 Query: Innovative approaches
to universalising basic education/ from
the Planning Commission, New
Delhi/Examples
Compiled by Veena Singh, Moderator & Resource Person;
additional research by Haripriya Koijam, Research
Associate
16 September 2005
Original Query: From Dr. B.L. Mungekar, Planning Commission,
New Delhi
Posted: 11th August 2005
Responses were received, with thanks
from:
1.
Mahendra Mishra, Education Service, Government of Orissa,
Bhubaneswar
2.
K.S.Rao, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, New Delhi
3.
Parimal Bardhan, Delegation of the European Commission, New
Delhi
4.
Manas Chakrabarti, Hole-in-the-Wall Education, NIIT, New
Delhi
5.
Krishna Kumar, NCERT, New Delhi
6.
Suman Sachdeva, Children’s Development Bank, New
Delhi
7.
Ashok Kumar Paikaray,Mahavir Yubak Sangh,
Bhubaneswar
8.
Nilay Ranjan, One World South Asia, New Delhi
Summary of
Responses
Comparative Experiences
Related Resources
Responses in Full
Summary of
Responses
The responses to Dr. B.L. Mungekar’s
query provided both examples of innovations that potentially could be
scaled up, as well as key areas where the additional resources could be
applied to improve educational quality in India.
Innovative initiatives provided by
contributors, along with additional material identified from the
literature available, is summarized as “Comparative Experiences”,
below. These include examples from the District Primary Education
Programme in Orissa, piloting a
link with vocational education in Andhra Pradesh, a comprehensive
School Development Index to track the performance of schools factoring
students' achievement in Uttaranchal, emphasizing teachers's
training, remedial teaching and a system of awarding well-performing
schools on an assessment of key parameters in
Maharashtra, providing bridge courses for migratory
workers also in Maharastra, using a “Child Friendly
Education Index” in Madhya Pradesh and a School
Efficiency Index in West Bengal, empowering
communities to take responsibility for school management in
Nagaland and Tamil Nadu, and
innovative work being done by such NGOs as the Byraaju
Foundation (two-way video instruction), Agastya
International Foundation, Bridges to the Future
Initiative, Azim Premji Foundation, and the
Hole-in-the-Wall, New Delhi. Examples
were also cited from Sri Lanka (policies encouraging
enrolment and retention) and Nepal (local community
management of schools).
Not all innovations, however promising,
have the potential to work on a larger scale. Issues to be
considered include:
- Is there data-based evidence of the benefits of the
innovation?
- Is there data-based evidence to indicate that the benefits of the
innovation can be generalized across diverse learner populations?
- Is the innovation scalable? For example, it is possible for a
brilliant teacher in a village to use an innovative pedagogy and
transform educational outcome. But can this be replicated in every
village in the country?
- Is the innovation cost-effective and financially viable, given the
current framework and extent of educational funding?
- Does the innovation take account of larger issues in education,
which, if unaddressed, can reverse or reduce its benefits?
With respect to this last point, while
innovative strategies can revitalise and strengthen primary education,
and have succeeded in making positive improvements, their effectiveness
is limited without due attention to other factors such as prevailing
social constructs, trained teachers, good facilities, and clear
performance expectations and tracking. Suggestions for allocating
some of the funds collected from the Cess Tax included:
- Recruiting qualified teachers, to address a shortage that brings
down the standard of teaching
- Upgrading and strengthening state institutions like the DIET
(District Institute of Education and Training) and SCERT (State Council
of Educational Research and Training).
- Providing more adequately for school buildings and building
infrastructure, so that teaching can be done in a healthy
environment
- Building resource centres at block and cluster level.
- Creating responsibility among Parent Teacher Associations (PTA)
/Mother Teacher Associations (MTA).
- Ensuring the availability of basic teaching tool kits, including
good quality teaching learning materials and library materials
- Providing opportunities linked to basic education for vocational
skill training, and providing loans for setting up entrepreneurial
business.
- Mitigating the negative influences of caste, gender etc. on
equitable access to quality education
Ultimately, the above innovations and
the necessary conditions cited were only touching the surface.
Much more work and investigation was needed do justice to a query of
this magnitude.
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Comparative
Experiences
Orissa
The District Primary Education Project
(DPEP) (from
Mahendra Mishra, Education Service, Government of
Orissa)
The DPEP is an initiative undertaken to
internally strengthen the existing education structure. In Orissa it
has helped to provide an opportunity for children from disadvantaged
communities and tribal population to complete their primary education.
The Project has now been extensively implemented in other States of
India.
Andhra Pradesh
Village pilot project
(from
K.S. Rao, Member of the Parliament, Lok
Sabha)
The pilot project in the villages of Andhra Pradesh focussed on
vocational training and enhancement of skills to enable self
employment. School buildings were developed with provision of
audio-visual equipments. In order to increase enrolment and attendance
of students mid-day meals programme were implemented. Study tours were
also organised for students.
Uttaranchal
School Grading
System (from
Parimal Bardhan, Delegation of the European
Commission, New Delhi)
Under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) programme, the state introduced a
comprehensive school development index to track the performance of
schools factoring students’ achievements. The grading maps are prepared
at cluster, block, district and state level. This is done to generate
healthy competition amongst schools. You can find more about the
grading system from
Govt. of Uttaranchal.
Nagaland
Communitisation of
Education (from
Parimal Bardhan, Delegation of the European
Commission, New Delhi, and
Nagaland Human Development Report 2004)
To enhance the process of universalisation of elementary education and
quality upgradation, the Government of Nagaland introduced the Nagaland
Communitisation of Public Institutions and Service Act in 2002.
Under this act, responsibility of managing the school both
administrative and financial was given to the Village Communities
through the Village Education Committees (VECs). The VEC had the power
to deduct the salaries of teacher in case of long absenteeism. The VEC
was also responsible for universal enrolment and retention of children
up to the age of 14 years. Since the communitisation in September 2002,
there has been an increase in the enrolment rate for example in the
village of Rusoma in Kohima the enrolment in government primary schools
at Thephezou from 20 in 2002 to 52 in 2003 and at Ruso Bawe from 37 in
2002 to 73 in 2003.
New Delhi
Hole-in-the Wall Education
Ltd (from
Manas Chakrabarti, Hole-in-the Wall, NIIT, New
Delhi)
This innovative methodology was first experimented at a slum in
Kalkaji, New Delhi in 1999. After its success in Delhi it was
replicated in a rural area of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. The
project is ongoing and learning stations have been set up in 23
locations across rural India. The success of the project has been
its cost effective way of functioning and databased collection from
diverse settings. Children in this project are engaged in creative and
interactive activities.
Karnataka
Akshara Foundation Community
Outreach Program, Bangalore (off-line contribution from
Maniji, Akshara Foundation, Bangalore)
The aim of the Community Outreach Program is to mainstream
out-of-school and working children into school with the help of the
community members. After attending an outreach program for 45 days, the
student has the option of joining a regular school or taking open
school exams. It is reported that the program has helped to
mainstream more than 50 children to schools.
Identified by
Veena
Singh, Resource Person and
Haripriya
Koijam, Research Associate
Successful initiatives have been documented for Karnataka in
UNESCO’s “
Different Approaches for Achieving EFA, Indian
Experience.”
- Baa Marali Shaalege – Return to School
Campaign in 2002 that brought 2, 20,000 out of school children back to
school.
- Akshara Dasoha – Mid-day Meals Programme
that has been implemented in 43,000 schools. This programme is
indicated to have been very successful in increasing the attendance of
children.
- Chinnara Angala -- A summer course
Programme for 6-14 year group of un-enrolled and drop out
children. The children undergoing this programme are taught
intensive condensed curriculum. The programme was reported to be well
accepted by the community and led to an increase of numbers from 3,100
to 1, 27,000 in 2003.
Madhya Pradesh
Education Guarantee Scheme, Government of Madhya Pradesh
To achieve universal elementary education the State has introduced the
Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS). Under this scheme the government has
guaranteed to initiate a school with the provision of a trained teacher
and Teacher Learning Materials within 90 days of receiving a demand for
such a facility by the community. The programme has been successful in
reaching out to the unreached in the quickest possible
time. Recipient of the first CAPAM International Innovation
Awards Programme 1998. For details see the link to
School Education Department, Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Head Start
Project
Headstart is a project, which was initiated to develop educational
software for use by teachers and students of elementary schools. The
Lessons are interactivity. The aim of the project is to encourage an
interdisciplinary understanding of concepts by cross-referencing and
integrating disciplines like mathematics with language, geography with
physics, history with anthropology thereby deepening the knowledge of
the learners. For details see the link to
Rajya Shiksha Mission, Government of Madhya Pradesh.
Eklavya
The organisation has worked extensively in the government schools of
Madhya Pradesh on curriculum, instruction and teacher training. New
curriculum and teaching and learning methodology have been introduced
through their network. You can find more about
Eklavya, Madhya Pradesh below.
West Bengal
The UDANG Experiment- Howrah
UDANG was a pilot experiment carried out from 1994-97 in a village at
Howrah District of West Bengal by Dr. M. Mukhopadhyay and his team with
the support of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government
of India. The main objective was to make school interesting and reduce
dropout through pedagogy related intervention. The experiment
introduced music and sports programmes, managed by talented youth of
the local villages, which made the schools attractive to the children
and increased the daily attendance. The project helped to improve the
learning among children and reduce drop out rates by 17 per cent
against the state average of 49 per cent. Further, computers were
installed at schools in the village, which both students and teachers
learnt to operate computers within a few weeks, with minimal
instructions. The students then created a database containing
information about their village, which was subsequently used by the
government of India for decision-making purposes. The school
continues to serve as a computer skills training centre for the local
villages of the area. For more information see “
Udang Experiment ” below.
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Related
Resources:
Recommended
Organisations
Recommended by
Manas Chakrabarti, Hole-in-the Wall, NIIT, New Delhi
Hole-in-the-Wall Education
Ltd, New Delhi
www.hole-in-the-wall.com
Hole-in-the-Wall seeks to create a new paradigm in the learning
process by providing free computer access to children in an outdoor
playground setting.
Agastya International
Foundation, Bangalore
www.agastya.org
The foundation revitalises primary and secondary education through
innovative and cost effective learning tools and methods like mobile
lab and information technology.
Azim Premji
Foundation, Bangalore.
www.azimpremjifoundation.org/
The foundation works towards improving the quality of education
through their corporate social responsibility.
Byraju
Foundation, Hyderabad
www.byrrajufoundation.org
Byraaju works towards improving the quality of primary and
secondary education in rural areas through audio-visual
learning.
Bridges to the Future
Initiatives(BFI), Hyderabad
http://www.sas.upenn.edu/casi/upiasi/bridges_future.htm
BFI is a project on Literacy Research and Innovation in India. It
explores innovative method of information and communication for basic
education in local languages
Children’s Development
Bank, New Delhi (from
Suman Sachdeva)
www.childrensdevelopmentbank.org
Children Development Bank works on improving the lives of working
children by providing them loans for their education or for setting up
their own enterprise.
State Project Office, Sarva Shikha
Abhiyaan
Uttaranchal, Email:uadpep@vsnl.net, Contact no: 0135-2781941,
2781942
The Parishad works on implementing educational programmes such as
the Government of India sponsored DPEP-III and SSA, also bringing about
functional changes in educational levels.
Identified by Veena
Singh, Resource Person, Education
Community
School Education Department, Government of
Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal-M.P.
http://www.fundaschool.org/
The School Education Department implements the Education Guarantee
Scheme through the Jan Shiksha Adhiniyam 2002 Act, sharing roles and
responsibilities with the local communities.
Eklavya Education Foundation, Madhya
Pradesh (Off-line contribution from Anjali Naronah,
Eklavya, Madhya Pradesh), Eklavya, E-7 / HIG-453, Arera Colony,
Bhopal 462 016, Madhya Pradesh
Phone: +91-755-246-3380, 246-4824, Fax: +91-755-246-1703, E-mail: eklavyamp@mantrafreenet.com
A partnership programme with government projects and private
sector in primary education.
Identified by Haripriya
Koijam, Research
Associate, Education Community
Rajya Shiksha Mission, Government of
Madhya Pradesh, Bhopal
http://www.headstart-mp.org.in/
Administers Headstart, a project for computer-enabled education
operational in elementary schools in M.P. and develops educational
software for use in schools by teachers
Akshara Foundation- Reading for
Real Program, Bangalore
http://www.aksharafoundation.org/realprogram.htm
A pilot initiative that aims at instilling interest in reading
amongst school going children through creative and interactive
activities. The program is still ongoing.
Rishi
Valley Rural Education Project, Andhra
Pradesh
http://www.mithya.com/learning/rishi.html
A successful project of sixteen satellite schools has been
established with a field-tested elementary education kit and teacher
training programs.
Recommended
Website
Nali Kali, Directorate of
Primary Education, Karnataka
http://www.schooleducation.kar.nic.in/Pryeducation/incentive
s.htm
Presentation of Nali Kali- a recipe for joyful learning initiated
by Government of Karnataka and Unicef in Mysore District.
Recommended
Documentation
Presentation of the District
Primary Education Project, Education Service, Government of Orissa,
Bhubaneswar prepared by
Mahendra Mishra
http://www.solutionexchange-un.net.in/education/cr/res08090501.ppt
The presentation throws light on the poor educational status of
tribal children in Orissa and DPEP’s interventions to address to their
educational needs.
Nagaland State
Human Development Report 2004. Department of Planning
& Coordination, Government of Nagaland.
The report draws attention to human development indicators in the
area of income, livelihood, education etc which are critical for the
all-round development of the State.
Additional documentation identified by Haripriya Koijam, Research
Associate
Providing Education to Girls
from Remote and Rural Areas: Advocacy Brief; Bista Min.B.;
Cosstick F.E, 2005. Bangkok: UNESCO, Bangkok.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001397/139720e.pdf
, file type. pdf. 251 K
The article discusses how boarding schools have been used in order
to ensure access to education for deprived children. Both advantages
and disadvantages have been explained.
‘In-service Training of Primary
Teachers through Interactive video technology: An Indian
Experience’ Maheshwari A.N. and Raina V.K. International
Review of Education, Volume 44, Number 1,1998, pp 87-101 (15),
Kluwer Academic Publishers. Also available via IngentaConnect (online
subscription required)
The article focuses on the Special Orientation Programme for
Primary School Teachers (SOPT) and describes the new technology used
for training teachers in Karnataka.
‘Improving schools in difficult
contexts: towards a differentiated approach’, Alma Harris and
Christopher Chapman. 2004., British
Journal of Educational Studies , Vol.52, NO.4, Dec 2004, Pages
417-431. Also available via ingentaselect (online
subscription required).
This article explores and argues that contemporary intervention
strategies taken in improving schools are unlikely to succeed unless
they are differentiated or context specific.
‘Primary Teachers and Policy
Innovation in India: some neglected issues’, Caroline
Dyer. International Journal of Educational Development, Volume
16, Issue I, January 1996, Page 27-40. Also available via sciencedirect (online
subscription required)
This article discusses the ability and motivation of teacher to
adapt to policy initiatives. Taking the case of Gujarat it shows the
limitations of the Operational Blackboard Initiative.
Successful Governance
Initiatives and Best Practices: Experiences from Indian
States.
Planning Commission, Government of
India and Human Development Resource Centre, UNDP
2002, Pages 78-130.
http://hdrc.undp.org.in/pub/bpm/bpm-full-mnul.pdf,
file type. Pdf. 2.52 MB.
The section throws lights on the various successful education
initiatives taken by the State of Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Rajasthan and West Bengal.
Interventions and Learning
Abilities ‘Read India’ Project in Maharashtra. Dhanmanjiri
Sathe. Economic and Political Weekly, January8 2005. Research by
Pratham. http://www.pratham.org/research/MaharashtraCatalytic.pdf,
file type. pdf. 20.5.k.b
This article analyses the impact of Pratham’s ‘Read India
Programme’ on students in Zilla Parishad Schools in
Maharasthra.
Backward and Forward Linkages
that strengthen Primary Education. Vimala Ramachandran in
Economic and Political Weekly Special Article, March 8 2003. Also
available at HDRC, UNDP India.
http://hdrc.undp.org.in/childrenandpoverty/REFERENC/REPORTS/EPW/Backwordforward.pdf
, file type. pdf. 131 KB.
This is an overview of a collection of 10 case studies on
‘backward and forward linkages’ that strengthen basic
education.
Primary School Dropout can be arrested: The
Udang Experiment, Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay. Institute of
Education, Rural Studies and Development.Udang: Howrah, June 23, 1998.
Available at the UNESCO
Regional Office, New Delhi
The monograph discusses the pilot project in Udang, concluding
that primary school dropout can be arrested more efficiently by
pedagogical interventions and community involvement.
PROBE (Public Report on Basic
Education in India), The PROBE Team, in association with,
Centre for Development Economics, 1998- available at HDRC, UNDP
India.
http://hdrc.undp.org.in/content/resources/reports/probe/Chap1.pdf,
file type. Pdf.7.71 MB
The report is based on extensive field survey of school and
household, conducted in villages of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan,
Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Different Approaches for Achieving EFA: Indian
Experience. New Delhi: UNESCO, 2003 available at the UNESCO
Regional Office, New Delhi
The volume provides an insight into the innovative approaches
taken by eight States of India to achieve Education For All in
diversified socio-cultural settings.
Getting Children Back to
School: Case Studies in Primary Education. Vimala
Ramachandran (ed) 2003. Educational Resource Unit, New Delhi. Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd
The book is a collection of essays based on fieldwork of 10 NGOs
operating in the field of primary education in different states of
India.
Report of the CABE Committee on
Free and Compulsory Education Bill and other issues related to
Elementary Education Volume 1. June 2005, available
on request from National Institute of
Education Planning Administration (NIEPA)
The report is about recommended essential provisions on free and
compulsory education bill and their financial implications
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