in 2012, all the 34 OECD countries and 31 other countries/economies. This represents more than 80% of the world economy.
What is astonishing in this PISA exercise, is the success of Asian countries, especially those which are not even OECD members!
Shanghai-China came "top of the pops" for mathematics, with a score which is equivalent to nearly three years of schooling above the OECD average. Others in the top ten are: Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Macao, Japan, Leichenstein, Switzerland and the Netherlands.
Germany is further down the list at 16th, just ahead of Vietnam and Australia, while the US comes in 36th. Other Asian countries are much further down the list -- Thailand 50th, Malaysia 52nd, and Indonesia 64th.
For reading and scientific capacity, Shanghai and the other leading Asian countries also topped the ranking.
Two Indian states -- Tamil Nadu and Himachal Pradesh -- participated in the 2009 exercise. Although they are among the best-performing states in India, they were ranked in the bottom three participants, along with Kyrgyzstan, for all three criteria. In particular:
-- Only 17% of Tamil Nadu students are estimated to have a level of reading literacy that would enable them to participate effectively and productively in life. And for Himachal Pradesh, it is even lower at 11%. This compares with 81% for OECD countries.
-- Only 15% of Tamil Nadu students are proficient in mathematics at least to the baseline level at which they begin to demonstrate the kind of skills that enable them to use mathematics in ways that are considered fundamental for their future development. Again, Himachal Pradesh is even lower at 12%, And these figures compare with 75% for OECD countries.
-- Only 16% of students in Tamil Nadu are proficient in science at a level that enables them to participate actively in life situations related to science and technology, while in Himachal Pradesh the score is even lower at 11%. This compares to 82% for OECD countries.
But rather than using the PISA exercise as a useful tool for measuring, and tracking over time, the nation's education, the Indian government decided to blame the PISA test, which it considers to be unfair because it does not take account of India's socio-cultural milieu.
Despite the government's reaction, these very low scores square with all other indicators which suggest that India has an appalling education system.
An Asian Development Bank study showed that in 2010 Indian children had the lowest number of years schooling out of 12 leading countries from developing Asia. India's average number of years schooling (for the population aged 15 years and above) was 5.13 years in 2010. This is well below the average for "Emerging Asia" (7.05 years), and even much further below the 11.0 years of developed countries.
The results of this important ADB study would be even more damning if the ADB could have measured the quality of education, as well the quantity.
India's 5.13 years average schooling compares with the following emerging Asian countries: China's (8.36), Hong Kong (10.37), Indonesia (6.29), Korea (11.74), Malaysia (10.19), Pakistan (5.65), the Philippines (8.95), Singapore (9.19), Taiwan (11.37), Thailand (7.25), and Vietnam (6.45). Even Pakistan is doing better than India!
True, India has made much educational progress these past 40 years, but its average level of educational attainment is the same as that of advanced countries more than 6 decades ago.
Another OECD study also provided a very critical assessment of access and quality in the Indian education system. True, it noted the marked expansion of the Indian education system, rising enrollments, reduction in gender disparities and progress towards the goal of universal enrollment at the elementary level.
But it also highlighted high drop-out rates, low student attendance and enrollment rates, large disparities in enrollment across states and also across minority groups, and poor test results. The Right to Education Act, complemented by other initiatives to encourage attendance, should provide a renewed impetus to raising enrollments. And introducing programs to improve the health of children is also be needed.
Further, teacher effectiveness needs to be enhanced by strengthening accountability and incentives. Problems with teacher absence endure and employment arrangements for public school teachers need to be reformed by strengthening dismissal provisions for teachers who are not performing satisfactorily.
At the same time, student-teacher ratios are high, and teachers are often required to teach children in different grades simultaneously. The government’s goal of reducing student-teacher ratios should help lift instructional quality. But teacher development pathways, including pre- and in-service training, need to be made more accessible and effective.
In the words of OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria:
"Over the past decade, the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment, PISA, has become the world's premier yardstick for evaluating the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems ... By identifying the characteristics of high-performing education systems, PISA allows governments and educators to identify effective policies that they can then adapt to their local contexts."
There is indeed much to learn. Top performers, notably in Asia, place great emphasis on selecting and training teachers, encourage them to work together and prioritize investment in teacher quality, not classroom sizes. They also set clear targets and give teachers autonomy in the classroom to achieve them. Children whose parents have high expectations perform better: they tend to try harder, have more confidence in their own ability and are more motivated to learn.
If India is to ever become a global superpower, it must improve the quality of its education. And there is no better way of doing that than learning from the experiences of other countries through the PISA programme.
Indeed, a key aspect of good governance is benchmarking a country's performance against its peers. If other countries are doing much better, there must be something wrong. And as with most problems in India, much of its education backwardness boils down to governance at several levels.
Author
John WestExecutive Director
Asian Century Institute
www.asiancenturyinstitute.com
REFERENCES:
- OECD. PISA 2012 Results- Lee, Jong-Wha and Ruth Francisco. Human Capital Accumulation in Emerging Asia, 1970-2030. Asian Development Bank Economics Working Paper Series. No.216. September 2010
- Hill, S. and T. Chalaux (2011), “Improving Access and Quality in the Indian Education System”, OECD Economics Department Working Papers, No. 885, OECD Publishing.