Ensuring adolescents in Bihar stay---and learn---in school

The Government of India has invested in improving education through two key programmes, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan established in 2001 for elementary education (class 1-8) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) initiated in 2009 for universal access to, and retention in, secondary education....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2017
Main Authors: Desai, Sapna, Pandey, Neelanjana, Gupta, Ashish Kumar
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
Children & youth/Families & family life
Developing countries
Education
LDCs
Population Council
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:The Government of India has invested in improving education through two key programmes, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan established in 2001 for elementary education (class 1-8) and Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) initiated in 2009 for universal access to, and retention in, secondary education. National statistics indicate that educational attainment levels have increased, and the proportion of children who has never 1been to school has declined. In Bihar, the Population Council found high levels of enrolment amongst younger adolescents, with limited gender disparity: 94 percent of boys and 90 percent of girls in ages 10-14 years were 2enrolled in school. Retention beyond elementary school, however, was low: unmarried girls and boys typically only stayed in school for nine years, and married girls for seven years. Further, learning outcomes - literacy and numeracy - were poor, bringing the quality of education inputs into question. This policy brief focuses on two challenges to preparing Bihar's adolescents for the future: (1) universal enrolment and retention in secondary school; and (2) improving learning outcomes.