Marchang Reimeingam
Published: Sikkim Express, Sikkim, 8th March 2010
Sikkim a small and beautiful state with a geographical area of 7098 km sq with diverse customs, cultures, traditions and languages is a home to multifarious social, ethnic and linguistic groups of population of little more than half a million (0.54) according to 2001 census. About 5 and 21 percent of the state’s population are scheduled castes and scheduled tribes respectively. The 2001 Census of India has recorded that the state has attained literacy rate of about 69 percent which is higher by about 4 percent compared to the national average. The prevalence of high level of literacy does not necessarily mean to have attained higher level of education. This can be explained with the National Sample Survey (NSS) data of 2005 (61st) which shows that as large as about 53 percent of the rural Sikkim population were literate upto primary level of education that is considerably higher than 33 percent of the national average. Even in urban Sikkim about 41 percent of the total population was literate upto primary education, which is again higher by about 11 percentage point to the national average. It substantiates the argument that high prevalence of literacy attainment is just mostly a mere literate. Interestingly, about 11 percent of the rural Sikkim population have attained secondary and above level of education, that is higher by one percentage point to the national average. However, as large as about 27 percent of urban Sikkim population have attained secondary and above, which is lesser by about 3 percentage point to the national average. Achieving a high literacy rate doesn’t make much difference for male child preferences as the sex ratio showed a significant low at 885 when compared to the national average as well as to the rest of the North Eastern states in 2001. The state’s poverty level prevailed at about 15 percent that is lower by about 7 percent to the national average; and the per capita GSDP stood marginally higher at Rs.26,215 for the state in comparison to the national average in 2004-05.
Within this realm, expenditure on education is increasing over the years due to the rise in income level as well as due to the increase in educational level apart from dearer cost in accessing its infrastructure. The increase of expenditure on education can be substantiated by a factual figure on household consumption expenditure on education of NSS. According to NSS, 2.32 percent of the total monthly consumption expenditure was spent on education per person/household in 1999 (55th Round) which has significantly increased by slightly less than 2 percentage point to 3.97 percent in 2004 (60th Round) in rural Sikkim; and, the increased in urban areas was more prominent by slightly less than 3 percentage point from 4.97 percent to 7.52 percent during the same period. (Readers should note that the figure for 2004 for Sikkim is generalized for hilly North Eastern States excluding Assam, Manipur and Tripura.) However, in rural India, it increased by slightly less than one percentage point from the level of 1.93 percent to 2.86 percent; and in urban areas, it has increased by slightly more than 2 percentage point from 4.33 to 6.52 percent during the same period. The increasing share of consumption expenditure on education may partly due to the unmatched increased of cost on education and non-educational cost and partly due to the growing importance of education or higher demand for education in the household. The higher demand for education may mostly be induced demand in a sense it exerts demonstrative effect. Disposable income are less expended on education in rural areas as compared to the urban spending patterns on it, as expected, possibly due to the wide differences in the cost of education as well as prevalence of lower level of education in rural as compared to urban areas. Consumer’s expenditure of the state is relatively higher than the national average both in rural and urban areas. This can partly explained by the growing importance of education as well as parents motivations and incentives to educate quality education might have led to higher spending. Most importantly, inflationary factor which induces to higher cost of education might have driven to higher spending. Moreover, it possibly be due to the larger students’ enrolment in private educational institution which normally incurred higher cost compared to government institutions, and the high cost for financing education, financing for higher education outside the state, inadequate availability of government or subsidies educational infrastructure and a higher proportion of household members going for school in the state.
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citation: Marchang Reimeingam, Consumption
Expenditure on Education on Rise in Sikkim, Sikkim Express, Sikkim, 8th March 2010
