Infrastructure Neglect in Government Schools

The collapse of a government school building in Rajasthan’s Jhalawar district on July 25, killing seven students, has highlighted the perilous state of public school infrastructure across India.

The Tragedy and Its Systemic Reflection

• School Collapse and Casualties: The incident at Piplodi Government School, predominantly serving tribal students, resulted in seven deaths and several injuries, exposing serious lapses in infrastructure safety.
• Broader Infrastructure Crisis in Rajasthan: According to UDISE 2023–24 data, while Rajasthan has over 70,000 government schools, the State Education Department estimates that nearly 8,000 are in poor condition — though the Jhalawar school wasn’t even flagged.
• Budget Allocation Versus Implementation Failure: Despite an allocation of ?650 crore in recent budgets for infrastructure upgradation, implementation has been plagued by inefficiencies and poor administrative accountability, rendering these investments ineffective.

National Education Policy (NEP) and Infrastructure Gaps

• NEP’s Infrastructure Mandate: NEP 2020 had proposed raising education expenditure to 6% of GDP, emphasising one-time capital investment in school infrastructure as a foundational requirement — a goal still largely unmet.
• Declining Public Investment in Basic Education: Recent policy trends have favoured privatisation and self-financing models, even in primary education, contradicting NEP’s call for strengthened public provisioning in school education.
• Neglect of Core Public Responsibilities: Basic education, unlike higher education, remains a core state obligation globally; shifting focus to elite “model schools” has undermined mass education quality and equity.

Foundational Literacy and Demographic Dividend at Risk

• Misplaced Policy Focus on Pedagogy Alone: While foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) are rightly prioritised, current interventions overly focus on pedagogy and informal delivery, neglecting infrastructure and teacher capacity.
• Link to Workforce and Demographic Dividend: FLN is critical to workforce productivity and harnessing India’s demographic dividend; any delay in addressing educational basics will compromise long-term economic growth.
• Urgent Need for Structural Investment and Governance Reform: Systemic improvement requires not just budgetary allocation but efficient expenditure, robust monitoring, and a renewed commitment to teacher recruitment and training.

Practice Question:

“The deteriorating infrastructure in public schools undermines the constitutional promise of equitable education in India. Critically evaluate this statement in light of recent incidents and suggest comprehensive reforms to address systemic deficiencies.”     (250 words)