indian council of medical research - Pondicherry University DSpace ...

average student teacher ratlo IS 25 0 Even In a developing country l~ke Chlle where
,ducatlon has been glven due Importance the ratlo IS 30 0-45 0 (Rodnquez 1994) In
lndla we should pertlaps atrn al hav~rlg a better student-leacher ratlo to Ilnprove the
qual~ty of education
6.5.4 Schwl Absenteeism
In the cohort study ~t was observed that school absenteelsm was not a very tmportant
factor affechng the educat~on of school chlldren Ch~ldren who attended school dld not
frequently absent themselves The mean number of days lost per ch~ld per year was
only 1 5 (+I 4) days Adverse weather condit~ons whlch Included heavy and continuous
rams dunng the monsoon was the most common cause of school absenteelsm A malor
part of the school functions from thatched sheds and does not prowde adequate
protection from ram Th~s together w~th the d~fflcult~es In traveling In the rams,
contributed s~gn~flcantly to school absenteelsm Thls can be reduced by lmprovlng the
physical ~nfrastruclure of the school
Ill health and golng to work were lhe next common causes of absenteelsm
The ill
health Included mlnor allments lhke headache fever and abdominal paln Most of the
work whlch made the chlldren stay away from school wmpnsed odd jobs l~ke fetchlng
water carrylng lunch to the fleld going to the shop, etc whtch took about half to one
hour In the mornlng Fear of pun~shment on belng late to school was a reason to absent
oneself from school the whole day. School absence due to work could perhaps be
reduced tf the att~tude of the school authont~es were more flexlble At the same time.
Parents and chlldren also should be mottvated to be more respons~ble and dtsclpl~ned
This will also reduce school absentee~srn due to other causes like vlstts outsldc the