Behind the empty desks: Teachers’ insights into student absenteeism in India

Abstract

This study explores teachers’ perspectives on student absenteeism in India’s elementary schools, with the goal of informing interventions and policies to tackle the issue of empty desks. It examines insights from 10 elementary teachers, gathered through in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and observations. The findings highlight a concerning trend in students' school absenteeism, revealing alarmingly low daily attendance rates of just 25–30% in many state government–run schools, particularly in rural areas. In stark contrast, private and central government schools enjoy significantly higher student attendance rates. Despite government initiatives addressing historical socio-economic factors like poverty, communication, or distance, absenteeism persists primarily due to stakeholders’ attitudinal integrity issues and a ‘poverty of minds’, including parental indifference, student demotivation, and falsified school reports. Teachers identified significant academic and behavioural impacts on students, alongside challenges in maintaining continuity and morale in classrooms. It reveals that addressing absenteeism requires a multi-dimensional approach, including school-level interventions, systemic reforms, parental engagement, awareness generation, incentivizing attendance, promoting extracurricular activities, flexible schooling, and ensuring stricter monitoring and accountability. The study underscores the necessity for collaborative efforts to transform schools into inclusive spaces, addressing absenteeism to ensure equitable access to quality education for students and society.