GER at primary level are high because of MDM scheme and special efforts being made to improve GER. May be somewhat cooked up. It starts falling down thereafter.Girls find it difficult to come boys take it easy and many join the workforce. Strangely in labor force we have age group of 15-19! Child labor law perhaps does not extend over the teenagers? We are also doing away with the system of exams. All those who pass 10 & then 10 2 think of becoming doctors, engineers, managers or officers by pursuing higher studies. Most end up as unemployed or low wage freelancers with the lucky few becoming clerks. Proliferation of pvt engineering colleges and business schools have made return on investment for their students highly unattractive. But no body would join vocational schools. Skill development in India is through the caste and religion lines. Most learn by joining their father and brother in the trade rather than through a vocational school.The skills they learn are also outdated. We must have a rigorous test for all types of higher education. All those who don't qualify must join vocational/ technical schools where training latest trades and skills may be imparted. Those who qualify and join higher studies must excel in whatever line they chose. No cheap highly subsidized loans for those failing admission tests in India then going abroad for studies. Loans for cheap studies abroad must be prohibitively steep. More second rate engineering, medical and business schools.
Higher education is inaccessible to a large section of students from the underprivileged class including the socially and economically marginalised-dalits,muslims, economically and socially backward sections,and a large section of female and rural population. As the author has rightly pointed out, the fault lies in our primary education especially those under the public sector.A vast majority of the students from government schools tend to drop out.Most of them are from the above mentioned vulnerable sections of the society.Strenthening the government primary and secondary education will go a long way in boosting the higher education of our country.
