Abstract:
In Article 45 of the Indian Constitution, the target was set to provide compulsory and free education to all boys and girls in the age group of 6 to 14 years within 10 years. But even after a long period of 54 years, the goal of universalization of elementary education has not been achieved. This situation was reviewed in the Education Policy of 1986, and a target year 2000 was set for universalization of elementary education. Today the scenario of education is relatively disappointing. Viewed from any angle, constitutional goals are still a distant dream. In 1991 the literacy rate was 52-51 percent. Overall 60.8 percent girls were illiterate. In rural areas, the percentage of boys and girls was 69.7 percent. In the year 1993-94, successful enrollment for age groups 6-11 and 11-14 were 745 and 67.7 percent respectively. The overall dropout rate in classes 1 to 6 was 70.9 percent and even higher for girls at 74.9 percent. This means that only 30 percent of students are able to complete primary education. The overall literacy rates for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes were 37.4 percent and 29.6 percent respectively. The successful enrollment ratios for Scheduled Castes in classes 1-5 and 6-8 were 107.3 and 60.13 percent respectively, while for Scheduled Tribes the ratios were 106.97 and 47.99 percent respectively
