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4 Literacy and Education

Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 87


Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Introduction population aged 7 and above. According to the 2011


population census, 80.09 per cent of Tamil Nadu’s
The 86th Constitutional Amendment introduced in 2002
population is literate, an improvement from 73.45
makes access to free and compulsory education for all
per cent in 2001. This is much higher than the all-
children in the age group of 6-14 years a Fundamental
India average of 74.04 per cent, positioning the State
Right. The Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, legislated
as eighth among all other States. This is remarkable,
under the aforementioned Article further strengthened
given its large size, as the only State of comparable size
India’s commitment towards educating her children.
that ranked higher than Tamil Nadu is Maharashtra.
The Act distributed the responsibility of ensuring
Total literacy rate in India and Tamil Nadu has shown
this right between the Centre and the States. The
an increasing trend over the years. While the literacy
amendment and subsequent legislation under Article
rate of Tamil Nadu has increased from 62.66 in 1991
21-A were affirmative steps towards realisation of one
to 80.33 in 2011, that of India has also increased from
of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
52.21 in 1991 to 72.99 in 2011. The difference between
Education, along with food, water and hygiene, is the national average and the State average has also
considered a basic human right under the Universal decreased from slightly over 10 per cent in 1991 to over
Declaration of Human Rights. It is one of the three 7 per cent in 2011.
components used in the computation of the HDI
(Human Development Index) of a country. Education Figure 4.1
among the people of a region indicates not just those Literacy Rates in Tamil Nadu and All-India
who can read or write, but forms the basis for larger
social, political and economic progress of the region. 80.33
73.47 72.99
By the Tamil Nadu Compulsory Education Act, 1994,
62.66 64.84
and the Tamil Nadu Right of Children to Free and
Compulsory Education Rules, 2011, the State has laid 52.21
the formal framework to attain universal primary
education. Further, the State also envisages achieving
universal secondary education, increasing enrolment
in colleges (including vocational education) to over
50 per cent and making the State an innovation hub
and a knowledge capital of India, on the strength of
1991 2001 2011
world class institutions in various fields and the best
of human talent.
Tamil Nadu India

This chapter provides an overview of the progress of Source: Census 2001, Census 2011.
education in Tamil Nadu, focusing on efforts made
by the State to expand literacy and provide equitable According to Census 2011, of the total rural and urban
access to quality education at all levels. It maps the population, 24,098,521 (80.33%), 19,980,569 (73.8%)
progress of education over the decade 2001-2011— respectively are literates. Over the decade 2001-2011,
literacy, primary and secondary education, higher the urban and rural literacy rates have increased
education and skill development—at the State level from 82.53 to 87.24 per cent and 66.21 to 73.8 per cent
and across districts.1 In doing so, we also highlight the respectively, with the latter exhibiting higher growth
challenges that are likely to emerge. over the decade than the former. In terms of female
literacy, it may be noted that while the total literacy
Trends in Literacy rate for women in 2011 was 73.86 per cent, rural female
literacy rate was 65.52 per cent (an increase of 10.24%
Although literacy is just one aspect of education, it is from that in 2001), and urban female literacy rate was
undeniably the most important and commonly used 82.67 per cent.
indicator of basic education or more simply, the ability
of a population to read and write. It is computed for In order to get a sense of inter-district variations in
spread of literacy, the total, rural and urban literacy
rate in 2001 and 2011 are examined at the district level
1. The present report is a follow-up of the Tamil Nadu Human
Development Report (TNHDR) (2003), which had traced the as shown in Table 4.1.
progress of literacy and education in the state until 2001.
88 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.1
District-wise Literacy Rates in 2001 and 2011

State/ District Literacy Rate (2001) Literacy Rate (2011)

Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban

Tamil Nadu 73.45 66.21 82.53 80.33 73.8 87.24

Thiruvallur 76.94 67.18 84.98 83.82 74.38 88.82

Chennai 85.33 Nil 85.33 90.33 Nil 90.33

Kancheepuram 76.85 67.28 85.12 85.29 76.6 90.25

Vellore 72.36 67.43 80.46 79.65 75.39 85.25

Dharmapuri 60.31 57.57 75.67 64.71 62.69 74.23

Krishnagiri 62.29 58.61 80.47 72.41 68.41 86.07

Tiruvannamalai 67.39 64.65 79.52 74.72 72.54 83.3

Viluppuram 63.8 60.98 80.28 72.08 69.79 85.25

Salem 65.09 57.27 74.16 73.23 66.16 79.97

Nammakkal 67.41 63.15 74.83 74.92 71.73 79.66

Erode 65.44 57.57 73.64 72.96 66 79.63

The Nilgiris 80.01 74.26 83.9 85.65 81.67 88.4

Coimbatore 78.5 65.77 83.77 84.31 72.43 88.15

Tiruppur 71.08 62.55 79.6 79.1 70.31 84.73

Dindigul 69.35 64.25 78.77 76.85 72.28 84.49

Karur 68.08 62.33 79.59 75.86 69.59 85.11

Tiruchirappalli 77.9 69.87 86.76 83.56 77.24 90

Perambalur 66.07 63.59 78.93 74.68 72.46 85.4

Ariyalur 64.08 62.32 77.74 71.99 70.79 81.49

Cuddalore 71.01 65.37 82.32 79.04 74.97 86.85

Nagapattinam 76.34 74.16 83.89 84.09 82.54 89.41

Thiruvarur 76.58 74.28 85.53 83.26 81.53 89.99

Thanjavur 75.45 70.73 84.59 82.72 79.06 89.36

Pudukkottai 71.12 68.1 85.72 77.76 74.97 89.29

Sivaganga 72.18 67.03 85.26 80.46 76.33 89.62

Madurai 77.82 67.6 85.74 81.66 70.28 88.98

Theni 71.58 66.13 76.19 77.62 72.81 81.83

Virudhunagar 73.7 68.7 79.7 80.75 76.53 84.87

Ramanathapuram 72.96 69.04 84.43 81.48 77.62 89.77

Thoothukkudi 81.34 77.54 86.65 86.52 82.57 90.46

Tirunelveli 76.15 71.76 80.79 82.92 79.49 86.4

Kanyakumari 87.55 86.17 88.29 92.14 90.95 92.4

Source: Registrar General of Census 2001, 2011.


Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 89
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Table 4.2
Literacy Rates by Districts, Gender and Residence, 2011

State/District Literacy Rate: Male (2011) Literacy Rate: Female (2011)

Total Rural Urban Total Rural Urban

Tamil Nadu 86.81 82.08 91.82 73.86 65.52 82.67

Thiruvallur 89.18 82.45 92.7 78.39 66.33 84.85

Chennai 93.47 Nil 93.47 87.16 Nil 87.16

Kancheepuram 90.34 84.18 93.85 80.17 68.96 86.6

Vellore 86.96 84.08 90.77 72.43 66.75 79.83

Dharmapuri 69.16 67.3 78.17 60.03 57.8 70.25

Krishnagiri 79.65 76.49 90.5 64.86 59.96 81.5

Tiruvannamalai 83.73 82.29 89.46 65.71 62.77 77.23

Viluppuram 80.58 78.76 91.13 63.51 60.72 79.39

Salem 80.7 75.02 86.23 65.43 56.71 73.57

Nammakkal 83.09 80.84 86.46 66.68 62.5 72.86

Erode 80.81 74.94 86.53 65.07 56.88 72.79

The Nilgiris 92.15 89.87 93.71 79.44 73.94 83.28

Coimbatore 89.49 80.25 92.47 79.16 64.67 83.84

Tiruppur 86.07 79.36 90.33 72.07 61.29 79.05

Dindigul 84.91 81.74 90.26 68.82 62.81 78.79

Karur 84.86 80.15 91.81 67.05 59.25 78.55

Tiruchirappalli 90 86 94.08 77.24 68.64 86

Perambalur 83.39 81.88 90.73 66.11 63.19 80.18

Ariyalur 82.06 81.31 88.03 62.22 60.58 75.19

Cuddalore 86.84 84.04 92.25 71.2 65.79 81.48

Nagapattinam 90.38 89.31 94.08 78 75.96 84.94

Thiruvarur 89.65 88.53 94.1 77.02 74.69 86.05

Thanjavur 89.06 86.5 93.74 76.61 71.87 85.18

Pudukkottai 86.19 84.24 94.17 69.51 65.9 84.46

Sivaganga 88.61 86.11 94.17 72.33 66.59 85.09

Madurai 86.55 76.79 92.87 76.74 63.7 85.09

Theni 85.48 81.94 88.54 69.72 63.52 74.95

Virudhunagar 88.46 85.81 91.05 73.14 67.34 78.79

Ramanathapuram 87.89 85.23 93.52 74.93 69.89 85.87

Thoothukkudi 91.42 88.85 93.96 81.77 76.51 87.04

Tirunelveli 89.66 87.18 92.16 76.38 72.06 80.79

Kanyakumari 93.86 92.49 94.15 90.45 89.42 90.67

Source: Census 2011.


90 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.3
Comparing Lowest/Highest Literacy Rates across Gender (2001-2011)

Sub-category 2001 2011

Minimum Maximum Minimum Maximum

Male 70.79 90.37 69.16 93.86


Total
Female 49.28 84.79 60.03 90.45

Male 81.96 92.54 78.17 94.17


Urban
Female 64.96 85.51 70.25 90.67

Male 67.99 88.95 67.3 92.49


Rural
Female 45.64 83.44 56.71 89.42

Source: Census 2011.

Overall, only about 50 per cent of the districts show Pudukottai ranking slightly lower than the State
rural and urban literacy rates above the State average average in overall literacy levels. Considering female
in 2001 and 2011. Krishnagiri district has the highest literacy rates by residence, Kanyakumari has the
rural literacy rate growth over the decade at 9.8 per highest rural and urban female literacy rates at 89.42
cent and Madurai has the lowest at 2.68 per cent. In and 90.67 per cent, respectively. Dharmapuri has the
2001, Kanyakumari had the highest rural literacy lowest rural male literacy rate at 67.3 per cent, while
rate at 86.17, whereas Salem had the lowest at 57.27. Salem shows the lowest rural female literacy rate of
Similarly, Kanyakumari has the highest rural literacy 56.71 per cent. Dharmapuri also has the lowest urban
rate in 2011 too at 90.95 per cent (the national average male and female literacy rates at 78.17 and 70.25 per
is 72.99%) and Dharmapuri has the lowest at 62.69. cent, respectively.
Moving on to urban literacy rates, in 2001, Kanyakumari
had the highest literacy rate at 88.29 and Erode had Table 4.3 presents the spread of literacy rates in 2001
the lowest at 73.64. Over the decade, Kanyakumari and 2011 by gender and location of the residence. For
continued to have the highest urban literacy rate at males, the dispersion in total and urban literacy rates
92.4 per cent, and Dharmapuri had the lowest literacy across districts is higher in 2011 than in 2001, while
rate at 74.23. Perambalur had the highest growth in for females the inter-district variation has narrowed in
literacy rate at a rise of 6.47 per cent over the decade 2011 compared to 2001.
2001-2011. Dharmapuri`s literacy rate decreased by
1.44 from 74.67 in 20012. Next, we present literacy rates Expansion of literacy also needs to be considered in
by gender and residence across districts in Tamil Nadu terms of differences in the literacy rates by social
for 2011 (Tables 4.2 and 4.3). groups—general population versus the SCs (scheduled
castes) and STs (scheduled tribes) population.
Kanyakumari district has maintained its record of
attaining the highest total male and female literacy According to the 2001 Census, the literacy rate in Tamil
rates at 93.86 and 90.45 per cent respectively in 2011. Nadu amongst the SCs was at 63.19 per cent, while that
The district with the lowest total male and female amongst the STs was at a significantly lower 41.53 per
literacy rates in 2011 was again Dhamapuri with 69.16 cent. Even amongst these sections, literacy rate in rural
and 60.03 per cent respectively. Kanyakumari has areas was lower than in the urban areas. SCs in rural
the highest rural male literacy rate at 92.49 per cent, areas had a literacy rate of only 59.61 per cent compared
whereas Pudukkottai and Sivaganga have the highest to 71.45 per cent for their urban counterparts. Similarly,
urban male literacy rate at 94.17 per cent, despite STs in rural areas in 2001 had a 38.41 per cent literacy
rate as opposed to 58.6 per cent in the urban areas.
Men were also seen to be significantly more literate
2. It must however be mentioned that strict inter-temporal than women of the same communities in the context
comparisons cannot be done for all districts as new of both SCs and STs. The difference between men and
districts have been carved from old districts during this
women was approximately the same for both SCs and
decade such as Krishnagiri from Dharmapuri, and Ariyalur
from Perambalur. STs, although the former had an overall higher literacy
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 91
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Box 4.1
Library Movement in Tamil Nadu

The Tamil Nadu government has been taking various steps in promoting public libraries with an intention to nurture
the reading habit among children, youth and the public at large. In pursuit of realising the goals outlined in “Vision
Tamil Nadu-2023”, the Department of Public Libraries has taken steps to open libraries in villages. At present, there
are 4,532 libraries functioning under the directorate of Public Libraries, which was originally established in 1972.

There are 32 District Central Libraries, 1,925 branch libraries, 1,821 village libraries, 10 mobile libraries and 742
part-time libraries. There is one State Central Connemara Library and the recently opened Anna Centenary Library.
In addition to this, there are few aided libraries in Tamil Nadu, like Saraswathi Mahal Library, Thanjavur, U.V
Swaminatha Iyer Library, Chennai and Maraimalai Adigal Library, Chennai.

In accordance with the recommendation of the National Knowledge and Information Commission, Tamil Nadu
intends to convert all libraries into Knowledge and Information Centers (KICs). All the public libraries of Tamil Nadu
are being computerised. Also, a digital library is being established in Erode district. Efforts have been made by the
government to create and sustain the interest of young learners in reading books.

rate. However, by 2009-10, literacy rate among the SCs An outcome indicator that captures the spread of
in rural areas increased to 66.6 per cent, where male literacy is the reduction in gender gap in literacy. Tamil
literacy was substantially higher than female literacy. Nadu had a gender gap greater than that at the all-
It is also notable that in case of the ST population in India level until 1981. However, since 1981, the gender
rural areas, the literacy rate increased to 48.8 per cent, gap in literacy in Tamil Nadu has recorded significant
with males having 55.8 per cent, and females 39.2 per improvements. On this count, Tamil Nadu has
cent literacy (NIRD Rural Development Statistics, 2011- performed better compared to improvements made at
2012). the all-India level. According to the 2011 Census, the
gender gap at national level stood at 16.6, while Tamil
Figure 4.2 Nadu had a gender gap of 13. This points to both the
overall pace at which literacy levels have increased
Gender Gap in Literacy, 1961-2011
and also the more equitable spread of literacy in the
35.0 State in terms of gender.

India Having examined the levels and changes in literacy


30.5 Tamil Nadu rates, we move on to other indicators of educational
30.0
progress, namely the number of institutions, enrolment
28.6
27.5
therein, teachers and infrastructure at various levels
25.1 of education.
25.0 24.8
Percentage

23.9
22.4
Primary Education
22.1 21.6
The Government of Tamil Nadu has taken the lead in
20.0
launching several initiatives to improve access to and
17.9 enrolment and retention in early schooling (primary
16.6 and up to elementary) so as to attain the goal of UEE
15.0 (universal elementary education).
13.0
One important indicator of access is number of
10.0 schools, and increase over time in this indicator
1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2011 implies improvement in access. An analysis of the
Census Years distribution of schools by management presents
an idea of the providers of educational facilities in
Note: For 1981-2011, literacy rate computed for population aged 7 and above;
For 1961 and 1971, it is with reference to the 5+ age population. the State. The following table shows the number of
Source: Census Tamil Nadu, Primary Census Abstract Data Highlights, p.45. government schools, private-aided schools, private-
92 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

unaided schools and other management schools as a Enrolment and Completion


percentage of the total primary schools in the years
The GER (Gross Enrolment Ratio) is the number of
2002-03 and 2011-12. Interesting findings emerge
children enrolled in an educational level (primary or
from the percentage share of schools by management
secondary), regardless of age, divided by population of
in the State. The State government or local bodies
the age group that officially corresponds to the same
and government aided schools still continue to be
level. The decade from 2001 to 2011 shows a mixed
the major providers of primary education, but the
trend in GER in Tamil Nadu. The GER rose in first half
percentage of government schools offering primary
of the decade, peaked in 2006-07 and then showed a
education in the State has declined over last 10
slight fall until 2010-11. Figure 4.3 presents year-wise
years. On the other hand, the percentage of private-
GER, disaggregated by gender, for children in class I to
unaided schools has shown a large increase from 4.16
VIII.
per cent in 2002-03 to 18.96 per cent in 2011-12. The
ways in which this trend affects the access to primary GER has seen an overall increase from 95.73 per cent
education of children from the disadvantaged sections in 2001-02 to 114.44 per cent in 2006-07 and finally, 112
of society is a matter of concern. The provisions of the per cent in 2010-11.
RTE and their effective implementation can point to
possible solutions.
Figure 4.3
Gross Enrolment Ratio
In Tamil Nadu, the RTE came into effect from 1
April 2010 and the Tamil Nadu Right of Children to Gross Enrolment Ratio
140
Free and Compulsory Education Rules, 2011, were 114.44
120 112
released on 8 November 2011. For implementation 95.73
100
of the Act, 12 government orders have also been
80 96.12 114.84 111.8
released. In a government order released in 95.32
60 114.44 112.2
2011, the definition for the State of Tamil Nadu
was expanded to include orphans, HIV-affected 40
children, transgender, as well as children of 20
scavengers. This document also defined a ‘child 0
belonging to weaker section’ as one whose parents 2001-02 2006-07 2010-11
or guardians earned less than Rs. 2 lakh a year.
Boys Girls Total
The Directorate of Teacher Education, Research
and Training (DTERT) was made the nodal agency
Source: Elementary education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
to organise and impart RTE-related training and
information to the various stakeholders. An RTE
A gender disaggregated analysis reveals that GER for
cell was also set-up within the DTERT to attend to
girls has not only caught up, but has also exceeded
relevant queries.
that for boys by end of the decade. The initial years
show a higher GER for boys and by 2006-07, the girls
Table 4.4 were on par with them. Data from 2010-11 shows that
Distribution of Primary Schools by Management the GER for girls is 112.2 per cent as opposed to 111.8
per cent for boys.
Distribution by Management
Type of School The NER (Net Enrolment Ratio) shows the number of
2002-03 2011-12 2013-14 children belonging to a given age group enrolled in a
particular stage of education system. The following
Department of education 13.47 8.94 10.15 table shows the gender-wise NER across different
Tribal welfare social categories of students, specifically SCs and STs.
3.61 3.11 3.02
department
This analysis of NER shows an increasing trend over the
Local body 63.48 52.95 51.90
past nine years. The NER of students has substantially
Private aided 15.21 15.19 14.79 increased from 93 per cent in 2002-03 to 99.60 per cent
in 2010-11. In 2002-03, NER of boys was 93 per cent and
Private unaided 4.16 18.96 19.97
that of girls was 92 Per cent. This situation reversed
Other management 0.08 0.08 0.09 in 2010-11; the ratio among boys (99.57%) had become
lower than that among girls (99.63%), thereby showing
Source: Elementary education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
an improvement in the gender gap. Across the different
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 93
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Table 4.5
Net Enrolment Ratio

Year All SC ST
Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total
2002-2003 93.00 92.00 93.00 89.00 88.00 89.00 83.00 82.00 83.00

2003-2004 96.00 96.00 96.00 93.00 92.00 93.00 88.00 87.00 88.00

2004-2005 98.00 98.00 98.00 97.00 96.00 96.00 92.00 92.00 92.00

2005-2006 99.00 98.00 98.00 98.00 98.00 98.00 98.00 96.00 97.00

2006-2007 99.29 99.29 99.29 99.31 99.31 99.31 97.76 97.61 97.69

2007-2008 99.42 99.35 99.39 99.17 99.24 99.20 96.41 96.74 96.57

2008-2009 99.41 99.46 99.43 99.27 99.30 99.28 97.47 97.69 97.69

2009-2010 99.48 99.53 99.50 99.32 99.40 99.36 97.57 97.85 97.70

2010-2011 99.57 99.63 99.60 99.30 99.39 99.36 97.73 97.91 97.82
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.

Figure 4.4
Dropout Rates in Primary Education
20
18
16
14
Drop out rate

12
10
8
6
4
2
0
2001-02 2000-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12

All SC ST

Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.

social strata, the NER of ST students is comparatively is essential to examine trends in the dropout rate in
lower than that of SC and General Students during primary education.
the given years. The greatest improvement can be
observed from the year 2005-06 to 2006-07, where the The dropout rates in primary education among social
NER of SC students had overtaken that of the General groups have seen a downward trend over the given
category students. A boost is, however, still required years, as seen in Figure 4.4. In 2011-12, the dropout rate
with regard to ST students. of SC students (0.88%) is in fact lower than that of ST
(1.28%) and General category (0.95%) students. These
One of the persistent problems in school education figures show a significant decrease from the levels in
is early dropping out of students from schools. 2002-03 for all three categories (Figure 4.4). This steep
This leads to enormous wastage of resources. The fall in dropout rate implies higher retention rates at
problem is very crucial in the primary stage because the primary level. This significant achievement can be
this could contribute to illiteracy and even hold back attributed to the various State welfare programmes,
achievement of the universalisation goal. Hence, it especially in the case of SC students.
94 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

In 2002-03, completion rates of all categories of Education for All (EFA) will remain a distant goal if a
students, along with SC and ST students were 64.61 sizable number of school-aged children stay out of
and 58 per cent respectively. By 2010-2011, these rates school, and the real challenge is to enrol these out-
had seen a significant increase to 97.36, 96.84 and 92.08 of-school children. The district-wise analysis of out-
per cent for the same categories respectively. of-school children in the school-going age for the year
2004-05 and 2010-11 have been shown in Table 4.8.
Table 4.6
Table 4.8
Completion Rates
Number of Students Out of School
Year All SC ST
District 2004-05 2011-12
2002-03 64 61 58
Chennai 5502 3164
2003-04 69 66 61
2004-05 75 73 72 Coimbatore 5573 3403

2005-06 78 74 68 Cuddalore 2039 895


2006-07 86.55 84.4 83.4 Dharmapuri 5505 1745
2007-08 92.46 89.88 87.1
Dindigul 4778 2773
2008-09 93.94 91.18 88.16
Erode 2833 1087
2009-10 97.03 96.59 91.95
Kancheepuram 4352 2196
2010-11 97.36 96.84 92.08
Kanyakumari 1133 575
Source: Department of Education.
Karur 1097 545
Yet another related problem is grade repetition. Krishnagiri 8667 4101
Stagnating in a class could delay completion and
Madurai 6294 1988
eventually even lead to a child dropping out of the
school system. Over the last 10 years, repetition rate Nagapattinam 1691 914
has shown a declining trend in Tamil Nadu. From
Nammakkal 7405 2680
2002-03, the repetition rate among all categories has
fallen from 24 per cent to 1.65 per cent. During the Perambalur 1989 1151
same period of time, the rate for SC students has Pudukkottai 1097 593
fallen from 25 per cent to 2.25 per cent; and for ST
Ramanathapuram 2324 1077
students from 23 per cent to 6.59 per cent. From the
sharp decline in dropout and repetition rates, we may Salem 7548 2628
infer that the State has effectively tackled the problem Sivaganga 2582 909
regarding wastage of resources allocated to primary
Thanjavur 3921 2345
education, thereby ensuring system efficiency.
Nilgiris 1095 414
Table 4.7
Theni 2670 505
Repetition Rates
Thiruvallur 3616 1761

Year All SC ST Thiruvarur 2053 1232


2002-03 24 25 23 Thoothukkudi 2739 1149
2003-04 23 24 23
Tiruchirappalli 4098 1922
2004-05 19 21 16
Tirunelveli 4113 1730
2005-06 19 22 21
Tiruvannamalai 4456 1981
2006-07 11.54 13.64 13.1
Vellore 3489 2318
2007-08 6.14 8.9 11.06
2008-09 4.84 7.69 10.43 Villupuram 3868 2627

2009-10 1.95 2.47 6.69 Virudhunagar 3762 2150


2010-11 1.65 2.25 6.59
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
Source: Same as Table 4.6.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 95
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

State through various interventions and incentives.


Box 4.2 The ABL methodology, a unique and major initiative
Pedagogical Innovation of the Government of Tamil Nadu for classes I-IV, is
an intervention that is worthy of mention (Box 4.2 for
Activity-based Learning (ABL), grounded on the more details on this innovative programme). These
pedagogical method of learning through activity, achievements have also come about due to the increase
was launched in Chennai Corporation schools in number of teachers as well as provision of physical
in 2003 and was gradually scaled up to cover infrastructure. We now turn to an examination of
all government primary schools across Tamil
these.
Nadu by 2005. Based on pedagogical practices
and materials developed at the Rishi Valley
The PTR (Pupil-Teacher Ratio) is an indicator of
school near Madanapalle in Andhra Pradesh,
the ABL initiative aimed to improve the quality
quality of education, and in this respect Tamil Nadu
of primary education in schools of Tamil Nadu: has shown a substantial improvement from 2005-06 to
raising the achievement of students in different 2011-12. While some districts have reflected significant
subjects at primary level, changing classroom
practices by making them more child centred, Table 4.9
and transforming the role of the teacher to that Pupil-Teacher Ratio
of a facilitator. This provides children with more
freedom to express themselves, raise questions and
District 2005-06 2011-12
learn through activity and peer interaction. Learning
Chennai 27 25
ladders allow children to track their own progress
and independently ‘manage’ the learning process, Coimbatore 28 21
turning to the teacher for help when required. Cuddalore 33 24
Classrooms are child-friendly with low chowkies Dharmapuri 31 23
for the children to sit in groups and blackboards
Dindigul 30 25
along the walls at child-appropriate height.
Erode 29 21
Active Learning Methodology (ALM) is a student-
Kancheepuram 32 21
friendly methodology that is being implemented
Kanyakumari 32 23
at the middle school level in all government
schools in Tamil Nadu. An eleven day workshop Karur 28 21
by teachers from The School KFI in Chennai was Krishanagiri 33 26
organised in May 2007. The workshop explored
Madurai 25 23
active learning methodologies that are put to
Nagapattinam 29 23
practice in the school and were adopted in the
government schools of Tamil Nadu. Building upon Nammakkal 29 22
the child-centred pedagogy of ABL at the primary Perambalur 34 26
level, ALM seeks to transform the middle school Pudukkottai 36 22
child into a self-directed life-long learner.
Ramanathapuram 31 23
Salem 32 24

Among 30 districts in Tamil Nadu, the number of Sivaganga 27 20

students out of their respective schools has been Thanjavur 30 24


lowest in Nilgiris (414), Theni (505), Karur (545) and Nilgiris 26 17
Kanyakumari (575) compared to other districts in 2011-12. Theni 32 27
The districts with the highest number of students Thiruvallur 31 19
out of school were Krishnagiri (4,101), Coimbatore
Thiruvarur 29 21
(3,403) and Chennai (3,164). Salem, Krishnagiri and
Thoothukkudi 27 23
Madurai have recorded the most improvement, while
Pudukkotai, Karur and Kanyakumari have recorded Tiruchirappalli 29 23

the least progress in this regard. Tirunelveli 32 26


Tiruvannamalai 31 23
It is evident that the enrolment and completion rates Vellore 29 25
have increased overtime even as dropout, repetition Villupuram 32 27
and children remaining outside the system have
Virudhunagar 32 27
been largely contained. Such improvements have
been made possible due to concerted efforts of the Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
96 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

improvement, betterment of the PTR has been only Table 4.10


marginal in few other districts. The districts with the Percentage of Female Teachers
most improvement have been Pudukkottai (increase of
14%) and Thiruvallur (increase by 12%). On the other District 2005-06 2011-12
hand, districts like Madurai (2%) and Chennai (2%)
Chennai 95.7 96.1
have registered the least change in terms of PTR.
Coimbatore 81.6 86.8

Figure 4.5 Cuddalore 69.1 79.8

District-wise Distribution of Single Teacher Schools Dharmapuri 64.6 70.9

20 Dindigul 75 80.5
% Single teacher school

18
16 Erode 72.2 82.3
14
12 Kancheepuram 77.5 89
10
8 Kanyakumari 85.2 91.4
6
4 Karur 73.6 81.7
2
0
Krishanagiri 66.4 71.2
ai re ul m ur rai kal tai m ur ni ur lli lai m
e nn alo dig ura Kar du ak kot ale jav The var ppa ma ura Madurai 86.5 88.6
d n p a S an ru ra a up
Ch ud Di ee M am duk hi chi ann ill
C ch N u Th T V Nagapattinam 68.8 74.9
n P ru uv
Ka Ti Tir
Nammakkal 70.8 79.1
2005-06 2011-12 Perambalur 64.9 77.3

Source: Same as Table 4.9. Pudukkottai 67 78.4

Ramanathapuram 71.9 77.4


The percentage of primary schools with only one
teacher has overall seen a decrease from 2005-06 Salem 75.8 83
to 2011-12. The districts that have shown the most Sivagangai 74.2 83.4
improvement are Ramanathapuram and Pudukottai,
Thanjavur 77.6 85.6
where the rates have fallen from 17.6 per cent to 4.3
per cent and 17.3 per cent to 6.6 per cent in the given Nilgiris 74.1 82.8

time frame respectively. This confirms the increased Theni 76.2 81.4
recruitment of teachers in these two districts. On Thiruvallur 76.9 86.1
the other hand, in the Nilgiris and Nammakkal, the
Thiruvarur 71.1 80.7
percentage of schools with single teacher has shown
an increase of 5.5 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively. Thoothukkudi 84.6 89.3
It is worth mentioning however, that adoption of the Tiruchirappalli 78.8 86.6
ABL methodology—designed for multi-grade multi-
Tirunelveli 78.7 84.5
level learning—has helped mitigate problems that
single teacher primary schools could face. Tiruvannamalai 62.7 70.4

Vellore 74.3 80.4


It is clearly evident from the Table 4.10 that the
Viluppuram 62.2 69.2
percentage of female teachers in primary schools has
increased across all districts of Tamil Nadu. In 2005- Virudhunagar 76.8 82
2006, the participation of female teachers was highest
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
in Chennai, followed by Madurai and Tiruchirappalli
and lowest in Villupuram, Perambalur, Kancheepuram
(65.18%), followed by teachers being recruited with
and Pudukkottai. These districts have been successful
secondary education (15.57%) and higher secondary
in attracting more female teachers in primary schools
education (11.89%) qualifications respectively. The data
between 2005-06 and 2011-12 with an increase of 12.4
available for 2011-12 shows an overall improvement
per cent, 11.5 per cent and 11.4 per cent, respectively.
in this situation with a fall in the number of teachers
The educational qualification of teachers is yet another with ‘below secondary’ and ‘secondary’ educational
indicator of the quality of teacher input. Most of the qualifications, and a rise in the number of those with
primary school teachers in 2002-03 were graduates ‘higher secondary’, ‘graduate’ and ‘postgraduate’
qualifications. This is shown in Table 4.11.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 97
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Table 4.11 In 2002-03, the percentage of schools in Tamil Nadu


Educational Qualification of Teachers in with drinking water facilities, urinals for boys,
Primary Education Institutions separate toilets for girls and access to electricity were
80.6 per cent, 30.14 per cent, 19.02 per cent and 46.15
Educational Qualification 2002-03 2011-12 per cent, respectively (Table 4.12). In 2011-12, these
percentage values saw a significant improvement to
Below secondary 1.26 1.22
100 per cent, 84.07 per cent, 65.83 per cent and 95.59
Secondary 15.57 13.17 per cent respectively.
Higher Secondary 11.89 12.01
Figure 4.6
Graduates 65.18 67.22
Basic Infrastructure in Primary Schools
Postgraduate and above 5.04 6.38
2002-03
No response
Note: Values are percentages.
0%
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
Multiple
Caste-wise and gender-wise analysis of primary type
teachers in 2011-12 indicates that the percentage of 27%
Tent
teachers involved in primary education is the highest Pucca
0%
51%
among the OBC (other backward classes) category Kuccha
females (77.45%), followed by OBC category males 3% Partially
Pucca
(75.11%). Involvement in primary education is seen 19%
to be the lowest amongst ST category females (0.92%)
and ST category males (1.33%). The corresponding
figures for SC females and males are 17.75 per cent and
15.03 per cent respectively; and those for the General 2011-12

community are 6.61 per cent amongst females and


No
5.81 per cent amongst males. response
14%

Infrastructure Multiple
type
Basic infrastructure is a crucial input in schooling as Tent 17% Pucca
0% 56%
it complements the quality of education received. The Partially
Kuccha
factors used to measure basic infrastructure in schools 0% Pucca
are drinking water, availability of urinals for boys, 13%
separate sanitation facilities for girls and provision of
electricity. Source: DISE 2011-12, Flash Statistics.

Table 4.12
Basic Infrastructure in Primary Schools

(2011-12) (2002-03)

Percentage of schools with: Percentage of schools with:

Drinking Urinal for Separate toilet Drinking Common Separate


States water boys for girls Electricity water Urinal toilet for girls Electricity

Andhra Pradesh 85.88 70.83 51.39 76.48 42.5 15.5 7.9 11.15

Karnataka 99.29 97.86 96.56 93.07 56.4 17.2 9.85 19.49

Kerala 96.89 87.83 72.14 85.66 86.8 73.26 26.49 55.21

Tamil Nadu 100 84.07 65.83 95.59 80.6 30.14 19.02 46.15
India 93.15 78.1 65.4 36.34 71.9 29.06 15.64 12.35

Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.


98 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

As far as physical structure of the primary school Table 4.14


building is concerned, 50.11 per cent of the buildings Gross Enrolment Ratio (Age-wise)
were pucca in 2002-03. This figure increased to 55.91
per cent in 2011-12, while multiple type buildings Age group
have reduced from 26.41 to 16.6 per cent in this time Year 14-16 16-18
period. Comparing the southern States, infrastructural
2004-05 80.66 43.87
development index in 2011-12 is highest in Tamil Nadu
2005-06 82.62 45.4
(0.748), followed by Karnataka (0.713), Kerala (0.663)
and Andhra Pradesh (0.507) for primary education. 2006-07 86.72 48.59
2007-08 90.79 53.74
2010-11 82.3 50.4
Upper Primary and Secondary Education
At the upper primary level, from 2001-02 to 2011- Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
2012, the share of private-aided and private-unaided
schools have fallen from 25.03 per cent to 16 per cent Gross enrolment ratio of students in the age group of
and 7.3 per cent to 0.4 per cent respectively, while the 14-16 was 80.66 per cent in 2004-05 and increased to
percentage of schools managed by local bodies has 90.79 per cent in 2007-08. This figure has shown a great
increased from 24.12 per cent to 79.15 per cent during fall in 2010-11. Same pattern can be observed among
this period. students in the age group of 16-18, where the GER of

Table 4.13
Distribution of Upper Primary and Secondary Schools by Management

Management Distribution of schools (2002-03) Distribution of schools (2010-11)

Primary Primary with Upper Upper Senior High


with upper upper primary primary primary secondary Upper secondary
primary and secondary only with sec school Primary school

Department of Education 11.43 7.27 29.41 61.61 - - -

Tribal welfare department 3.75 1.67 2.35 2.8 61.7 4 68

Local body 52.15 4.22 24.12 5.13 3.3 79.5 3.8

Private Aided 25.03 11.61 35.29 25.99 29.4 16 20.2

Private Un aided 7.3 73.22 7.65 4.09 5.5 0.4 8


Other Management 0.34 2.01 1.18 0.2 - - -

Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.

Table 4.15
Net Enrolment Ratio (Caste-wise)

General category SC ST

Year Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total Boys Girls Total

2007-08 98.64 98.6 98.62 98.78 98.82 98.8 96.27 95.78 96.04

2008-09 98.67 98.67 98.67 98.96 98.88 98.92 96.93 97.05 96.99

2009-10 98.75 98.77 98.76 99.04 98.95 99 96.9 97.16 97.03

2010-11 98.79 98.89 98.84 99.1 98.97 99.03 96.98 97.25 97.12

Source: Same as Table 4.13.


Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 99
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

students increased from 43.87 per cent to 53.74 per that all districts have a larger number of boys repeating
cent in 2004-05 to 2007-08, followed by a fall in 2010-11. an academic year than the girls. While some districts
have successfully bridged the gap to a large extent,
The caste wise analysis of NER shows that the there exists a gulf in most others. The districts with
percentage of students enrolled from SC community the highest gap are Nagapattinam (883 more boys),
is comparatively higher than those belonging to the Chennai (739 more boys) and Tirunelveli (585 boys).
General and ST categories from 2007-08 to 2010-11.
This is clearly evident in Table 4.15. Gender differences The PTR of all districts of Tamil Nadu is presented in
in enrolment too has lessened over the years as per Table 4.18.
Table 4.16.
Table 4.18
Table 4.16 Pupil-Teacher Ratio
Girls’ Enrolment to Total Enrolment
Primary + Secondary
Year Upper Primary
District 2005-06 2011-12
1991-92 38.2 Chennai 22 40
2001-02 43.9 Coimbatore 28 31
2011-12 48.38 Cuddalore 35 41
Dharmapuri 31 35
Source: Same as Table 4.13.
Dindigul 26 31
Table 4.17 presents the percentage of students who Erode 26 28
dropped out between 2001-02 and 2010-11.
Kancheepuram 33 40
Kanyakumari 20 35
Table 4.17
Karur 23 26
Dropout Rates
Krishnagiri 44 40

Year (I-X) Madurai 21 23


Nagapattinam 28 34
2001-02 57.66
2005-06 42.45 Nammakkal 22 28

2010-11 25.9 Perambalur 48 32


Pudukkottai 37 52
Source: Same as Table 4.13.
Ramanathapuram 39 36
The time series data on dropout rates shows a mixed Salem 26 30
trend from the year 2001-02 to 2010-11. The dropout Sivagangai 31 38
rate had significantly fallen from 57.66 per cent to 46.8
Thanjavur 25 33
per cent from 2001-02 to 2002-03. However, this fall
could not be maintained in 2003-04, where the dropout Nilgiris 19 28

rate has steeply increased by 12.02 per cent. From the Theni 21 35
year 2003-04 to 2010-11, the dropout rates have shown Thiruvallur 29 27
a diminishing trend. In 2003-04, the dropout rate was
Thiruvarur 30 34
58.82 per cent, coming down in 2010-11 to 25.9 per
Thoothukkudi 47.3 30
cent.
Tiruchirappalli 26 30
A summary of the number of repeaters in Tamil Tirunelveli 25 36
Nadu for 2011-12 reveals high variation between
Tiruvannamalai 31 30
the districts. Districts with the highest number of
Vellore 26 35
repeaters are (3,893 students), Cuddalore (3,304
students) and Chennai (3,057 students). Those with Viluppuram 29 39
the lowest number of repeaters are Tiruvannamalai Virudhunagar 24 24
(27 students), Salem (74 students) and Tiruppur (143
students). When analysed along gender lines, it is seen Source: Same as Table 4.13.
100 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.19 The districts with highest and lowest PTR in 2005-06
Percentage of Female Teachers were Perambalur (48) and Nilgiris (19) respectively. In
2011-12, the highest PTR was found in Pudukottai (52)
Primary + Secondary and lowest was found in Madurai (21).
District
2005-06 2011-12 In 2005-06, the percentage of female teachers in
Chennai was highest at 86.5 per cent, followed by
Chennai 86.5 91.3
Coimbatore and Madurai at 81.6 per cent and 80.5 per
Coimbatore 81.6 90.4 cent, respectively. Percentage of female teachers was
found to be lowest in Dharmapuri at 49.7 per cent.
Cuddalore 56.8 83.9
In 2011-12, Kanyakumari and Thoothukudi topped
Dharmapuri 49.7 78.2 the list with highest female teacher ratio of 92.3 per
cent and 91.9 per cent respectively. Percentage, in the
Dindigul 69.5 85.6
context of Dharmapuri, has significantly increased
Erode 66.2 83.1 from 49.7 per cent to 78.2 per cent during the period
2005-06 to 2011-12.
Kancheepuram 68.2 88.7
Table 4.20 shows a comparison of the educational
Kanyakumari 77.77 92.3
qualifications of upper primary and secondary school
Karur 68.1 84.6 teachers for the years 2002-03 and 2011-12.

Krishnagiri 64.1 75.3


In 2002-03, 43.4 per cent of the upper primary and
Madurai 80.5 88.3 secondary school teachers were graduates and
postgraduates, while around 7 per cent of the teachers
Nagapattinam 59.7 56.8 had qualifications lower than graduation. In contrast,
Nammakkal 65.9 82.1
figures for the year 2011-12 imply that the percentage
of graduate and postgraduate teachers in upper
Perambalur 53.5 83.8 primary and secondary schools has almost doubled
to 80.8 per cent, while the number of teachers with
Pudukkottai 51.3 80.1
qualifications lower than graduation also shows a rise
Ramanathapuram 61.2 80 of about 19.1 per cent. The data capture appears to
be comprehensive for the year 2011-12, indicating a
Salem 64.8 70.9
quantum improvement in information gathering and
Sivaganga 63 70.9 management within the school education system in
Tamil Nadu.
Thanjavur 65 71.3

Nilgiris 63.1 75.3


An examination of caste-wise distribution of male and
female teachers in both upper primary schools and
Theni 63.7 71.1 upper primary with secondary schools for the year
2011-12 reveals that in upper primary with secondary
Thiruvallur 72.2 86.8
schools, OBC males constituted 75.2 per cent of the male
Thiruvarur 58.8 86.6 teachers, while OBC females make up 70.06 per cent
of the female teachers. While SC and General category
Thoothukkudi 75.7 91.9
teachers comprise between 12 and 15 percent of the
Tiruchirappalli 72.8 85.1 total number of teachers at this level, recruitment done
among the ST population of the State is significantly
Tirunelveli 65.6 77 low with only 1.8 per cent of female teachers. The
Tiruvannamalai 52.4 78.9 general trend at the upper primary level is similar,
with about 75 per cent of all teachers belonging to the
Vellore 60 80.9 OBC category. While there is a marginal involvement
from the ST communities—1.05 per cent males and
Villupuram 52.1 77.6
0.97 per cent females—the recruitment from General
Virudhunagar 70.7 87.3 category is significantly lower at the upper primary
level. The SC males and females constitute 19.07 per
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 101
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Table 4.20
Educational Qualification of Teachers

2002-03 2011-12
Educational Qualification
Upper Primary + Secondary Upper Primary Upper Primary + Secondary Upper Primary

Below secondary 4 7 163 3

Secondary 26 166 3564 22

Higher secondary 36 99 5110 40

Graduate 615 537 19618 117

Post Graduate 443 244 15122 65

M.Phil 20 8 2619 13

Others 3 1 9 0

No response 1713 377 0 0

Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.

cent and 14.66 per cent, respectively, of the upper are the three districts where all secondary schools
primary teaching staff in the State. have electricity facility. The rest of the districts have
more than 75 per cent of the secondary schools with
electricity facility. Kanyakumari has the maximum
Infrastructure
percentage of secondary schools with a separate toilet
Infrastructure in educational institutions is judged for girls, whereas districts like Tiruvannamalai and
by access to drinking water and electricity as well Thiruvarur needs more attention in this area.
as availability of toilets, especially for girls. In Tamil
Nadu, the State average for access to drinking water A comparison of the infrastructure development index
and electricity is at a very high level of 94.67 per across the southern States reveals that Karnataka holds
cent and 97.96 per cent respectively in 2010-11. the first rank as far as infrastructural development
Kanyakumari district has achieved 100 per cent access index at the upper primary level is concerned, followed
to drinking water, while Kancheepuram, Sivaganga by Tamil Nadu, where the infrastructure development
and Kanyakumari districts have achieved 100 per cent index is 0.802. Kerala and Andhra Pradesh are the
access to electricity. Availability of separate toilets States with the lowest infrastructural development
for girls is at a lower level then the State average of index among the four southern States.
68.05 per cent. The districts with the highest degree of
access are Kanyakumari (93.78%), Tirunelveli (88.17%) The increase observed in the number of qualified
and Coimbatore (86.59%). On the other hand, those teachers and the expansion of infrastructure appear to
with the least access are Tiruvannamalai (31.22%), have led to a rise in the pass percentage at both class
Thanjavur (50.25%) and Thivurarur (53.33%). X and class XII levels. In 2009-10, the pass percentage
for class X was 82.5, which increased to 85.3 in 2010-
Comparing the district-wise drinking water facility 2011. For class XII, the pass percentage in 2009-10 was
in the schools at secondary level, it can be seen that 85.2, which registered a marginal increase to 85.5 in
Perambalur has comparatively poor facility in 2010- 2010-11.
2011. On the other hand, all the secondary schools
in Kanyakumari are equipped with drinking water Concluding the discussion on school education, it is
facility. It should be noted that as per the most recent pertinent to note that according to the EDI (Education
data for 2013-14, all districts in Tamil Nadu have 100 Development Index) 2012-13 (which comprises four
per cent drinking water availability in secondary parameters: access, infrastructure, teachers and
schools. Kanyakumari, Kanchipuram and Sivangangai outcomes rankings prepared by the National University
102 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.21 Figure 4.7


Secondary Schools- Basic Infrastructural Facility Students Completing Class X and Class XII

Drinking Electricity Separate Class X


Water Toilet for
900000
Girls
800000
1 Ariyalur 91.25 93.75 53.75 700000
2 Chennai 95.65 99.52 71.01 600000
500000
3 Coimbatore 92.74 97.21 86.59
400000
4 Cuddalore 81.17 96.10 64.29 300000
5 Dharmapuri 68.97 80.17 61.21 200000

6 Dindigul 86.47 90.23 78.95 100000


0
7 Erode 91.74 91.74 80.17
2009 -10 2010 -11
8 Kancheepuram 91.83 100.00 83.27

9 Kanyakumari 100.00 100.00 93.78 No. of Students appeared for the Exam
10 Karur 83.12 96.10 72.73 No. of Students Passed in the Exam
11 Krishanagiri 81.46 92.70 66.29
Percentage
12 Madurai 86.75 95.18 63.25

13 Nagapattinam 77.61 88.81 61.94

14 Nammakkal 89.11 97.03 71.29 Class XII


15 Perambalur 68.00 76.00 56 800000

16 Pudukkottai 81.56 92.91 69.5 700000


600000
17 Ramanathapuram 71.11 91.11 81.11
500000
18 Salem 81.61 93.72 69.06
400000
19 Sivaganga 96.15 100.00 79.81
300000
20 Thanjavur 88.94 94.97 50.25 200000
21 The Nilgiris 94.44 95.37 76.85 100000
22 Theni 79.49 94.87 64.1 0

23 Thiruvallur 79.66 94.24 61.02 2009 -10 2010 -11

24 Thiruvarur 85.56 96.67 53.33


No. of Students appeared for the Exam
25 Thoothukkudi 88.79 92.52 73.83
No. of Students Passed in the Exam
26 Tiruchirappalli 90.34 96.59 59.66
Percentage
27 Tirunelveli 92.31 97.63 88.17

28 Tiruppur 79.37 78.57 70.63 Source: Department of School Education, Govt of Tamil Nadu.

29 Tiruvannamalai 69.23 85.52 31.22

30 Vellore 84.77 88.89 68.31

31 Viluppuram 88.84 95.98 56.7 of Educational Planning and Administration [NEUPA]


32 Virudhunagar 71.94 86.33 66.91 taking into account both the performances in primary
and upper primary levels), Tamil Nadu is one of the
All Districts 85.26 93.44 68.05
top five States with an EDI score of 0.683, marginally
Note: Data pertains to 2010-11.
behind Lakshadweep (0.712) and Puducherry (0.696).
Source: Elementary Education in India: Analytical Report, various issues.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 103
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Higher education plays a key role in giving impetus to Table 4.23


economic development and growth. Having traced the Number of Universities in Tamil Nadu and India Based on
development of school education, we now turn to the Specialisation, 2001-2011
progress of higher education in Tamil Nadu.
Specialisation Tamil Nadu

Higher Education 2001 2011

One of the major challenges of the State is to tap the General 18 29


existing human capital potential by providing quality Agriculture 1 1
education to the youth. In terms of demography, Tamil
Medical 1 1
Nadu is favourably placed with a population of around
77.7 lakh in the age group of 18 to 23 in 2011, where Law 1 1
38.8 lakh are males and 38.9 lakh are females. In terms Technical 10 14
of share in total population of the State, this age group
Veterinary 1 1
accounts for an overall 10.8 per cent, with 10.7 per cent
males and 10.8 per cent females. However, the share of Others 0 10
graduates and above in State population is 8 per cent,
Total 32 59
with 9.7 per cent in male population and just 6.5 per
cent in female population. Source: Annual Status of Higher Education in States and Union Territories of
India, Various issues.

As per the data available for the year 2011, Tamil Nadu
As per AISHE 2011-12, Tamil Nadu had a total of 2302
ranks first among all Indian States in context of the
colleges, implying a ratio of 30 colleges for a lakh
number of universities, with 59 universities, followed
population. This is higher than the all-India average
by Uttar Pradesh (56) and Andhra Pradesh (46). The
(25). Further the state also a higher enrolment per
State also ranks second in the number of State public
college (772) compared to the all-India average of
universities (23), following Andhra Pradesh (30).
703. Total enrolment of students in regular mode in
Tamil Nadu has 9.5 per cent of all the universities in
higher education institutes in the State is around
the country. The State also ranks first in the number
18 lakh. Out of the total colleges in the State, 93 per
of Technical Universities (14), followed by AP and
cent are affiliated to universities, and the remaining
Madhya Pradesh with 6 technical universities each. It
is constituent/university colleges, PG/off campus or
can be seen from table 4.22 that the total number of
recognised direct centres of the Universities. In terms
universities in the State has almost doubled over the
of management, Tamil Nadu colleges are dominated
decade 2001-2011. The state has two universities set up
by the private unaided colleges, forming 88.5 per cent
exclusively for women and 22 dual mode universities.
of all colleges in the State, followed by 5.8 per cent
Notably, there is a nine-fold increase in the number of
owned by the government and 5.6 per cent that are
private deemed universities.
private aided.

Table 4.22
Table 4.24
Number of Universities in Tamil Nadu and India, 2001-2011
Enrolment in Colleges in Tamil Nadu and India, 2001-2011

Type of University Tamil Nadu


Type of Management Tamil Nadu
2001 2011
2001 2011
Central university 2 2
Private Unaided 98956 465980
Institution of national importance 1 4
Private Aided 231018 67877
State public university 20 23 Total Private 329974 533857

State open university 1 1 Government 90200 57245

Government deemed university 0 1 Total 750148 591102

Private deemed university 3 28 Source: Annual Status of Higher Education in States and Union Territories of
India, Various issues.
Grand total 31 59

Source: Annual Status of Higher Education in States and Union Territories of India,
Various issues.
104 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.25 at 7 students per teacher is considerably better than the


Degree-wise Distribution of Enrolment in Colleges all-India average of 15.1. Tamil Nadu has the healthiest
in Tamil Nadu and India, 2001-2011 PTR compared to other States in the country. Tamil
Nadu also has nearly double number of teachers per
Programmes Tamil Nadu college (82.5) compared to the all-India figure (46.4).
Non-teaching staff per college (58.7) is also much higher
2001 2011
than the corresponding all-India levels (37.3).
PhD Male 156 4925
The expansion of technical education is another
Female 105 3070 notable achievement of the State with regard to higher
education. The total number of polytechnics increased
Total 261 7995
from 154 in 1996-97 to 203 in 2002-2003. The numbers
MPhil Male 893 1847 increased the most in self-financing colleges, which
had escalated from 98 in 1996-97 to 146 in 2002-03. The
Female 875 2765
total number of engineering colleges increased from
Total 1768 4612 81 in 1996-97 to 222 in 2001-02. Only the self-financing
colleges increased in number during this period, from
Postgraduate Male 23614 201662
71 in 1996-97 to 212 in 2001-02. Self-financing colleges
Female 22602 187009 were the largest in number in all districts. We notice a
massive expansion with regard to technical education
Total 46216 388671
over the decade 2001-2011 on examining the number
Undergraduate Male 178758 810432 of institutions and students admitted. The number of
engineering colleges increased to 525 in 2011, of which
Female 188972 764762
95 per cent are self-financing colleges. The number
Total 367730 1575194 of students enrolled in these colleges has crossed 1.5
lakh in 2011. Equally impressive has been the growth
PG Diploma Male 715 10079
of polytechnics, predominantly driven by the growth
Female 774 4842 of self-financing polytechnics.

Total 1489 14921 Table 4.26


Number of Engineering Colleges and Enrolled Students
Source: Department of Higher Education, Govt of Tamil Nadu.
in Tamil Nadu (2011)

The State-wise enrolment through regular mode at Type of Institution Number of Number of
various levels was 18 lakh in 2011. The highest share Colleges Students Admitted
of enrolment (65.4%) is at undergraduate level, followed
by Diploma (16.3%) and postgraduate (16.1%), with Engineering Colleges
all other levels forming only 2.1 per cent. Maximum
Self-Financing colleges 498 149045
enrolment share (78.8%) is in private unaided colleges
in the State. In terms of gender, enrolment is skewed Anna University colleges 18 7019
as 56.9 per cent comprising males. In terms of GER,
Government colleges 6 2434
according to the All India Higher Education Survey
(AISHE) 2013-14 published by the Ministry of Human Government aided colleges 3 2656
Resource Development, Government of India, the state
Polytechnics
ranks the highest among major states at 43 per cent.
This is almost twice that of the all India average (23%). Self-Financing colleges 380 98658
While the GER for SCs and STs are much lower at 31 per
Government colleges 30 11035
cent and 28.4 per cent respectively, the enrolment rates
for these social groups are again much higher than the Government aided colleges 37 11992
all-India average. In terms of gender, the GER is skewed
towards males, with a GER of 45.6 per cent for males Source: Reports of Dept. of Technical Education, Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Various
Issues.
and 40.4 per cent for females. An examination on the
basis of gender and social representation show that the The growth of private engineering education has been
share of student enrolment across backward groups spectacular in southern States, such as Andhra Pradesh,
is lesser than their proportionate share in population, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka along with Maharashtra,
except for Muslims. The PTR of colleges in Tamil Nadu reflecting a global trend. The fast growth in the private
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 105
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

sector is on account of the fact that during the Sixth 24 university constituent arts and science colleges,
Five Year Plan (1980-1985), when the Central and State 11 government polytechnic colleges, 4 government
governments were struggling to expand technical engineering colleges, a National Law University, 2 new
education in the country, a few State governments, government medical colleges, a Tamil Nadu Teachers’
especially that of Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Education University (TNTEU) and 1 Indian Institute
Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, took a decision to permit for Information Technology (IIIT) have been opened.
private registered societies and trusts to establish This is indeed a historic development considering the
and run technical institutions on a self-financing crowding out of government institutions by private
basis. All these institutions were established with players in the State in recent past.
the permission of the respective State governments
and were affiliated to universities of the region with The inclusiveness in higher education is shown in
the approval from both the State Board of Technical Table 4.27. As per the table, 35 per cent of enrolments
Education and Training (SBTET) and the All India in the various engineering courses comprise girls. SCs
Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Eventually, account for nearly 15 percent of the total enrolment.
private sector acquired a dominant presence in
engineering education in Tamil Nadu, occupying more Parallel to the case of engineering education, we can
than 95 per cent of the total engineering colleges. The identify a rapid expansion of medical education as well.
self-financing colleges grew at an annual rate of 18.14 A total of more than 350 medical and para-medical
per cent during the period from 1993-94 to 2008-09. institutions, including Siddha, homeopathy, Unani,
Ayurveda, dental, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy
A notable development in higher education in the last and others, function in Tamil Nadu. Both government
three years is the government’s initiative to establish and private unaided institutions are affiliated to the
new State universities and colleges. Commencing in Tamil Nadu MGR Medical University. Government
2011-12, 12 government arts and science colleges, medical and para-medical colleges in the State occupy

Table 4.27
Admission to First Year B.E./B.Tech./Bach. Degree Course: 2013–14
Santioned Intake and Admitted Particulars

Sl. Category No. of Sanctioned Total OC BC (Others) BC (Muslim)


No. Institutes Intake Admitted
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
1 Government 10 3760 3156 91 65 854 650 99 41
2 Government Aided 3 2820 2685 242 128 848 554 66 23
3 Self–Financing 541 272872 170013 13122 5701 48637 29396 5308 1739
4 Anna University 18 7845 6401 224 184 1392 1344 162 119
(Constituent
Colleges)
Total 572 287297 182255 13679 6078 51731 31944 5635 1922
19757 83675 7557

Sl.
No. Category MBC SC SCA ST Total
Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls Boys Girls
1 Government 469 319 245 204 44 46 16 13 1818 1338
2 Government Aided 282 187 162 114 39 20 11 9 1650 1035
3 Self–Financing 26248 11727 16000 8524 1873 1020 540 178 111728 58285
4 Anna University 941 774 510 499 115 78 42 17 3386 3015
(Constituent
Colleges)
Total 27940 13007 16917 9341 2071 1164 609 217 118582 63673
40947 26258 3235 826 182255

Source: Dept. of Technical Education Govt. of Tamil Nadu Policy Note, various issues.
106 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Table 4.28
Medical Colleges by Management

Courses 2006-07 in % 2013-14 in %


Share of government Share of private Share of government Share of private
institutions institutions institutions institutions

Medical 67 33 55 45

Sidha 40 60 29 71

Homepathy 10 90 11 89

Unani 100 0 100 0

Ayurveda 0 100 16 84

Nursing 6 94 2.5 97.5

Source: Based on www.tnmgr.univ.org.

10 percent, while the share of medical colleges owned help the students of economically backward sections
and run by private unaided managements is 90 per
cent. Out of these institutions, more than 100 of Further, a number of performance-related incentive
them offer postgraduate/diploma courses. Of these schemes have also been introduced such as district-
postgraduate institutions, the majority (82%) are in the level prizes for 10th/12th examination ranging between
private sector. Almost all the para-medical courses, `500 and `3000 (AdiDravida and Tribal Welfare
such as dental, pharmacy, nursing, physiotherapy, Department) and State-level prizes for 10th/12th
and occupational therapy, are provided by the private examination of `10,000 and `25,000, respectively. Tamil-
sector. medium students are exempted from the payment of
examination fees and special and/or examination fee
Expansion of higher education is also marked by is waived for selected economically backward students
attempts to improve quality. As the higher education who enrol in BA (Bachelor of Arts), BSc (Bachelor of
scenario is dominated by private players, often Science), BCom (Bachelor of Commerce) courses, and
questions on ensuring quality assume importance. for girl students in postgraduate degree courses. The
National Assessment and Accreditation Council government also provides slates, notebooks, stationery,
(NAAC) has been playing the role of benchmarking textbooks (1st to 12th standard) to students from BC
quality since its inception in 1994. By 2005, Tamil Nadu (backward castes), MBC (most backward castes) and
had the maximum number of colleges and universities DNTs (denotified tribes). Other incentives include
accredited compared to any other States, i.e., 89 the Chief Minister’s award for merit, sports, National
institutions consisting of 82 colleges and 7 universities. Service Scheme and Special Prize Money Award—a
Nearly 20 per cent of the higher education institutions one-time award to Graduates/Postgraduates and those
were accredited in Tamil Nadu, which constitutes one- in professional courses.
third of the total accredited institutions in the country.
As of 2011, NAAC has accredited 24 universities and With an overarching objective of ensuring inclusion in
288 colleges in Tamil Nadu. However, compared to education, the State has also launched the Integrated
Karnataka, the process of accreditation in Tamil Nadu Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) in order to
has been slow in recent years. retain children with special abilities in school and
integrate them with the general community. The
However, as of 2014, there are 27 universities and 529 scheme provides for books, stationery, uniforms,
colleges accredited in Tamil Nadu. transport as well as cost of equipment and has been
implemented across all districts with the help of
NGOs (non-governmental organisations). Further,
Tamil Nadu State Government Educational
and Related Welfare Schemes there is the Puratchi Thalaivar MGR Nutritious Meal
Programme, which has been acclaimed as a pioneering
The State government, with the objective to spread effort in ensuring hunger-free school education. This
education, has initiated a number of schemes so as to
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 107
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Box 4.3
Technology in Education

The centrally sponsored ICT in Schools’ Scheme was launched in December 2004, and revised in 2010, to promote
computer-enabled learning and usage of ICT in teaching activities of government and government aided and
higher secondary schools with emphasis on educationally backward blocks and areas with concentration of SC/
ST/minority/weaker sections. The scheme is implemented on a sharing basis of 75:25 ratio between Government of
India and State government. In Tamil Nadu, the scheme is being implemented through BOOT Model (Build, Organise,
Operate and Transfer).

There are several ICT initiatives taken by the Tamil Nadu School Education Department to promote ICT intervention
in schoo ls. The department has recently launched a web portal which contains the complete database of schools,
teachers, students and department officials. The portal also has information about various welfare schemes for
teachers and students, events, calendar, quality initiatives of the government, recent announcements, policy notes
and statistical information, etc. The link is http://www.tnschools.gov.in. The other ICT initiatives include SMS-based
attendance, Smart Card and Education Content Server that is integrated through EMIS (Education Management
Information System).

The School Education Department has also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Microsoft for the
implementation of “Project Shiksha” Programme so as to provide comprehensive computer training to government
school teachers. Intel® Teach Programme in association with Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has been launched to
promote ICT integration in schools of Tamil Nadu through various programmes. As per the policy note 2012-13 of
School Education Department, it has been stated that the existing computer labs would be converted into Computer
Aided Language Labs by providing software and hardware materials to schools. The Government of Tamil Nadu has
also recently taken efforts to provide laptop-based education for students.

is further supplemented by food grants for students Skill Development


of BC, MBC and minority communities who stay in
On recognising the major role that quality skilled
government-recognised hostels. In addition, free
manpower has played in economic development of
supply of kit and sports equipment is provided by the
the State and in the export of goods and services,
Joint Sports Development Centre, along with supply
the State has initiated a number of steps to focus
of uniforms, mats and bed sheets (for hostels) and
attention on the production of highly skilled
free bus passes for students of 1st to 8th standard. The
craftsmen. In this context, on recognising the need
State also introduced the distribution of free bicycles
for upgrading Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in a
for students of BC, MBC and minority communities
PPP (public-private partnership) mode to achieve the
pursuing 11th standard in government/government-
goal of producing technicians of world standard, the
aided/partly-aided schools.

Box 4.4
Mid-Day-Meal Scheme

Tamil Nadu has been a pioneer of the Mid-Day-Meal (MDM) scheme, officially known as the Nutritious Meal
Programme (NMP). Actually, it was started even earlier under Kamaraj in the 1960s and to a limited extent in the
colonial period. Since 1984, children in the age group of 2-5 and students in classes I to X receive a hot, freshly cooked
meal through the scheme, which covers more than 42,000 government, government aided and special schools. Apart
from protecting children of families that live in poverty from classroom hunger, this programme also appears to
have increased enrolment and attendance in schools by providing such families with an incentive to turn children
away from labour and towards a school education. Going by most surveys, including official figures, we do see an
increase in enrolment and a corresponding decline in school dropout rates, and it is plausible that a relatively well-
implemented NMP has played a significant role in this.

Recently, Tamil Nadu government has introduced a new menu including vegetable biriyani, tomato rice, lemon rice,
Bisibelebhath, egg masala, chilli fried potato, etc., to replace the routine menu of sambar rice and boiled egg.
108 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

government has launched a programme to upgrade ICT Academy of Tamil Nadu (ICTACT) has been
ITIs over five years back A key ingredient of the implementing various skill development initiatives
government’s reform agenda in this regard is to move for up-skilling the teachers in the ICT domain, thereby
the private sector into a lead role at all levels of decision- benefitting the students to become employable in the
making—from policymaking at the central and State State of Tamil Nadu. ICTACT has launched SKILLEDGE,
levels to managing individual training institutions. a skill development initiative dedicated to create and
Other important ingredients in the government enhance employability skills among the graduating
agenda of systemic reform include modernisation/ students in both engineering as well as arts and science
development of curricula to meet international colleges. SKILLEDGE trains teachers on the Industry-
standards, development of a qualifications framework, relevant content and assists in delivering classes to
levelling the playing field for public and private sector students in colleges. Students who have cleared all
providers, and designing and implementing a training the courses of SKILLEDGE will get an opportunity to
fund. participate in placement drives organised by ICTACT.

As of the year 2011, there are 62 government ITIs, 627 Community colleges have emerged as an important
ITCs (industrial training centres), and 987 industrial institution in recent years in terms of imparting
schools in Tamil Nadu. On an average, these institutions skill enhancement. Community college refers to
turn out 0.83 lakh students, along with 1.16 lakh an alternative system of education, which aims to
diploma holders. The State Skill Development Mission empower disadvantaged and underprivileged groups
(TNSDM) acts as a single agency to conduct training through appropriate skills development, leading
programmes for qualifications upto 12th standard. to gainful employment, in collaboration with local
TNSDM also accredits training institutions. industry and local community. The community
colleges promote job-oriented, work-related, skill-
A recent initiative has been undertaken to set up a based and life-coping education. They provide
world-class vocational training institute so as to train education for earning a livelihood, responding to the
youth in high technology areas, like aviation, shipping, challenges of exclusion and elimination from the
etc., with a willing industry partner under PPP mode. formal system, mismatch between education and
Further, a faculty development institute in order to employment capability, poverty and problems of
provide adequate exposure of industry and technology unemployment, under-employment, unemployability
trends to the trainers in ITIs/ITCs has also been and school dropouts.
established. It is planned that successful students
of National Trade Certificate (NTC) will be issued Tamil Nadu Open University has recognised 185
Smart Cards that will contain information about the community colleges in Tamil Nadu as per Government
individual, which is expected to benefit around 25,000 Order No. 163. More than 22 academic programmes are
successful NTC holders and 50,000 persons under the being conducted by community colleges from 2005,
Modular Employable Skills (MES) programme. including life coping skills and communication skills.
Profile of Tamil Nadu Open University community
The Skill Development Mission conducts skill college students is provided in Table 4.29.
training for college students with a target of around
25,000 government arts and science college students.
Table 4.29
There is also a collaboration with the British Council
for imparting English languages skills. The State Profile of Tamil Nadu Open University Community College
Students (upto 2010-11)
has implemented a project on vocational training
improvement with the assistance of World Bank. The
Particulars Students
objective of the project is to achieve the government’s
goal of improving the employment outcomes for Type

graduates from the vocational training system by Male 11417


making the design and delivery of training more Female 30832
demand responsive. The project aims to produce
Total 42249
high quality craftsmen from publicly-funded ITIs,to
enhance knowledge and skills of ITI instructors and Marital Status
trainers,to promote innovations andto bring about Unmarried 36369
systemic reforms.The idea is to establish Centres Married 5475
of Excellence (CoEs) and upgrade the training of
Widows 294
conventional trades in ITI.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 109
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Divorced 111 Using innovative technology, both print media


and multimedia approach, job-oriented vocational
Total 42249
education programmes, such as that of House-
Age-wise Electrician, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning
18 – 22 31676 Technician, Four Wheeler Mechanic, Health Assistant,
23 – 26 6342 Early Childhood Care and Education, Garment Making,
Apparel and Fashion Design, Beautician, DTP-Operator,
26 – 30 2371
Plumbing Technician, Multimedia, Animation,
31 - Above 1860 Hardware Serving, Catering Assistant, etc., are offered
Total 42249 to learners for immediate employment.
Education

Below 10th 7722 Box 4.5

10th Passed 11596 Success Story of a Community College Student

12th Passed 20883


I am Sumathi. I have completed my secondary
Degree 2048 and high secondary studies and was married soon
after. After the sudden death of my husband, I
Total 42249
thought that everything had come to an end. But
Caste-wise when Madam Selvin came to my house and talked
SC 14868 to me, I began to forget my sorrows. Madam asked
me to join Udhayam Rural Community College.
ST 626
I never thought that I would pursue my studies
MBC 9145 after twelfth standard. But I joined Diploma in
BC 15949 Early Childhood Care Education (DECE) trade in
the community college approved by Tamil Nadu
OC 1661
Open University, Chennai and did well. Now I am
Total 42249 working and taking care of myself with sufficient
income. Life skills taught in the community
Religion-wise
college have changed my perception and outlook
Hindus 26926 towards life. I have gained enough confidence to
Christians 12678 withstand any amount of hardships in my life. I
am grateful to my community college.
Muslims 2613

Others 32

Total 42249
Financing of Education
Monthly Income-wise
The social sector comprising sub-sectors of education,
Below-1,000 13353
health and medical care, housing and water supply, is
1,001-2,000 15278 very essential for the economic development of any
2,001-3,000 8667 State. Social development paves the way for sustained
3,001-above 4951 and sustainable economic development. Most of
the social sector subjects fall within the purview of
Total 42249
the States, for which funding is provided through
Category-wise CSS (centrally sponsored schemes). Here too, Tamil
Physically Challenged 469 Nadu sets a model for other States in India, with the
Others 41780 State government playing a very significant role in
development of the social sector.
Total 42249

Employment Status The share of revenue expenditure in the social sector


Employed 40763 expenditure of Tamil Nadu was 83.48 per cent in the
year 1990-91 and it was 77.79 per cent in the year 2009-
Higher Education 1486
2010. This points to a reduction in revenue expenditure
Total 42249
of the social sector in recent years. At the same time,
the share of capital expenditure was 16.52 per cent in
Source (for entire grid): Tamil Nadu Open University, Report 2012.
the year 1990-91 and 22.21 per cent in 2009-10. These
110 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

figures imply that in the recent past, importance has was a decisive period for the State, in terms of altering
been given to physical infrastructure development in the compositional share of the sub-sectors of social
the social sector. sector.

Viewed from a different angle, the period since 2011


Table 4.30
shows an increasing share for education in total social
Composition of Social Sector Expenditure in Tamil Nadu services expenditure. Currently, education accounts
for 45 percent of the social service expenditure, which
Percentage to total social sector expenditure
is the same share it had in 2000. Equally important is
Education Health Water Housing Others the fact that education has been accorded top priority
Year
supply
in the State’s expenditure, with nearly 17 per cent of
the total expenditure devoted to it. Nearly one-third
2000-01 45.85 10.38 7.01 0.66 35.44
of the total development expenditure is allocated to
2001-02 46.79 10.9 7.41 0.75 33.4 education since 2011, which points to a return of the
2002-03 43.04 10.51 6.75 1.04 37.62 emphasis on education and human capital formation
as a priority of the State’s development plan.
2003-04 36.72 9.19 6 1.32 45.46

2004-05 34.49 8.51 11.25 3.02 39.71


Figure 4.8
2005-06 36.88 9.46 3.16 1.19 48.11
Allocation of Education Expenditure
2006-07 36.88 8.34 3.29 3.23 45.04
100
2007-08 35.35 7.58 3.29 2.42 48.94
85 85 86 84
2008-09 34.52 7.83 2.88 5.04 44.68 80
2009-10 38.98 10.22 4.32 3.16 40.16

Source: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on State Government Finances, various 60


Per cent

issues.

Table 4.30 shows the composition of social sector 40


expenditure in Tamil Nadu for the period 2001-01
to 2009-10. It can be inferred that even though the 20 15 15 14 16
education sector has accounted for a larger share in the
social sector expenditure, its share is declining since
the year 2000. This assumes importance as Tamil Nadu, 0
2003-04 2005-06 2009-10 2013-14
having achieved high levels of enrolment at the school
level now is faced with the challenge of enhancing the Total Higher Education School Education
quality of education at the school level and expansion
of higher education. The share of health sector is less Source: Govt. of Tamil Nadu, Budget Document, various years.
compared to that of education. The “Others” category
includes urban development and other social welfare An examination of allocation within education
measures, which have increased their share over the reveals that school education accounts for more than
years. It can be concluded that the decade since 2000 80 per cent of the total expenditure on education.

Table 4.31
Social Sector Expenditure: Recent Trends

2011-12 2012-13 2013-14

Share of Education, Sports, Art and Culture in Social services expenditure 45.90 43.46 45.97

Share of Education, Sports, Art and Culture in Development expenditure 32.20 29.92 29.74

Share of Education, Sports, Art and Culture in Total expenditure 18.21 17.26 16.94

Note: All values are percentages.


Source: RBI, Handbook of Statistics on State Government Finances, various issues.
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 111
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Regardless of a marginal increase in the share of Community participation is a cornerstone of the SSA
higher education, the expenditure pattern seems to be design and implementation. Given sufficient training
highly skewed. This pattern needs to be re-examined and capacity improvement, the community can help
with the demographic changes that are taking place in mobilising out-of-school children, supervision
in the State. of maintenance works, enforcing accountability of
teachers and contributing extra resources. While SSA’s
Figure 4.9
commitment is to provide opportunities for elementary
education until the age of 14, there also has to be a
Break-up of Expenditure
long-term strategy to absorb the extra students into
100 higher education. The ratio of enrolment in secondary
to elementary education needs to be improved.

80
The share of education in total budgetary expenditure
83 78 84 65 should at least be stabilised, if not increased, to focus
60 on improving quality of education. There is also a
Per cent

wide variation in the number of dropout children and


40 incompletion rates in elementary education across
districts. Some degree of decentralisation in the
school education scene should be considered, with
20
local bodies being more involved in the process to
17 22 16 35 ensure accountability. There exists huge potential for
0 enhancing involvement of the private sector, especially
2003-04 2005-06 2009-10 2013-14
in upgrading the quality of education in government
Technical Non-Technical institutions. The government can play the role of a co-
financier and a facilitator in the process.
Source: Same as Figure 4.8.
Regarding higher education, in a system dominated
There seems to be a quantum jump in the share of by private players, university/college administration
technical education within higher education. The may have to play a greater role to ensure the
share has more than doubled since 2009-10. This is effectiveness of other actors and institutions in this
an indication of emphasis of the State on nurturing sector. Recent experiences reveal that the enabling
human capital. Apart from additional teaching faculty environment has been created by autonomous—
being recruited, the thrust on technical education both government and private—institutions of higher
quality improvement programme (TEQIP), phase II, education. Academic freedom and compliance
has resulted in the purchase of equipment, machinery, with duties and responsibilities require autonomy
books and journals to modernise laboratories and of institutions. Autonomy is that degree of self-
libraries. governance necessary for effective decision-making
by institutions regarding curriculum development and
related activities consistent with systems of public
Future Challenges for Tamil Nadu
accountability. Financial constraints pose barriers in
The school education sector in Tamil Nadu is recruiting staff required for proper functioning. It is
overwhelmingly public, and much of the future important to establish such terms and conditions of
expenditure both in terms of enrolment and in employment that will be most conducive for effective
improving quality has to be incurred by the State teaching, research, scholarship and extension work.
government. However, there are several areas where To achieve this, the State government has to facilitate
the private sector can contribute in a significant way greater interaction with the department of education,
by means of innovative institutional mechanisms universities, University Grants Commission (UGC) and
within the ambit of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan (SSA) the central Ministry of Human Resource Development
and beyond. For example, residential schools for (MHRD). Preparing a perspective plan of development
never-enrolled and dropout girl students from poor for a span of time and making the financial allocations
communities can be set up. This scheme can be scaled and adjustments for prioritised activities will enable
up to reach out-of-school girl students, and extended institutions to move in the desired direction.
to the secondary level so as to reduce chances of
dropout after the elementary stage.
112 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

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Clarke, Prema (1997). “School Curriculum in the Periphery: The New Delhi: NCERT.
Case of South India”,(in H. Dean Nielson and William
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Oriented Approaches. New York: Garland Publishing. Asia”, Prospects 29(4): 517-33. December.
DPEP State Project Directorate (2001). Progress Performance and Varghese, N.V. (1996). “Quality of Education: What Do We
Achievements of DPEP. Chennai. Learn From Research”, Indian Journal of Education and
Social Change. World Bank.
Duraiswamy, P., E. James, J. Lane and J. Tan (1997). “Is there
a Quantity-Quality Tradeoff as Enrollments Increase?:
Evidence from Tamil Nadu, India”, Policy Research Data Sources
Working Papers. The World Bank.
DISE Statistics
Haq, Mahbub and Khadija Haq (1998). Human Development in
Government of India, Census 2001 and 2011
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Mukhopadhyay, M. and M. Parhar (1999). Indian Education:
Developments Since Independence. New Delhi: Vikas Reserve Bank of India, Handbook of Statistics on State Government
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Tamil Nadu Human Development Report 113
Literacy and Education Chapter 4

Appendix A-4.1
A. Elementary Education in India: Where do we Stand?
State Elementary Education Report Card 2013-14

Total Districts 30 Districts Covered 30 State Code 33 TAMIL NADU

Primary Cycle 1-5 Upper Primary Cycle 6-8 Ratio of P. to U.P. School/Section 2.26

Data Reported Blocks/Taluks 413 Clusters 4,088 Villages 19,295 Schools 56,785

Basic Data: 2011 Total Population in (’000’s) 72139.0 %Urban Population 38.1 % 0-6 Population 9.6

Decadal Growth Rate 15.6 Sex Ratio 995 % SC Population 20.0 % ST Population 1.1

Overall Literacy Rate 80.3 Female Literacy Rate 73.9 Male Literacy Rate 86.8

Key Data Primary Pry. with Pry with UP U. Pry. UP with Pry. with UP with No Res & Total
only U. Pry & Sec+H Sec only Sec+H Sec UP & Sec Sec Other Cat.
Total Schools (2013-14) 35,177 9,22 4,035 128 7,823 0 0 0 56,785

Total Schools (2012-13) 35,185 9,656 3,832 144 7,718 0 0 0 56,535

Government Schools 23,928 7,250 91 13 5,718 0 0 0 37,000

Private Schools 11,234 2,343 3,942 114 2,102 0 0 0 19,735

Madrasas & Unreco. sch. 15 29 2 1 3 0 0 0 50

Government Schools: Rural 21,401 6,182 47 12 4,623 0 0 0 32,265

Private SChools: Rural 6,674, 1,372 1,757 97 985 0 0 0 10,885

Total Enrolment (2013-14) 2,960,356 1,997,695 2,554,072 10,887 1,873,431 0 0 0 9,396,441

Total Enrolment (2012-13) 3,146,144 2,043,342 2,610,589 14,487 1,863,914 0 0 0 9,678,476

Enrdment in Govt. Schools 1,487,031 1,249,624 45,606 1,137 1,074,774 0 0 0 3,858,172

Enrdment in Pvt. Schools 1,472,549 741,668 2,507,715 9,740 798,491 0 0 0 5,530,163

Enr. in Madrasas & Unreco. 776 6,403 751 10 166 0 0 0 8,106

Enr. in Govt. Schools: Rural 1,258,356 1,020,397 21,676 1,071 801,485 0 0 0 3,102,958

Enr. in Pvt. Schools: Rural 715,602 347,829 1,001,254 7,520 290,295 0 0 0 2,362,500

Total Teachers (2012-13) 137,811 77,413 115,523 951 142,513 0 0 0 474,211

Government Teachers 64,864 50,479 2,406 71 100,485 0 0 0 218,305

Private Teachers 78,229 27,034 134,185 706 49,706 0 0 0 289,860

Tch. in Madrasas & Unreco. 95 450 45 3 30 0 0 0 623


Perfomance Primary P + UP P + UP + Sec UP only UP + Sec + HS P + UP + Sec U.P. + Sec All
indicators (in only + HS Schools
percentage)
12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14 12-13 13-14
Single– 1.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.7 0.0 2.1 0.0 1.0 0.0
Classroom
Schools
Single–Teacher 6.9 3.7 0.4 0.3 0.0 0.0 2.1 0.0 0.2 0.2 4.4 2.3
Schools
Sch Aproachable 97.2 97.7 97.3 97.8 99.2 99.1 97.2 98.4 98.1 98.4 97.5 98.0
by All Road
Schools with 73.0 73.9 73.2 74.1 97.3 98.0 86.1 88.3 76.0 76.2 75.1 76.0
Playground
Schools with 73.3 74.4 80.2 81.6 97.3 97.2 80.6 83.6 80.5 83.0 77.1 78.4
Boundary Wall
Schools with 94.0 86.3 99.1 97.4 100.0 100.0 97.1 94.3 97.0 96.5 95.6 90.5
Girls Toilet
Schools with 52.7 99.6 75.7 99.9 95.6 100.0 79.8 97.0 76.4 99.1 62.6 99.6
Boys Toilet
Schools with 99.4 100.0 99.6 100.0 99.7 100.0 97.2 100.0 97.8 100.0 99.2 100.0
Drinking Water
School Provided 98.8 99.1 99.2 99.5 49.1 50.0 68.0 98.0 98.5 98.6 98.5 98.8
MDM#
Schools with 96.0 96.5 98.4 98.7 99.5 99.7 95.8 96.1 95.0 95.9 96.5 97.0
Electricity
Schools with 34.9 35.5 81.6 82.6 98.1 99.0 75.0 78.1 77.9 79.2 53.1 54.1
Computer
Sch. with Ramp, 83.6 89.1 82.1 77.1 86.3 85.2
if required
Sch. Established 13.0 13.3 6.7 7.3 21.4 25.3 50.0 54.7 20.6 20.1 13.6 14.2
since 2001
Schools with 89.8 95.3 94.1 96.7 46.8 94.4 59.2 97.9 80.1 89.3 88.8 94.7
Kitchen–shed
Sch. with 49.9 51.6 3.3 3.7 1.1 1.4 38.9 35.9 4.4 5.0 32.4 33.5
Enrdment<=50
Schools with 95.7 95.0 94.9 94.3 52.5 52.8 47.2 79.6 93.6 92.7 94.8 94.3
SMC#
Pupil–Teacher 23 21 26 26 23 19 15 14 13 12 20 18
Ratio
Studen– 20 19 27 26 37 34 23 20 44 43 28 27
Classroom Ratio
average Tch. per 3.9 4.1 8.0 8.0 30.1 33.9 6.6 6.1 18.5 19.2 8.4 9.0
School
Female Teachers 82.6 82.8 71.0 82.6 82.6 83.0 82.4 57.1 57.9 73.1 73.7
Enr. in Single– 2.7 1.5 0.2 0.2 0.0 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.1 0.0 0.9 0.5
Tch Schools
Enr. in Govt. 48.0 50.2 62.3 62.6 1.7 1.8 43.0 10.4 58.0 57.4 40.4 41.1
Schools
Girls Enrolment 49.6 49.7 49.6 49.6 45.9 45.7 65.3 65.4 50.3 50.1 48.8 48.7

% Sch. with Pre–pry. pry. 21.1 Total Grossness Primary Upper Transition Rate (Pry. to Upper 95.4
level Primary Pry.)

% Enr. in Pre–pry. 20.2 15.5 22.0 ratio of Grade V to Grade I

Incentives (previous year) Text books Uniform % Sch with SCR > % SCR with PTR >
Number of Beneficiaries All SC ST All SC ST 30 at Pr. 35 at 30 at Pr. 35 at
Level U.P. Level U.P.
Primary Level 2,881,097 937,990 81,625 1,722,257 602,459 44,397
Level Level
Upper Primary Level 2,351,033 701,951 43,371 1,188,174 396,807 23,571 18.3 37.0 13.0 16.5
# = Govt + Aided NR=Not Required Some totals may not match due to no response in classificatory data items
B. Secondary Educatio: State Report Cards
State Secondary Education Report Card: 2013–14

Number of Districts Covered 30 State Code 33 TAMIL NADU


Ratio of U.P. to Sec.Schools/Sections 1.82 Ratio of Sec. to Hr Sec. schools/Sections 1.00
Date reported from Blocks 413 Clusters 3746 Villaes 6685 Schools 11901

Basic data: 2011 Total population in (000’s) 72139 % Urban population 48.45 Sex ratio 995

Decadal growth rate 15.60 % SC population 20.00 % ST population 1.10


Overall literacy rate 80.33 Male literacy rate 86.81 Female literacy rate 73.86 130058

Key Data Prim. with U.P. & U.P. Sec. & Prim. with U.P. with Sec. Sec. with H. Sec. Other Total
Sec. & HSec. HSec U.P. & Sec. Sec. only H.Sec. only Categories
Total Schools 4035 7823 0 0 8 24 11 - 11901
Schools: Rural 1805 5610 0 0 7 11 3 - 7436
Schools: Urban 2230 2213 0 0 1 13 8 - 4465
Total Enrolment 894643 3060403 0 0 692 8607 4354 0 3968699
Enr. in Rural Areas 314734 1643983 0 0 604 3779 1027 0 1964127
Enr. in Urban Areas 579909 1416420 0 0 88 4828 3327 0 2004572
Total Teachers 49689 105406 0 0 43 337 215 0 155689
Tch. in Rural Areas 20249 62564 0 0 36 158 50 0 83057
Tch. in urban areas 29440 42841 0 0 7 179 165 0 72632

Performance Indicators Prim. with U.p. U.P. with Sec. prim with U.p. with Sec. Sec. with H.Sec. All
& Sec. & HSec. & HSec. U.p. & Sec. Sec. Only H. Sec. Only Schools
% Single–Classroom schools 2.65 1.07 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.60
% Single–Teacher schools 0.02 0.15 0.00 4.17 0.00 0.12
% Schools with Building 99.53 99.22 100.00 100.00 99.33
% Schools with Girls’ Toilet 99.95 98.41 100.00 100.00 100.00 98.96
% Schools with boys’ Toilet 99.67 93.75 85.71 100.00 100.00 96.89
% Schools with Toilet for CWSN 19.55 11.75 12.50 16.67 18.18 14.41
% Sch. with Drinking Water 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00
% Schools with Electricity 99.73 97.03 100.00 100.00 100.00 97.96
% Schools with Ramp. if needed 82.09 86.29 100.00 100.00 50.00 85.69
% Schools with Library 99.85 97.09 100.00 95.83 90.91 98.02
% Schools with Full time Librarian 55.44 8.45 0.00 25.00 63.64 24.46
% Schools with Boundary Wall 97.25 82.97 87.50 87.50 100.00 87.84
% Schools Exclusively for CWSN 1.76 0.37 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.84
% Schools with Lab. Assistant 42.50 24.04 0.00 25.00 81.82 30.34
% Schools with Head Master Room 97.84 66.09 62.50 75.00 90.91 76.89
% Schools with Hostel for Boys 10.14 8.39 0.00 8.33 9.09 8.97
% Schools with Hostel for Girls 9.84 6.31 0.00 29.17 9.09 7.55
% Schools with Computer & Internet 92.81 69.93 25.00 79.17 81.82 77.69
% Schools with ICT Laboratory 38.49 10.19 12.50 20.83 27.27 19.82
% Schools with Playground 98.02 76.25 75.00 83.33 72.73 83.64
% Sch. Conducted medical Check–up 82.03 95.49 100.00 79.17 81.82 90.88
% Schools having SMDC 5.77 76.89 25.00 37.50 9.09 52.60
% Sch. with School Bld. Committee 8.72 44.24 12.50 8.33 9.09 32.07
% Schools having PTA 37.47 89.39 50.00 62.50 36.36 71.66
% Schools Established Since 2006 12.96 14.47 12.50 4.17 9.09 13.93
Pupil–Teacher Ratio 18 29 16 26 20 25
Student–Classroom Ratio 31 42 28 32 34 39
Avg. no. of Teachers per School 12 13 5 14 20 13
% Female Teachers 73.59 55.34 72.09 51.04 70.70 61.18
% Girls eneolment 47.31 51.47 46.24 42.23 41.20 50.50
PTA Parent Teacher Association SMDC–School management & Development Committee CWS–Children with Special Need
116 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

C. Elementary Education: State Report Cards

Ratio of Girls to Boys Enr: Grades I to V 0.95 Retention Rates (Pry.) 96.29
Enrolment 2013–14 Total Rep- Drop SC/ST/OBC Enrolment Enrolment ratio
Re- etition out
Grade Total Girls en- CWSN Pri- U.Pry. GER Pri- 102.6
peat- rate rate
rolment mary mary
ers
Boys Girls % SC enr. 24.2 24.3 GER U. Pry. 98.3
I 1,169,855 569,502 7,031 5,072 1,244 0.10 5.94 % SC enr. 48.9 49.0 NER Pri- 86.7
mary
II 1,131,279 550,861 8,896 6,157 1,104 0.09 3.43 % ST enr. 1.9 1.4 NER U. Pry 76.7
III 1,133,013 51,291 9,003 6,820 1,031 0.09 3.48 % ST girls 47.8 48.4 Non–Tec Assignment

IV 1,160,886 564,714 8,507 6,812 993 0.08 2.90 % OBC enr. 70.0 70.0 % Teachers 1.9
involved
V 1,174,652 570,626 8,374 6,683 1,034 0.08 4.53 % OBC 48.6 48.6

VI 1,177,180 574,670 11,475 8,699 885 0.07 girls Number 10


of days
involved
VII 1,205,708 586,966 11,915 9,301 952 0.08 % Muslim enr. 6.2 5.9 Average Instructional
Days
VIII 1,243,868 604,365 11,310 9,678 874 0.07
Pry 5,769,685 2,806,994 41,811 31,544 5,406 0.09 4.06 % Muslim 48.8 49.3 Pr. level U. Pr.
(I–V) level
girls
U. Pry. 3,626,756 1,766,001 34,700 27,678 2,711 0.07 1.24 216 213
Classooms/Others Rooms Enrolment by nature of Disability
School category Average Total % Good % % Other rooms Nature of I II III IV V VI VII VIII
Cls. Classrooms cond. Minor Major Disability
repair repair
Pry. only 4.4 155,782 88.71 8.27 3.02 30,791 Blind 523 344 345 287 243 516 314 331
Pry. + U. pry. 8.1 77,639 87.24 9.35 3.41 14,257 Low-sion 769 1108 1297 1471 1378 3045 4142 4241
P + UP + Sec 18.7 75,621 99.70 0.29 0.01 28,664 Hearing 1136 1469 1993 1379 1550 2019 2112 2512
+HS
U. pry. only 4.3 553 98.01 1.81 0.18 257 Speech 685 923 917 1032 892 890 840 1013
U.P. + Sec. + 5.6 43,554 90.11 7.37 2.52 32,689 Loco–motor 1385 1803 2020 2028 1953 2560 2637 2653
HS
P + U.P. +Sec Mentally 5348 6551 6466 6539 6788 862 7736 7441

U.P. + Sec ratarded

Teachers by Edu. Qualification (Other than contract teacher) Learning 74 117 155 149 129 156 224 164
School Below Sec. Hr. Grad. Post M Post No Carebral 645 1101 806 941 798 1005 1384 664
category Sec. Sec. Grad. Phil/ Doc. Res. palsy
PhD
Pry. nly 1,758 14,651 45,421 52,224 23,897 2,135 31 61 Autism 226 287 356 215 194 268 347 378
Pry + U. Pry 522 4,621 16,387 29,911 22,994 2,842 14 7 Multiple 1312 1350 1468 1278 1132 1653 1480 1591
P + UP + Sec 1,923 3,975 9,816 59,675 49,911 7,263 76 108 % Professionally Trained Teachers
+ HS
U. Pry. only 12 44 64 381 193 20 0 0 Gender Government
U.P. + Sec + HS 514 5,091 7,612 40,921 70,031 25,094 97 17 Regular Contract Private
P + U.P. + Sec Male 99.4 97.1 97.5
U.P. + Sec Female 99.6 94.1 94.6
Contract 121 447 1,359 4,279 1,986 270 9 3 All Teachers 99.5 95.4 95.2
Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Literacy and Education
117
Chapter 4
118 Tamil Nadu Human Development Report
Chapter 4 Literacy and Education

Teachers by Gender & Caste Regular Teachers Contractual teachers SC Teachers ST Teachers
School category Total Male Female No Male Females No Male Female Male Female
res res
Primary only 143,188 24,438 115,740 0 141 2,869 0 4,415 18,468 390 1,238
Primary + U. pry 77,963 21,727 55,571 0 144 521 0 4,387 7,942 305 522
P + UP + Sec + HS 136,636 23,229 109,518 0 611 3,278 0 4,050 11,472 208 808
Upper Pry. only 780 130 584 0 7 59 0 11 140 1 27
U.P. + Sec + HS 150,21 62,991 86,386 0 325 519 0 11,750 11,749 478 535
P + U.P. + Sec
U.P.+ Sec

Enrolment by Medium of Instructions % Sch


School category Tamil English Others Urdu TLM SD Grant
Primary only 2090223 821380 775 15954 18.7 81.9
Primary with Upper Primary 1728836 231103 48 9173 21.6 90.6
Primary with UP. Pri & Sec & HS 66987 241776 237 64 0.9 2.8
Upper primary only 10459 318 438 0 5.5 35.9
Upper Primary with Sec & HS 1530237 244657 41671 4946 18.3 91.1
Primary with up & Sec
Upper Primary with Sec

% Teachers Received In–Service Training (Previous year) % Teachers by Age (In year)@ % Grants Utilized
P. P+ UP P+ UP+ UP only UP+ Sec+ P+ UP+ UP+Sec 55–56 57–58 59–60 TLM SD Grant
only Sec+ HS HS SEC
Male 81.2 81.2 1.2 48.9 20.8 3.43 2.79 0.44 99.7 99.8
Female 51.9 71.6 1.3 48.4 25.8 1.86 1.52 0.35
All Tch. 56.9 74.3 1.3 48.5 23.7 2.27 1.85 0.37

Source: National University of Educational Planning and Administration.

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