Education in 2020 signals a continuing trend of sectoral decline over the last few years. That said, it fares relatively better than other sectors against the backdrop of Covid-19. The SKOCH State of Governance research project is a pioneering study into good governance, able administration and the business of beneficiary-led development.
The following table is a year-on-year analysis of different governance sectors. It takes a look at annual sectoral contributions to the total number of projects studied, and allows for trend mapping in the long run. Against the context of the impact of Covid-19 on administration, we see some sectors, such as District Administration, Policing and Municipalities thrive with decentralisation and local initiative-taking in the pandemic. In contrast, others like Tourism & Culture, have understandably taken a backseat.
| Shifting Governance Priorities: State Governments From 2015-2020 | |||||||
| 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2015-2020 | |
| Projects Ranked Per Year (%) | |||||||
| Agriculture | 1.72 | 0.00 | 1.24 | 1.97 | 3.04 | 7.02 | 1.91 |
| Disaster Management | 0.00 | 1.10 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| District Administration | 40.34 | 9.16 | 12.37 | 8.55 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 17.37 |
| Ease of Doing Business | 0.74 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| Education | 1.35 | 3.48 | 3.51 | 6.91 | 6.42 | 9.21 | 4.04 |
| eGovernance | 5.90 | 13.19 | 16.91 | 26.32 | 29.73 | 40.79 | 17.33 |
| Finance & Revenue | 0.12 | 0.92 | 1.24 | 2.63 | 4.05 | 10.09 | 2.06 |
| Food & Civil Supplies | 0.00 | 1.28 | 1.44 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.52 |
| Governance (General Administration) | 2.83 | 7.88 | 2.06 | 8.88 | 9.80 | 9.21 | 5.73 |
| Health (Non-COVID) | 4.31 | 11.72 | 4.74 | 6.25 | 6.76 | 5.26 | 6.47 |
| Infrastructure | 0.12 | 0.55 | 0.21 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.19 |
| Irrigation | 0.00 | 0.37 | 2.68 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.56 |
| Labour | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.32 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.15 |
| Municipal Governance | 11.32 | 19.05 | 18.76 | 28.29 | 30.41 | 15.79 | 18.68 |
| Municipal Sanitation | 3.81 | 4.40 | 12.58 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 4.34 |
| Police & Safety | 12.92 | 9.34 | 1.44 | 0.00 | 3.04 | 0.00 | 6.44 |
| Power & Energy | 2.21 | 3.30 | 2.47 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.80 |
| Rural Development | 1.23 | 1.83 | 3.09 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.31 |
| Skill Development | 2.46 | 2.75 | 1.24 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.53 |
| Social Justice & Social Security | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.97 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.22 |
| Tourism & Culture | 0.00 | 0.37 | 0.41 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.15 |
| Transport | 3.32 | 3.30 | 4.54 | 4.61 | 6.76 | 2.63 | 4.00 |
| Urban Development | 0.86 | 3.66 | 6.60 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.21 |
| Water | 3.08 | 0.92 | 0.82 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.27 |
| Women & Child Development | 1.35 | 1.47 | 1.65 | 2.30 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1.27 |
| Total number of projects studied | 813 | 546 | 485 | 304 | 296 | 228 | 2672 |
| Response to covid % | 24.97% | ||||||
| Numberof Projects related to Response to Covid | 203 |
As shown above, Education in 2020 accounted for 1.35% of the total number of projects studied in the year’s SKOCH State of Governance exercise. The number of projects coming out of the sector has clearly dropped a little each year, pointing to a shift in governance priorities. It is important to note that these statistics are also impacted by how many states and organisations participate in the SKOCH State of Governance research and rankings. In order to achieve accurate, robust representation, changemakers are encouraged to participate enthusiastically and better represent their efforts.
The SKOCH State of Governance 2020 review includes an in-depth analysis of different governance sectors in order to get an insight of performance across a crosssection of administrative functions. The following table lists the top-performing states in Education in 2020. Bihar bags the #1 spot in the Education in 2020 category, followed by Punjab at #2 and Chandigarh at #3, with Gujarat and Tamil Nadu tieing for the #4 spot.
| State Rank By Education | State Name |
| 1 | Bihar |
| 2 | Punjab |
| 3 | Chandigarh (UT) |
| 4 | Gujarat |
| 4 | Tamil Nadu |
It is no wonder that Punjab bags the second place in the Education in 2020 segement. The state has done particularly well in the ‘Response to Covid’ niche in the sector. Of a total of five important Education projects from Punjab in 2020, three are in response to the pandemic. All three were initiated by the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department, Punjab.
To begin with, there is the Curbing the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mask Way project. The Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) in Punjab took up the mantle of championing the fight against Covid-19 and making it a priority to break the chain of infection. To this end, this project was devoted to the mass production of 2 and 3-ply woven and non-woven surgical and non-surgical masks. This was especially helpful in the early months of the pandemic, when there was an acute shortage of protective gear and healthcare supplies. As a result of this effort, in a period of 8 months close to 25 lakh masks were produced and distributed amongst the Health Department, Police, Front Line Workers, rural homes, labourers etc.
Next, we have the ‘Admission 2020 – A Visionary Approach To Outsmart The Pandemic’ project. The project tackles pressing issues of disguised unemployment despite high literacy rates. The goals of the project were to help people upskill, plug the gaps between qualifications and industry demands and finally to boost intake capacity without largescale infrastructural investments. The organisation increased the number of seats from 23-24,000 to 37,996 and at the time of this review, 36,358 seats had already been filled. This signals an increase of 63% within one year. Allowing candidates to apply from the comfort of home has made the entire process far more accessible.
And finally, the Covid-19 Embarking Upon a New Era Of Digital Literacy project deserves mention here. The project tackled the issue of limited IT tools, software and computer systems and the resultant low numbers of digital literacy. In order to do so, instructs were trained in delivering online lectures and using the Internet and functions like video conferencing and page sharing. The no-cost programme moves away from paper dependency and into the digital realm, while adapting to thre pandemic. It allowed continuity of education at a time when much of life had come to a standstill.
Bihar wins the top spot in Education in 2020 because two of the most impactful projects in the sector have come out of the state. Both these projects were the work of the Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour. To begin with, there was the Innovative ICT Based Approaches for Transfer of Technology and Capacity Building of the Farmers, Farm Woman and Rural Youth. The project was designed for the purpose of helping the farming community adopt ICT-enabled agriculture extension approaches. Farmers got to interact with scientists over video conferences. Additionally, WhatsApp groups, social media, the community radio station, digital stortytelling, videos loaded onto SD cards etc., were used to disseminate important information and technological updates to the community. The project increases the reach and impact of universities, educational missions and the scientific community in the rural agricultural communities.
The other project is Apni Kyari Apni Thali (AKAT): An Innovative Model for Nutritional Security of Rural Woman & Children. To begin with, the project intends to address problems of malnutrition amongst the rural women and children. In order to do so, it leverages the ICDS framework to augment links between existing AWCs and KVKs. The project introduces the concept of nutrigardens and superfoods like mushrooms so that the local community can make better, more informed dietary choices. The programme has shown great promise in the selected pilot region of five villages each in the four districts of Khagaria, Nalanda, Patna and Purnea.
The ePunjab School project by the Department of School Education, Punjab, is a highly impactful project to come out of the state. Digitalisation does away with problems of paper dependency, manual effort, lengthy timelines, duplication and errors. And so, this new system allows the administration to study the various schemes and projects in deployment, efficiently log student entries, monitor student movements and dropouts and maintain accurate records of attendance and absenteeism.
The DST- Developing Core Competencies In Synergy With Industry project by the Technical Education and Industrial Training Department, Punjab, works to improve the links between skilling and industry requirements. With this intention in mind, the project seeks to increase the intake capacity of the ITIs without overhauling infrastructure or investing a large amount. As a result, 438 MoUs have been signed with key industry players, 8500 trainees have been selected, students are enjoying critical industry exposure and getting a stipend. Thus, these efforts are ultimately going to help trainees explore more career options and tap into better employment opportunities.
The SKOCH State of Governance 2020 research effort studied two Education in 2020 projects out of the Union Territory of Chandigarh. Firstly, there was the Windrow Composting: Solid Waste Management by the Post Graduate Government College For Girls. The project furthers the cause of responsible Solid Waste Management by converting waste into organic waste that can be used for floriculture purposes. Not only does this result in better waste management, it is also improving soil fertility and yield and decreasing soil erosion.
In addition to this, we have the Corona Mukt Abhiyan At Bapu Dham Red Zone Identified By Ministry Of Home Affairs by the Department of Education, UT Chandigarh. Grassroots information provided by NSS volunteers was used to create actionable intelligence about the social and health status and needs of the people. The project served all 32,000 residents of Bapu Dham Colony.
The Geographic Education Mapping of Higher Education by the Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat, Education Department, Government of Gujarat, also makes it to this review. The Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics helped develop a mapping system that covers 3000 higher education institutions and 75 universities. The information can be used by parents and educational workers to ensure that prospective students apply for admissions only into institutions that are easily accessible to them. The primary goal is to ensure that no student has to travel over 15km to receive higher education. Data is collected and organised at the Block, District and State levels on the basis of management type, i.e., Govt., Self-Finance & Grant-in-Aid.
The Science And Technology effort by the Tamil Nadu State Council For Science And Technology is another noteworthy project studied by SKOCH. The project chiefly tackled the problem of limited implemented of and awareness about science and technology in the state. Firstly, research was conducted into the developmental needs and goals of the state with respect to the field of Science and Technology. Additionally, plans were also made to implement tools and technologies to tackle pressing issues of poverty, rural unemployment and backwardness. Awareness-raising programmes to help the public as well as policy suggestions for the government have been designed to usher in an era of greater development.
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