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Social Accountability of State: A Study of Education Sector in Haryana Meenu1,* 1Assistant Professor, Public Administration, Shah Satnam Ji Girls’ College, Kurukshetra University, Sirsa, Haryana, India *Email: drmeenusharma@rediffmail.com
Abstract Accountability of public officials is very significant for good governance and a prerequisite for an effective democracy. Social accountability of state contributes to overall development of a state. This is achieved through improved public service delivery and more informed policy design. Improper implementation of social welfare policies, corruption, improper training to personnel and misallocation of resources are some of the problems that hinder the social accountability of state government. These problems are perpetuated because the three key groups of actors in the public policy and service delivery chain – policymakers, service providers and citizens – have different (sometimes conflicting) goals and incentives, compounded by information asymmetries and lack of communication. By enhancing the availability of information, strengthening the citizen's voice, promoting dialogue and consultation between the three groups of actors and creating incentives for improved performance, social accountability mechanisms can go a long way towards improving the effectiveness of service delivery and making public decision-making more transparent, participatory and pro-poor. Social accountability initiatives can lead to empowerment, particularly of the weaker sections and poor people. Education plays a vital role in curbing social evils from the society, achieving high economic growth of the state and uplifting the life status of citizens. Obtaining education is also the fundamental right of citizens.In this study, educational policies of the Haryana state government, the impact of educational programmes, loopholes in the implementation of educational policies and providing incentives to the educational personnel have been described. Top Keywords Education, Haryana, State, Accountability. Top | Concept and Review of Literature Accountability Accountability can be defined as the obligation of powerholders to account for or take responsibility for their actions. “Powerholders” refer to those who hold political, financial or other forms of power and include officials in government, private corporations, international financial institutions and civil society organisations. Government officials and bureaucrats are accountable for their conduct and performance. In other words, they can and should be held accountable for:
Obeying the law and not abusing their powers Serving the public interest in an efficient, effective and fair manner. All states have some form of mechanisms in place to promote or ensure accountability of public servants. Systems of accountability that are internal to the state are often referred to as “horizontal” mechanisms of accountability (Schedler et al., 1999). These include:
Political mechanisms (e.g., constitutional constraints, separation of powers, the legislature and legislative investigative commissions) Fiscal mechanisms (e.g., formal systems of auditing and financial accounting) Administrative mechanisms (e.g., hierarchical reporting, norms of public sector probity, public service codes of conduct, rules and procedures regarding transparency and public oversight) Legal mechanisms (e.g., corruption control agencies, ombudsmen and the judiciary)(Goetz et al., 2001).
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Richard Mulgan's definition of accountability emphasises precisely the external nature of the accountability relationship. He argues that accountability includes three central elements:
“It is external, in that the account is given to some other person or body outside the person or body being held accountable”. “It involves social interaction and exchange, in that one side, that calling for the account, seeks answers and rectification, while the other side, that being held accountable, responds and accepts sanctions”. “It implies rights of authority, in that those calling for an account are asserting rights of superior authority over those who are accountable”(Mulgan, 2000).
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Top Social Accountability Social accountability can be defined as an approach towards building accountability that relies on civic engagement, that is, one in which ordinary citizens and/or civil society organisations participate directly or indirectly in exacting accountability. |
Top Social Accountability of State In The Prince, Machiavelli writes that “all the powers that have had and have authority over men are states and are either monarchies or republics. State is a group of public having sovereignty, living in fixed territory, is under the control of an organised government, and government is that agency that formulates, expresses and fulfils the collective will of the people”. |
Laski said that state is the means to balance human behaviour. The state makes such rules through which man balances and regulates his life (Laski). |
State is responsible for the effective implementation of the welfare policies, programmes and plans. As the state government is the representative of the citizens, it becomes the duty of the state government to fulfil its social accountability towards the citizens irrespective of whether it is related to employment, education, food, health, shelter and healthy environment for the proper and healthy growth of the citizens. Directive principles of state policy direct the state to perform functions for the welfare of citizens. The state is the guardian and protector of citizens. |
Top Social Accountability and Welfare Philosophy of State Modern state is called the welfare state or the service state. It performs functions essential for the development of citizens. A welfare state is a state that provides for its citizens a wide range of social services – education, public health, medical relief, old age pension and social security. |
Welfare state is a community where state power is deliberately used to modify the normal play of economic forces so as to obtain a more equal distribution of income for all citizens. The state should make all the possible efforts for enriching the life of citizens and should perform functions to ensure the social, economic, spiritual, moral, physical and political welfare of citizens. |
Top Social Accountability and Economic Liberalisation Economic liberalisation means decreasing restriction on economic activities, providing relaxation in rules and regulations governing the economic system and to control the economy. The state has been providing employment opportunities and liberalising economic policies to increase the economic wealth of the state. The state has been opening public sectors for private investors to fulfil the needs of the citizens in every region. The opportunities have been provided to the investors to increase employment opportunities with the upgradation of technology. |
Top Social Accountability Pursued in India In India, social accountability of state is ensured through the Citizen Report Card (CRC) Survey, Service Level Benchmarking (SLB), the Citizens’ Charter and the Citizen Grievance Redressal System. |
Besides these tools, NGOs, welfare organisations and welfare departments have also been ensuring social accountability of the state. Democratic decentralisation, local self-institutions and decentralised planning are the other tools of social accountability in India. |
Top Education Policy and Its Implementation At the threshold of the new millennium, the Government of Haryana has sought to address the challenges thrown up by the changing environment and the problems being faced by the state in terms of key HRD indicators by bringing education at the centre stage of its development agenda. At this stage of development, the education agenda of the state requires re-negotiation from quantity to quality, from mere transfer of information to enhancement of creativity and knowledge and development of relevant skills, from a centralised to a decentralised system of educational administration and from bureaucratic management to a participative decision-making process. The overall objective is to make education relevant to the emerging environment by way of encouraging socially and economically productive skills. Although the enrolment of girls has improved since the inception of the state, yet it remains low. The dropout rate among girls in the elementary stage is high, and the percentage of girls going for education at the secondary and college stage is low. |
At the time of the initial thrust for universalisation of elementary education, there was voluntary community participation. Most of the schools in the rural areas were made by the panchayats or the communities and the land for the schools were given free of cost by the panchayats. The efforts of the state at the universalisation of elementary education increased the coverage extensively, yet it led to a system of centralisation at the cost of community participation. Today, the community and the panchayats stand alienated from the monolithic educational infrastructure that has evolved in the state. |
Although it is a matter of great satisfaction that enrolment of children has crossed the 90% mark (private schools enrolment included) and accessibility of schools has improved considerably, many of the disadvantaged and weaker sections and physically and mentally challenged groups have largely remained outside the ambit of elementary education. To achieve universalisation of elementary education, the needs of these special groups will have to be addressed. Any further progress in increasing the percentage of enrolment would necessarily demand that education is made accessible to these sections by making it more relevant and flexible as per their requirements. |
Recognising the child's fundamental right to education, serious thought would also need to be given to the question of making appropriate provisions in the constitution so that full benefits of the UEE are derived by the 6- to 14-year age group. |
Although the percentage of girls getting enrolled in the schools has increased in the last three decades, the dropout rate still remains high. The number of girls going for higher or professional education is still very small. Special efforts need to be made to increase the access to higher education for this section. |
After having reached a satisfactory degree of universalisation of elementary education, the state is now concerned about the quality of education. Although the content of what is taught is important, equally important is the efficacy of the delivery system and the teaching technologies. Effective management of education to ensure optimum returns is therefore an area to be urgently addressed. |
The Planning Commission has recommended an expenditure of 6% of the GDP on education. The state of Haryana, since its inception, has had major obligations towards meeting the basic needs of the people and development of the infrastructure. As such, it has only been able to allocate up to 2.1% of the state GDP for education. A paradigm shift is required in the allocation of resources for education, which should ideally reach 6% of the GDP. Private initiative must play an equally important role in the field of education. The private and government initiatives should go hand in hand in a participative manner. |
In the field of higher education, the private initiative is certainly greater as there are more private colleges than government colleges. |
Top Implementation Strategies of Education Policy of Haryana School as a planning unit Decentralisation of educational administration Quality in delivery of primary education Introduction of English from class-I Capacity-building of teachers Strengthening the teacher–school link Recognition of teachers Community mobilisation and support Mainstreaming Special Focus Groups Monitoring and evaluation Increased allocation/resource mobilisations for education Retention of girl students Introduction of IT in education Vocational education Replication of gains of DPEP: The Programmes of DPEP-I and DPEP-II funded by the World Bank, in seven districts of the state, have yielded commendable results. It shall be the endeavour of the state to sustain the gains of the DPEP and replicate them in the whole state, to the greatest extent possible. Optimum utilisation of infrastructure Making higher education relevant and removing disparities Remedial coaching Autonomy: With a view to providing freedom in designing courses, innovation, research, and so on, the state government will take all necessary steps to confer autonomy on colleges having the potential to grow as centres of excellence. Pre-induction and in-service training for college teachers Open learning and distance education Empowering women and focused groups Establishing state council for higher education
Challenges Before the State Government Achieving gender parity Inclusive education Regional imbalances – Mewat/Morni Implementing RTE – synchronising SSA for RTE goals Learning outcome enhancement and evaluation Education – RMSA
Key Parametres of Education GER at primary level: 99.8 GER at upper primary: 97 2 Transition rate from primary to middle: 93.6 Dropout rate at primary level: 0.15% Number of out of school children reduced from 1.08 lakhs to 38,000 in 2010–2011 Seasonal and migrant labour children (33,000) at brick kilns addressed through cluster-based approach
Gender Parity: Efforts by the state Cash incentives – girls are given more cash incentives than boys in terms of education Establish KGBVs in all EBB schools Establishing model schools (EBB) in backward blocks Free education for girls up to class 12; free textbooks, uniforms, cycles, and so on Transport facility through convergence of major flagship programmes
Implementing the RTE Act Draft rules prepared All charges in shape of funds/fees abolished education No board exam in 8th class STET in place Grants for libraries issued New posts created and filled to address PTR SCERT notified as academic authority SSA Plan synchronised with RTE requirements Need for additional funds (472 crores)
Learning outcomes enhancement and evaluation 13,000 teachers recruited for elementary schools Induction training to all new recruits through innovative partnerships Teacher education – special school with a 5-year course Restructuring teacher education syllabi Third-party evaluation of learning levels
Education Employment Linkage Universalisation of ICT in all secondary schools Each child to take up an ICT skill education Classes 6–8 will be taught introduction to computers, basic software (OS, Office), communication concepts and internet Classes 9–10 will be exposed to soft skills, communication skills, web publishing technologies, collaboration tools, emerging trends in application software, programming languages, animation, 3D, multimedia, databases, systems analysis and design Classes 11–12 will choose one of the above streams and undergo a full vocational course for the same
Open School Vocational Centres to be located in schools
Strategies for quality education Sports schools education Science schools Kisan Model Schools Establishing schools in the PPP Policy Framework Create a link between education and employment through IT-based vocational education Implementing RMSA for universalising secondary education
Technical Education Total intake in technical education increased from 1,12,910 in 2009–2010 to 1,24,705 in 2010–2011. Number of institutions increased from 546 in 2009–2010 to 596 in 2010–2011. IIM at Rohtak is made functional, 50 students admitted for the academic session 2010–2011. Public Private Partnership Projects under Kaushal Vikas Yojana of DGET – 29 ITIs are to be set up in unserviced blocks, out of which 13 proposals already sent to GOI. Proposal for setting up of 96 Skill Development Centres sent to GOI. Proposal for setting up of Advanced Training Institutes at Sonepat District sent to GOI.
Jawahar Social Infrastructure Mission 60 institutions/special schools for various categories of disabled, children, and senior citizens to be set up 10 schools for the visually impaired in the districts of Rewari, Rohtak, Jind, Yamuna Empowe Nagar, Kurukshetra, Mewat, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Bhiwani and Hissar 8 Schools for the Speech & Hearing impaired in the districts of Rohtak, Jind, Kurukshetra, Faridabad, Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Hissar and Narnaul justice 6 schools for the mentally challenged children in the districts of Narnaul, Kaithal, Karnal, Palwal, Panchkula and Sonepat 3 state-level institutions in the districts of Panchkula Sonepat and Panipat Social Justice districts of Panchkula, Panipat 21 vocational educational and training centres for persons with all kinds of disabilities, 1 at each district level 6 destitute children homes in the districts of Rohtak, Mewat, Narnaul, Ambala, Fatehabad and Gurgaon Budget provision of Rs. 150 crore during 3 years
Top Conclusions The government schools have been showing poor performance after so many efforts by the state government. The education too all is not insured by the state. There is delay in facilities provided to the teachers regarding recruitment, training, salary and arrears. The state has been trying to fulfil its social accountability through policy, but the benefits are not being drawn by the deserved candidates. State is not able to control prevailing malpractices and corrupt practices in the education system. The number of educated unemployed has been increasing which challenges the social accountability of state. Due to privatisation and liberalisation, the educational institutions are acting like shops and business centres where the student purchases degree but not quality education. The mushrooming growth of medical, engineering, management, B. Ed colleges in the state without basic infrastructure and trained faculty is also a challenge to social accountability of state. Creativity, interest and value of education have been declining among the students.
Suggestions Honour and recognition to effective educationists by the state to promote quality education. Adopt PPP model to increase efficiency and competitive environment in the organisations. Need to control corrupt practices by inculcating moral values in the society. The recruitment of teachers should be made timely so that the suffering of students can be minimised. The state should try to frame policies to increase employment opportunities for the educated.
Table :
| | Stages | Tools | | Design of service delivery | Participatory Planning Participatory Budgeting Citizen charter Service-level benchmarking
| | Implementation and monitoring | Citizen monitoring Public expenditure tracking Social audit Citizen Grievance Redressal System
| | Impact assessment | Citizen report card Public hearing
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