| Proportion of out-of-school population in the age group 10-19 |
| Social group | Rural | Urban |
| Scheduled tribes | 52.90 | 31.59 |
| Scheduled castes | 48.34 | 36.19 |
| Other backward castes | 44.03 | 34.43 |
| Other (non-backward castes) | 34.36 | 22.47 |
| Total | 42.84 | 28.88 |
| Source: Benefits of Investing in Youth. Indicus Analytics |
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| The status of education, especially primary education, in India has had some measure of success in bringing socially marginalised within the mainstream but it hasn't been satisfactorily successful and large gaps still exist. |
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| Among the tribals, it has been seen that school participation is hindered by the gap in understanding of the worldview as expressed in the schools/textbooks and their own lived reality. A large number of tribal parents are illiterate and the school curricula are often out of context for tribal children, thus leading to an inability to relate with what is being taught. This can lead to disinterest in studies. Further, low learner motivation, poor parental participation in the education of children, and the overall socio-economic backwardness significantly affect the school performance of tribal children. There exists considerable diversity among the tribals themselves residing in the different states of the country. |
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| Overall educational attainment is impossible without better performance of the SC and ST children. This requires us to device a system of public education that is not standardised for an "average" child. Greater flexibility of schools on issues of the kind of education is essential. Not only the text, but also things such as the environment in which they are taught, school timings, school locations need to be highly tuned in to the requirements of the most under-privileged sections. Private schools that are already doing all this witness the exponential growth of private schools in the poorest of areas. However, private schools have their own constraints. Flexibility of public school administration, rules, internal procedures, regulations and content is essential if success in imparting quality and relevant education is to be achieved. |
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| The writers work with Indicus, an economics research firm. |
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