Kerala needs to learn about access to early education from Andhra Pradesh: EAC-PM

Even though there are certain states that are role models in certain aspects, they can still learn from other states when it comes to addressing their challenges. This was stated by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) on December 16.

This independent body, formed to advise the Prime Minister of India on economic and other related issues, released a report on foundational literacy and numeracy in the country, especially with regard to early education years and what a vital role it plays when it comes to the overall development of any child.

Stressing on access to quality early childhood education and calling it a fundamental right, the EAC-PM noted that the formative years need to be understood in several contexts — socio-economic, psychological, technological — and take into account other hindrances children might face.  

"Education leads to positive externalities and the quality of education imparted is important especially during the formative years. The present attainments in literacy and numeracy and the variations among states should be the focus for remedial action," Dr Bibek Debroy, Chairman, EAC-PM said during a panel discussion on the report, as per a report in Hindustan Times.

Taking the example of Kerala, the report stated that though it has performed the best as a small state, it can still learn from states which might have scored lower yet out-perform it in aspects like access to education. With regards to this aspect, Andhra Pradesh scored 38.50 and Kerala is at 36.55.

On the pillar of Governance, the report pointed towards the fact that more than half the states scored below the national average. In a statement that EAC-PM released, it said that pillar-wise state analysis helps “assess the state of the budgetary measures and steps needed to improve the state of education and identify existing gaps that obstruct their growth.”

Larger states' performance, like that of Rajasthan (25.67), Gujarat (22.28), and Bihar (18.23), was below average while it was the Northeastern states that performed better than the rest.