EDUCATION AND CULTURE

PRIMARY EDUCATION

There has been a steady growth in the number of primary schools in the district during the last twenty years. The scheme of compulsory primary education was introduced in the district in the year 1947-48 in 312 villages with a population of 1,000 and above. Table No. 7 shows the taluka-wise primary schools, teachers and number of students enrolled in the different talukas of the district in the years 1951, 1956 and 1961.

The Karmala taluka had more facilities of primary education, i.e., every thousand population has on an average 1.26 schools. Then came Malshiras, the lowest being North Sholapur taluka where the number of primary schools was lowest when compared to the total population. The number of primary schools was 1,602 as on 31st March 1962. Of these, 81 per cent of the primary schools were managed by the Zilla Parishad and about 12 per cent by private institutions. The average population served by a primary school in the year 1961-62 was 1,175. The number of students per primary school stood at 150. The average number of teachers per school was worked out at 3.7. The number of schools and students in subsequent years is shown below:-

The enrolment in primary schools per 1,000 population is about 144 in the district as against the ratio of 148 and 135 for the Pune division and the State of Maharashtra, respectively.

The following statement gives the number of students according to medium of education during 1966-67:-

DISTRIBUTION OF PUPILS BY MEDIUM

The following statement shows the position of primary teachers in the district for a few years from 1961-62:-

One important aspect which can be relevant with the aforesaid growth in primary education is the spread of basic education facilities in the primary schools. The programme for basic education was introduced about two decades ago with a view to give facilities to students to develop skill in rural arts and crafts. The policy of converting primary schools into basic schools has made steady progress. During the First Five-Year Plan 219 schools were converted into basic schools. This number increased to 268 by the end of the Second Five-Year Plan. The number of primary schools and their classification as on 31st March 1962 is given in the statement below:-

During the period under reference, there has been a reduction in the proportion of students taking to basic education in primary schools, though considered individually, there was an increase in their numbers, as compared with the total number of students in primary schools.

PRIMARY (BASIC) EDUCATION IN SHOLAPUR DISTRICT

Growth in the number of students taking primary education amongst the backward class population is another interesting aspect of primary education in the district. This could be seen from the following statement:-

Out of 68,749 students in 1971-72, 23,713 were girl-students. The number of girl-students in the year 1965-66 was 17,305.

At the beginning of the First Five-Year Plan, only 819 villages had schooling facilities. By 31st March 1962, ten towns and 930 villages had primary schools and eight villages had schooling facilities, i.e., primary schools situated within a mile from the village. Eight villages did not have even schooling facilities. During the year 1971 the number of villages without schooling facilities was six and their taluka-wise break-up was: Akkalkot, three villages; Mangalwedha, one village; and South Sholapur, two villages.

Expansion of primary schools: In order to achieve the objective of the minimum needs programme, it has been decided that 100 per cent enrolment of the children between age-group of 6-11 and 60 per cent of children between age-group of 11-14 should be covered during the Fifth Plan period in the district. Similarly it will be ensured that a primary school within 1.5 kilometres from village and a middle school within five kilometres from each village is established during the Plan period. Three villages and sixty villages in the district are not having primary and secondary schools within 1.5 kilometres and five kilometres respectively. It is proposed to open new schools to provide schooling facilities to these villages. It is also proposed to make a provision of an outlay of Rs. 112.54 lakhs for this purpose.

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