An insightful foray into Odisha’s education sector

Abstract

Gross Enrollment Ratio (GER) has witnessed a significant improvement in primary education in Odisha; thanks to the Right to Education (RTE) Act and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) initiative. While Odisha lags behind the better performing states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu& Maharashtra in terms of infrastructure and enrolment, the overall quality remains dismal as per the independent survey of Annual Status of Education Reports (ASER). The paper brings out how an extremely alienated section of the society receives the tender care of inclusive education and empowerment in a centre called Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) in Odisha, which can form a templates for emulate, all over the country. The paper laments the tendency to outsource, basic education, which is a merit good, to the private sector, which can at best cater to the needy of the affluent few. There is a need to significantly bolster public allocation to primary education, invest it with the highest priority for capability development in future to improve India’s HDI. The quest for high growth rates, must give way to inclusive growth, which puts a premium on public investment quality teaching through suitable training, pedagogical training, IT familiarity of the teachers.