EDUCATION AT DOORSTEP

EDUCATION AT DOORSTEP
providing urban educational facilities to rural children

Ark's Philosophy
Spoon feeding creates dependency. It is always better to give, says a Chinese saying, a fishing technique to a hungry man than a fish. And above all, right to live in dignity is a basic human right. The best way to help those who are disenfranchised live a dignified life is through creation of Social Capital. It includes formation of self help groups, vocational training and local resource management education, all of which form the backbone of Ark's programmes.

Education at Doorstep
Ark understands the difficulty many children have in travelling from one village to another to attain school lessons and is aware that for many children education is secondary to contributing to economic activities at home. It is with this in mind that Ark began its Education Centres with the idea that if children can't go to school, we'll bring school to them.

Children's Need
· One of the basic guiding principles is to find out children's need and what they should be taught?
· We know that:
* Children need love more than anything else. For this,
parents, guardians and employers of children need to be
educated about the importance of love for children. This is a
big challenge before the Foundation. Ark still does not have
any concrete programme for this.
* Children work hard, all by themselves, to be more grown up
and responsible.
* Many of them who get into the most trouble are suffering from a
lack of affection rather than any form of punishment.
* Children are eager to learn if they are instructed in ways that
are right for their age and if they are taught by understanding
teachers. That is why we are equally focusing on providing
training to teachers from Ark's perspective of education.
* Children have a natural curiosity and capability of learning
which needs to be preserved and promoted.

Significance Of Education
The significance of education in modern society cannot be over estimated. Literate and educated people are a prerequisite both for maintaining and furthering developing societies. The crucial need of education for the people in various spheres of modern social life- economic, political, social, ethical, health and others- has been unanimously recognised.

Understanding Issue
More than fifty years into Independence, Indian children have little to celebrate: 6.3 crore of them are still out of school. This despite the constitutional directive (now a fundamental right) urging all states to provide "free and compulsory education for all children until they complete the age of 14 years". The Constitution envisaged fulfilling this promise by 1960. Yet, if present trends continue, India is still 50 years away from reaching the goal.

There are two myths that are often invoked to explain the slow progress of elementary education: one, a supposed lack of parental motivation; two, that work keeps children away from school. Work does not keep children away from school: a myth is that children are unable to go to school because they have to work. It is true that some children -- for example, eldest daughters in poor families, work long hours, which makes it difficult for them to go to school. But the general pattern is surprisingly different: a majority of out-of- school children in rural India have plenty of time on their hands. Among out-of-school children, about half work less than three hours a day. Only 18 per cent work more than eight hours. One-third do not do any work at all during school hours. Girls tend to work more than boys (mainly at home), but even they usually have enough spare time to attend school. Indeed, school hours in rural India are effectively quite short -- say four to five hours a day for 120 days in the year. Only a small minority of children is so busy that they cannot make themselves available for such a limited period of time. Moreover, when children work rather than going to school, it does not necessarily mean that work requirements are to blame for their failure to attend school. In many cases, it is the other way round: children work because they are unable to go to school. The right to education in India is one that is violated to such an extent that it often assumes the nature of common occurrences in everyday life. At an early stage, violations take the form of bare walls and classrooms without teachers. At later stages, the lack of adequate education often pushes the already impoverished into informal sectors of labour.


Poor Are Too Backward To Invest In Education
Why is education special? Why should Ark Foundation and other social action groups work on providing quality education? A common reason that is supplied is that poor people are too backward to invest in education by themselves; hence the only way to ensure that their children grow up educated is through government and social action groups' interventions. Indeed, the withdrawal of the State from other areas should help free up resources for education and health. Both the state and social action groups should work together to strengthen existing educational infrastructure by making them accountable to the village communities and creating new infrastructure in the area where there is no access to school within a walking distance of one kilometer in case of a primary school and three kilometers in case of a high school.

Great Equalizer
Purpose of education should be to work in the direction of equalizer. Each child is an individual and should be allowed to be so. Reason, science and respect for humanity will form the educational curriculum of the foundation. It will finally leads towards creating of just and equal society.

There is a strong consensus today about the importance of education in Indian public policy. It is hard to imagine how productivity and income growth can come about for the 45 per cent of India, which is illiterate. It is high time serious attention be paid on educational questions as they go a long way in shaping the thinking of the people.

Means And Ends
It is not just important to have noble goals only. Nobel means are equally important. We don't believe in 'Peace at the gun point'. Let peace comes through peaceful, noble, means. It is very simple. One does not have to remove darkness to bring light. Darkness is nothing but absence of light. Light a candle, the darkness will disappear.

So we should focus more on process rather than product, though the later one is also not ignorable.

Enhance Student Learning
Ark Foundation will work towards enhancement of a student's learning and understanding ability through innovative educational tools and proved traditional learning methods. It will employ a student- centered curriculum that builds on student knowledge. The curriculum will be supported with in-depth activity-based learning and teach and reinforce it with instructional opportunities that celebrate the unique background and experience each student brings to the Ark Education Centre. Its programmes will take advantage of a new and emerging education technology that improves student achievement.

Motivate Students for Education
Students should be taught to learn from their surrounding. An issue- oriented rural education curriculum will be designed to help them understand and address major cultural and environmental issues. The education centres will encourage there critical thinking and problem- solving skills. Ark looks at the cultural, economic, social and educational environment of a human being's universe, with education being at the forefront.

Connect Education Centre And The Community
Community participation is at the core of the foundation. Ark aims to work hand in hand with the disadvantaged sections of the society, specially children, so that they can learn to help themselves and look forward to a better and brighter future. Education programmes will be a collaborative effort that brings the community to the centre, and the centre to the community. Education Centre will tie the curriculum to the home culture of the students, and will present multiple points of view and diverse perspectives. The Programmes will link centre restoration or research projects with similar community projects.

Build Future of India
Children are future of a country. It is they who are going to be torch bearer of tomorrow. So in order to build strong and vibrant tomorrow we need to work in children. Is a nation's welfare possible without the welfare of its children?

Educators and students will understand the philosophies, practices and strategies used by Ark Foundation in the protection and preservation of the nation's natural and cultural heritage. Students will be introduced to careers in environmental advocacy, in general, and Ark Education Centre, in particular

Equitable Education
We understand the division of Indian society. We also know that the division is more prominent in the rural society. Ark Foundation will cultivate educational environment that encourages all students to learn to the best of their potential. The centre will make programmes accessible to students for whom English is a second language through the use of translated curriculum guides, bilingual volunteers and multiple styles of learning. The centre will establish and sustain relationships with low-income group section of the society.

Two-Way Process
Education should always be two way process. It is dynamic in a sense that both teachers and students are in a process of learning. Learning about the natural and cultural world takes place in the context of social relationships. Education programmes must involve the interaction of students with Ark staff, teachers and other students, not simply the actions of Ark staff and teachers on students. Students experience cooperative learning, see the curriculum applied in the real world, and have a moment to reflect on their own contributions.

Other Objectives:
· To provide all children in each Village Development Circle with access to quality education up to high school. To check differences in enrolment, dropout rates and learning achievement among gender and social groups.
· To check overall dropout for all students in the Village Development Circle.
· To create an environment and capacity- we call it "social capital"- in a Village Development Circle to run and manage its own educational institutions- school, library, computer centre and vocational training centre.
· Create a responsive institutional base which includes enhanced community participation and strengthen the process of catering to special focus groups-marginalized sections.
· Purpose of bringing about quantitative and qualitative improvement in the Village Development Circle.
· Establishing linkages between other individuals, institutions and group to achieve common goals.

Ark Education Centre
A Village Development Circle (VDC) in each village with a radius of approximately 3kms will be the basis for the implementation of Ark's activities. Each Development Circle will have:

• High School
• Computer Education Centre
• Cultural Activity Centre
• Vocational Training Centre
• Library

High School
Ark has been involved in its Kataila school project since 1995 but it was in 2002 that the school got recognition from the State Education Board of Uttar Pradesh Government. With the consistent efforts of Ark, Village Head (Graam Pradhan) and educated community of the village, the UP Government sanctioned funds for the school building for middle school (6th, 7th and 8th standard).

This school is very much patterned on the mainstream schooling system, though with reliable teachers and consistent classes. From this semester Ark has introduced high school (9th and 10th standard) in the village school as we see a real need for this in the village.

Library
In the village, people are accustomed to making bowls or decorative items out of their old books! They do not know what to do with their old books. Ark Library is working as a hub where people deposit their old books so that these are available for student exchange. Ark volunteers and teachers of the school go from house to house collecting disused books, binding them if necessary and then arranging them in the library. The Library is open every Sunday to issue and collect books, and we are planning to extend the library, adding new books to the growing collection.

Medium of Instruction
Mother tongue is the medium of instruction at our all the education centers. However teaching of English language is compulsory at the schools and centres run by Ark Foundation

Comprehensive Intervention
Ark aims at a comprehensive intervention in the field of education in general and environmental education in particular.

It will design strategies and an alternative curriculum which take a comprehensive overview of the current education system. The second important step in this direction will be to take an overview focus of teachers, students and the learning situation, with special emphasis given to the context and location specify of the learner. Textbooks can be the starting point only and classroom the first meeting place. But to make them work properly learning should be made playful, adventurous and exciting; in whatever manner that suits the teachers and learners.

Implementation and Accountability
One of the important strategies before a social action group (SAG) should be to see local government official implement the existing programmes and make them accountable to the institution they belong to in particular and to people of the area in general.

There are a number of government schools in rural areas where teachers go to schools once a week and that too to fill their attendance register of the whole week. They are least botherd about their duty. Similarly, there are government Primary Health Cenres (PHCs) in villages where neither doctors nor nurse or even midwives visit. Medicines, which should be given free of cost, are being sold in open markets. Doctors are busy in minting money by practicing in cities leaving poor villagers at the mercy of traditional healers and yamraaj- the god of death.

A SAG can educate people about their right to free health facilities at the local PHCs. It can also teach them strategy to make government servants accountable. People's acceptance and participation are very crucial for such kind of action. Villagers can also force teachers to attend school six days a week or face the wrath of their collective power. A SAG can help them in making rational and sustainable strategy. It can draft applications to be given to higher authority to make them accountable. SAG people can contact media to highlight the issue.

Text Design
Ark is following the text books of state boards but at the same time it is also working on developing its own text books which will enable children to develop their environment. It is important to see the appropriateness of the use of teaching learning material and activities in their transaction

Teachers Training
A school is like a temple, teachers its priests and children its devotees. Ark is very sad to see corruption making dent in the most pious area of the society. It is here, future of a country is being trained to take the challenge of changing world. Ark team is working in this direction and at the same time also inviting people to share their information and experiences to provide for quality education. It will take the concern for our environment as a prime area of emphasis, especially in the larger content of quality education. It attempts to ingrain love for nature and environment into the children.

Ark would like to create a group of committed teachers who can help us realise Ark's dream— the dream to see that each and every child has access to a quality education, a healthy life and a society free of exploitation and violence. The teachers have to rethink about the traditional educational techniques and to evolve new one as per the need and requirement of particular village society. Ark believes that every society has its own social dimension, economic resource and cultural practice. So we need to plan our strategy keeping in mind the need of a particular village.

Value
Apart from helping young pupils acquire intellectual abilities and developing basic competence in them, the foundation lays great stress on the values that they inculcate, the faith that they develop in their own self-making and range of human qualities. To enable a child to grow into healthy, capable and good individual is an aim Ark seeks to fulfill in respect of each of its students. Alongside the development of critical and rational faculties of a child, the school should contribute towards the blossoming of the creative potential of every child.

Vocational Training
Education of the mass of children requires enormous flexibility, acceptance of different paces of learning, adoption of a variety of methods rather than one uniform method, placing greater emphasis on skills and processes of the production of knowledge than on information memorising and processing, which would enable children to build upon their own experience, reflect upon it and articulate their experiences and visions. When educational services are produced by the public sector, as they are at present, there will be no effort at trying to think about the customer and improving the quality of services from his perspective.

Participatory Learning
It is not possible to change so many ideas about the natural needs of children without mixing up a lot of parents. We are planning to create ongoing relationships with parents and professionals who can give support and guidance. Written information can also help children. Ark Foundation will be happy to incorporate practical suggestion from concerned people.

Community Mobilization and Participation
Educational innovations of Ark Foundation are based on the strong foundation of community support and participation. This is based on the age-old tradition of Shramdaan- donation of labour. Ark heavily depends on volunteers in running schools and educational centres in slums and villages.

Ark believes in grass root development, which is not possible without involving the affected people of the area. This will give strong foundation to make a development programme sustainable and self reliant. Mobilising the village community to take responsibility to ensure quality education for every child is the core strategy of Village Development Circle and Slum Development programme of the Foundation in its efforts to universalize primary education and deliver quality education up to high school level in its action areas.

Dr. Shaheen Ansari

www.arkindia.org.in