Pondering and Wondering
Sometime raising a right question is more important than a wrong answer. It is in this process I raise some questions in the hope that your responses will enhance my understanding.
Think of these questions assuming India is a family and we are its siblings. What should be the criteria of apportioning priority to the different needs and demands of the various members of the family?
Do you think it is acceptable to go and buy a TV or home theatre while one of your brothers or sisters is dying of hunger? Can anyone indulge in anniversary celebrations leaving his/her children suffering from some acute illness that demands immediate attention?
I would like you to consider the following:
1. The disproportionate expenditure our country spends on 'nice things', sports, recreation etc;
2. The disproportionate expenditure our government spends on critical things, like educating its sons and daughters;
3. The exorbitant expenditure on post-colonial celebrations like Independence Day and Republic Day etc;
4. Why there is such disparity in already scarce funds: 14 % expenditure on defense versus a measly 3.2% of GDP on education.
It seems that we cannot, or do not wish to, learn from history. When Westerners were building Oxford, we were building the Taj Mahal. When they were building airplanes we were founding the Muslim League (1906 in Shimal) and Hindu Sabha (1908 in Punjab). There are hundreds of such examples. And now when they are building space shuttles and going to Mars and other planets we are busy in mobilizing and dividing people into religions factions so they can gain 'access' to heaven. I ask you: just where are we going?
I have nothing against the Taj, or mosques or temples per se, I simply do not understand the prime objective of our ruling class. Where are the projects for the masses?
The budget allocation for different sectors tells us that our father and mother are clearly lethargic about educating us. This is not acceptable, given the most critical change agent is in society is EDUCATION.
A question has been haunting me ever since I read two news items in a magazine - one about death by hunger and about the exorbitant price- more than Rs.100 crore- to get one Olympic silver medal. The one event.
Rs.100 crore was spent on organizing things for and in Athens. Grooming sports people took months and years of preparation to reach eligibility for entry to Athens Olympic Village. Think of other sport events where so many rupees are being spent.
If we dare to surf the web and do some pretty rudimentary analysis of events in the year 2004 we can amass many mind-boggling facts such as the one above.
Don't get me wrong. I am not against sport. I have been a basketball player and represented my school and university teams on many occasions. But here with the help of arkitectindia group I am trying to understand a very basic question.
Where should a family head?
How should our Mother and Father spend money specifically allocated for its children?
What are their priorities? And for whom?
I think Mum and Dad have some favourites. Consider the following:
· In West Bengal people were dying of hunger after eating some roots of trees. The roots may be of poisonous in nature but they had no option as there was no food supply. Why?
· Several members of a tribal community in Orissa fell sick after eating mango kernels and a few of them died. It was reported that there was a shortage of food but mango kernels were the only option left with them. NDTV reported that the grains were being eaten by rats in the government godowns because of the lack of and inefficiency of communication and transportation facilities. Why?
· Thousands of farmers in Andhra Pradesh and adjoining areas committed suicide. Why?
· Every year we witness hundred and thousands of people who die either of hot wind (loo) or cold breeze. Don't say that the government does not know that every year summer comes, every year winter comes and also every year rain comes. But still there is no provision or programme to tackle this menace. Go out on the streets of Delhi and you will find people lying on the pavements waiting for the sun or death. But will the government built night shelters in different parts of the city? It does not require much - just a covered hall. It comes down to priorities: night shelters Vs. one medal, or you could read it this way: unwanted poor lot Vs. elite sportspersons. Is anybody listening right there in the sport ministry?
· We belong to a country whose government even can't provide primary education to its children. What a shame! January 26th is coming. There is a huge budget to celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day. If we make it a simple affair and invest all the money in building schools and industries the government can create lakhs of job opportunities for its unemployed citizens every year. But again it is a matter of priority. Who cares?
· There is no commitment to provide adequate funds for fulfilling the cumulative gap built up since the Education Commission’s recommendations in 1964-66 within a ten-year timeframe. In case of elementary education, it was to fulfill this cumulative gap that the Tapas Majumdar Committee (1999) recommended an additional funding of Rs. 13,700 crores per year for the next ten years which amounts to about 0.6% of the current level of GDP. This investment will be required for bringing all out-of-school children to formal school system. Is 0.6% of the GDP is too high to invest in primary education?
· We conducted a survey in Dhapo Colony Slum, New Delhi where we were running an education centre there. One question concerned patterns of expenditure. We were shocked to discover the responses of sizeable numbers of respondents whose daily average income was less than Rs75. For them, drink was an important item on the shopping list. And any extra money would be spent on boozing or other sorts of non-productive activities. But like the government of India they also don't have money to send their children to school. There is no concept of saving or investment. Of course there are some exceptional mothers and fathers who think about the future of their children. But not enough.
· The government has introduced Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which provides low quality parallel educational streams. It is, in the words of Prof. Anil Sadgopal, anti-child, anti-poor and anti-education, for which we are paying for with a loan (remember it is a LOAN) from the World Bank, a loan laden with their conditions. Is there no shame in this? The fact that we cannot, will not, spend our scarce financial resources on educating our children? Where is the spirit 'development' in all this?
· Do you think our government has the right to be such frivolous conspicuous consumers? We are a republic, we're independent, let’s throw a party! These are expensive, one-day PR events, VIP soirees for the elite, and propaganda for the dumb masses that we've got something to smile about, as tens of thousands of children turned up to school the day before the party to find that their teacher simply decided not to get out of bed.
· Shall we demand the Government of India to stop these celebrations till, at least, we are able to give the future of India a decent education and employment to those who can and will work?
God help us to change.
To change ourselves and to change our world.
To know the need for it.
To deal with the pain of it.
To feel the joy of it.
To undertake "the journey without understanding the destination.
The art of Gentle Revolution" (Michael Leunig)
I ask members of this e-group to enlighten me, and others like me, who can't understand the 'simple' logic of our Mother and Father who leave some of us to die in one place and invests so much to nurture others. I am confused between necessity and luxury. Kindly throw some light on it - because I know darkness is nothing but the absence of light.
Thanks for patiently reading and considering.
Kind Regards,
Shaheen
Happy Children
Children at Dhapo Colony Slum
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
National Workshop on ‘Language and Education’: A Report
National Workshop on ‘Language and Education’
Organised by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE)
at Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh on 2-4 January 2011
A National Call
This Workshop on ‘Language and Education’ organized by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE) at Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh on 2-4 January 2011 recognizes the grave danger which all our mother tongues in India are facing today, as a result of the increasing pace of the neo-liberal assault on Indian economy, democratic polity and the education system. The language-cum-education policy which Macaulay initiated in 1835 to reinforce British imperialism, has continued unabated in post-independence India and today impacts more intensely on the education system than ever before as a result of the Indian State kowtowing to the dictates of globalization. We recognize that languages are not merely means of communication but are significantly vehicles of our thoughts, cultural history, production processes and the knowledge systems. Therefore, the assault that our mother tongues are facing would mean an erosion of our diverse cultures, national spirit and the collective strength to resist the neo-liberal economic order.
We, therefore, assert that the struggle to protect and develop the languages of the Indian people is also a struggle to save and enrich Indian democracy and our cultural diversity. Accordingly, the Workshop underlines that those of our mother tongues which are not included as of now in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution should also be recognized without further delay. These languages are not static but are undergoing continuous evolution as part of the historical process. If we stop using them, if they are allowed to die, then the cultures they represent shall also die,
including the cultures of the historically oppressed sections of society.
This Workshop also recognizes that global research has validated the age-old understanding that the mother tongue along with other neighborhood languages is the most effective means to acquire knowledge, build values and develop skills. It is this multilingulity of which our mother tongues are also a component provides us with a radical pedagogy for transforming our education system in the interest of wider sections of Indian Society. Multilinguality is now a globally acknowledged new way of viewing education which can serve as a powerful weapon to resist the exclusion of masses of our children and youth from education system.
We express our deep concern that ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’ (henceforth referred to as the RTE Act) has made a mockery of the crucial role of the mother tongue at the formative pre-primary (nursery, KG) and elementary (Class I-VIII) stages by stating that education in the child’s mother tongue will be provided only if it is ‘practicable’
[Section 29 (2) (f)]. By doing this, the RTE Act has played into the hands of market forces and has failed to accord the languages of the Indian people their historic place in education. Thus the RTE Act is bound to exacerbate the process of exclusion of masses of our children and youth from the education system. It also amounts to violation of the Fundamental Rights under Article 19(1)(a) to “freedom of speech and expression” and under Article 21A to education of equitable quality. The RTE Act further denies the statutory Right accorded by the Constitution under Article 350A to the children of the linguistic minorities to be educated through their respective mother tongues at the primary stage.
In light of the above findings, the Workshop recognizes an urgent need to undertake:
a) a critical review of the Three-Language Formula in the National Policy on Education-
1986 (As modified in 1992);
b) radical curricular and pedagogic changes with a view to bring in the emancipative perspective of multilinguality; and
c) urgent and effective measures to unconditionally recognize the role and place of Braille and sign languages in the curriculum from pre-primary stage to higher education as part of Fundamental Right to “freedom of speech and expression” and education of equitable quality and a concrete programme of action to ensure all necessary infrastructural support, including disabled-friendly computer technology, for the same.
This Workshop gives a clarion call to all patriotic and progressive forces of our country to join hands to raise a united struggle in order to accord the various mother tongues of the Indian people their respectful and pedagogically appropriate place as mediums of education in the curriculum from pre-primary to higher education. We further give a call to ensure that all our languages be increasingly used in all aspects of national life - in the judiciary, legislatures and
executive, and for trade and business, information technology and research and all other aspects of higher education. Unless this is done, our Right to receive education through our mother tongues will remain an incomplete agenda.
We further give a call that our struggle for an appropriate space for mother tongue and multilinguality in education must be rooted in resolute resistance to the prevailing policies of privatization, commercialization and corporatization of education and seek banning of all forms of trade and profiteering in education. In order to succeed in this struggle, it is essential to build public pressure on the government to withdraw the offer made to the WTO-GATS which places
Indian education in the clutches of global market forces. Lastly, it must be recognized that the languages of the Indian people will be protected, and will
grow and be enriched, only if we are able to establish a publicly funded Common School System where all schools are neighborhood schools (not the is conceived neighbourhood schools of the RTE Act) requiring children from all sections of society to study together from pre-primary to Class XII. It is only on the foundation of such an education system based on equality and social
justice that the masses can be educated and India can evolve as a democratic, egalitarian, secular and just society.
Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad
Madhya Pradesh, India
04 January 2011
Organised by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE)
at Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh on 2-4 January 2011
A National Call
This Workshop on ‘Language and Education’ organized by the All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE) at Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh on 2-4 January 2011 recognizes the grave danger which all our mother tongues in India are facing today, as a result of the increasing pace of the neo-liberal assault on Indian economy, democratic polity and the education system. The language-cum-education policy which Macaulay initiated in 1835 to reinforce British imperialism, has continued unabated in post-independence India and today impacts more intensely on the education system than ever before as a result of the Indian State kowtowing to the dictates of globalization. We recognize that languages are not merely means of communication but are significantly vehicles of our thoughts, cultural history, production processes and the knowledge systems. Therefore, the assault that our mother tongues are facing would mean an erosion of our diverse cultures, national spirit and the collective strength to resist the neo-liberal economic order.
We, therefore, assert that the struggle to protect and develop the languages of the Indian people is also a struggle to save and enrich Indian democracy and our cultural diversity. Accordingly, the Workshop underlines that those of our mother tongues which are not included as of now in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution should also be recognized without further delay. These languages are not static but are undergoing continuous evolution as part of the historical process. If we stop using them, if they are allowed to die, then the cultures they represent shall also die,
including the cultures of the historically oppressed sections of society.
This Workshop also recognizes that global research has validated the age-old understanding that the mother tongue along with other neighborhood languages is the most effective means to acquire knowledge, build values and develop skills. It is this multilingulity of which our mother tongues are also a component provides us with a radical pedagogy for transforming our education system in the interest of wider sections of Indian Society. Multilinguality is now a globally acknowledged new way of viewing education which can serve as a powerful weapon to resist the exclusion of masses of our children and youth from education system.
We express our deep concern that ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’ (henceforth referred to as the RTE Act) has made a mockery of the crucial role of the mother tongue at the formative pre-primary (nursery, KG) and elementary (Class I-VIII) stages by stating that education in the child’s mother tongue will be provided only if it is ‘practicable’
[Section 29 (2) (f)]. By doing this, the RTE Act has played into the hands of market forces and has failed to accord the languages of the Indian people their historic place in education. Thus the RTE Act is bound to exacerbate the process of exclusion of masses of our children and youth from the education system. It also amounts to violation of the Fundamental Rights under Article 19(1)(a) to “freedom of speech and expression” and under Article 21A to education of equitable quality. The RTE Act further denies the statutory Right accorded by the Constitution under Article 350A to the children of the linguistic minorities to be educated through their respective mother tongues at the primary stage.
In light of the above findings, the Workshop recognizes an urgent need to undertake:
a) a critical review of the Three-Language Formula in the National Policy on Education-
1986 (As modified in 1992);
b) radical curricular and pedagogic changes with a view to bring in the emancipative perspective of multilinguality; and
c) urgent and effective measures to unconditionally recognize the role and place of Braille and sign languages in the curriculum from pre-primary stage to higher education as part of Fundamental Right to “freedom of speech and expression” and education of equitable quality and a concrete programme of action to ensure all necessary infrastructural support, including disabled-friendly computer technology, for the same.
This Workshop gives a clarion call to all patriotic and progressive forces of our country to join hands to raise a united struggle in order to accord the various mother tongues of the Indian people their respectful and pedagogically appropriate place as mediums of education in the curriculum from pre-primary to higher education. We further give a call to ensure that all our languages be increasingly used in all aspects of national life - in the judiciary, legislatures and
executive, and for trade and business, information technology and research and all other aspects of higher education. Unless this is done, our Right to receive education through our mother tongues will remain an incomplete agenda.
We further give a call that our struggle for an appropriate space for mother tongue and multilinguality in education must be rooted in resolute resistance to the prevailing policies of privatization, commercialization and corporatization of education and seek banning of all forms of trade and profiteering in education. In order to succeed in this struggle, it is essential to build public pressure on the government to withdraw the offer made to the WTO-GATS which places
Indian education in the clutches of global market forces. Lastly, it must be recognized that the languages of the Indian people will be protected, and will
grow and be enriched, only if we are able to establish a publicly funded Common School System where all schools are neighborhood schools (not the is conceived neighbourhood schools of the RTE Act) requiring children from all sections of society to study together from pre-primary to Class XII. It is only on the foundation of such an education system based on equality and social
justice that the masses can be educated and India can evolve as a democratic, egalitarian, secular and just society.
Itarsi, Distt. Hoshangabad
Madhya Pradesh, India
04 January 2011
Monday, March 01, 2010
PRESS RELEASE- Right to Education
The All India Forum for Right to Education (AIF-RTE) is going to organize a Parliament March on 24th February 2010 from Ramlila Maidan to the Parliament Street which will culminate in a public meeting on the Parliament Street itself. This March to the Parliament is aimed at exposing the neo-liberal educational agenda being pursued by the UPA Government at the Centre in collaboration with the state/UT governments. About 35 teachers’ and students’ organizations, Right to Education Groups and basti-level community organizations from 16 states will participate in this March in order to save Indian education from the onslaught of the corporate capital and the global market and to place before the nation an alternative political agenda of systemic transformation in the education system and policy.
The AIF-RTE will draw public attention to the rising pace of privatization and commercialization of education, coupled with unbridled profiteering, being promoted by the UPA Government. On the one hand, a free hand is being given to the market forces for trade in education, the government itself, on the other hand, is increasingly handing over and outsourcing the public institutions and schemes to the corporate houses, religious bodies and NGOs. This crisis is now being exacerbated through various forms of Public Private Partnership (PPP) – the latest neo-liberal assault on Indian education system. The Parliament March will also caution the nation to the danger posed by the “offers” made by the UPA Government to General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) under WTO relating to higher education. Further, AIF-RTE will ask the Central government to reverse its policy of abdicating its Constitutional obligation to provide equal opportunity to all children and youth in and through the education system. This Constitutional vision, inherited from the freedom struggle, cannot be achieved unless the State’s commitment to adequate public funding is restored along with a complete ban on all forms of trade in education as a matter of national priority.
The Parliament March on 24th February 2010 shall ask the Central and state governments to,
Review the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 in order to guarantee Fundamental Right to free education of equitable quality up to 18 years of age, including Fundamental Right to balanced nutrition, health support and pre-primary education for children below six years of age;
Replace the farcical Right to Education Act, 2009 with an Act rooted in a fully public-funded ‘Common School System based on Neighborhood Schools’ from pre-primary to Class XII; upgrade infrastructural (including teacher-related), curricular and pedagogic norms and standards of all schools to at least those of the Central Schools;
Provide all necessary support to include the disabled children in regular formal schools;
Upgrade the status of all Para Teachers appointed in schools since the 1990s and merge them in the cadre of regular teachers; ensure that no teacher shall ever be required to perform any task other than teaching;
Redefine ‘FREE EDUCATION’ to include, apart from tuition-free education, exemption from all other direct or contingent expenses required for completing education and above all, the provision of opportunity cost and all necessary support systems for the poor, disadvantaged and the disabled;
Take over all fee-charging private schools, colleges and universities and place them under democratic, decentralized and participative governance at par with state-funded institutions;
Convert all self-financing courses in government colleges and universities to fully public-funded courses;
Stop all forms of Public Private Partnership (PPP) including tax exemptions; free or subsidized land and other hidden subsidies; voucher schools; sale, leasing or renting of government schools or their campuses; outsourcing of government schools and schemes;
[As revealed by the HRD Minister Shri Kapil Sibal yesterday, the private institutions benefiting from PPP shall be free to arbitrarily hike their fees and make profit which makes it necessary to seek a complete ban on PPP]
Reject reports of Sam Pitroda’s Knowledge Commission and Yashpal Committee on higher education as these are embedded in the neo-liberal policy of commoditization, PPP and facilitating the entry of foreign universities and other foreign providers instead of advancing the agenda of improving the quality of the existing government colleges and universities;
Establish at least one comprehensive government university in each district whose academic agenda will include socio-economic development of the region;
Withdraw all proposals for introduction of Foreign Education Providers Bill and Private Universities Bill;
Allocate adequate funds to fill up the cumulative gap of investment building up since 1986 and all required funding thereafter for continuing improvement of the education system while strictly banning the siphoning off the public funds to the corporate houses, religious bodies and NGOs through the PPP mode; and
Withdraw ‘offers’ made to WTO-GATS with respect to higher and professional education lest they become irrevocable ‘commitments’.
The Parliament March will call upon all political parties to support the above agenda in the Parliament as well as the state legislatures and also undertake a political programme to compel the central and state governments to recover the Constitutional agenda of building a democratic, socialist, secular, egalitarian and enlightened society through the education system.
1. Shri Kuldip Nayar, Eminent Journalist and former Member, Rajya Sabha.
2. Prof. Ramakant Agnihotri, Deptt. of Linguistics, Delhi University and Member, AIF-RTE Board of Advisors.
3. Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Shiksha Adhikar Manch, Bhopal & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
4. Sh. Sunil, National Vice-President, Samajwadi Jan Parishad & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
5. Dr. Madhu Prasad, Zakir Husain College, Delhi University & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
6. Sh. Ramesh Patnaik, Organising Secretary, A.P. Save Education Committee, Hyderabad & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
7. Dr. V.N. Sharma, Jharkhand Vigyan Manch, Ranchi & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
8. Dr. Shaheen Ansari, Arkitect India, New Delhi & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
9. Ms. Geeta Athreya, Member, AIF-RTE Parliament Rally Organising Committee.
10. Ms. Guddi, Committee for Equal Fundamental Right to Education, Mumbai & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
11. Sh. T. Surjit Singh, Synroplang for Social Transformation, Shillong, Meghalaya & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
12. Sh. Ravi Rai, General Secretary, All India Students Association (AISA) & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
13. Sh. Arman Ansari, Vidyarthi Yuvjan Sabha & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
14. Sh. Manoj, All India Revolutionary Students Organisation (AIRSO) & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
The AIF-RTE will draw public attention to the rising pace of privatization and commercialization of education, coupled with unbridled profiteering, being promoted by the UPA Government. On the one hand, a free hand is being given to the market forces for trade in education, the government itself, on the other hand, is increasingly handing over and outsourcing the public institutions and schemes to the corporate houses, religious bodies and NGOs. This crisis is now being exacerbated through various forms of Public Private Partnership (PPP) – the latest neo-liberal assault on Indian education system. The Parliament March will also caution the nation to the danger posed by the “offers” made by the UPA Government to General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) under WTO relating to higher education. Further, AIF-RTE will ask the Central government to reverse its policy of abdicating its Constitutional obligation to provide equal opportunity to all children and youth in and through the education system. This Constitutional vision, inherited from the freedom struggle, cannot be achieved unless the State’s commitment to adequate public funding is restored along with a complete ban on all forms of trade in education as a matter of national priority.
The Parliament March on 24th February 2010 shall ask the Central and state governments to,
Review the 86th Constitutional Amendment Act, 2002 in order to guarantee Fundamental Right to free education of equitable quality up to 18 years of age, including Fundamental Right to balanced nutrition, health support and pre-primary education for children below six years of age;
Replace the farcical Right to Education Act, 2009 with an Act rooted in a fully public-funded ‘Common School System based on Neighborhood Schools’ from pre-primary to Class XII; upgrade infrastructural (including teacher-related), curricular and pedagogic norms and standards of all schools to at least those of the Central Schools;
Provide all necessary support to include the disabled children in regular formal schools;
Upgrade the status of all Para Teachers appointed in schools since the 1990s and merge them in the cadre of regular teachers; ensure that no teacher shall ever be required to perform any task other than teaching;
Redefine ‘FREE EDUCATION’ to include, apart from tuition-free education, exemption from all other direct or contingent expenses required for completing education and above all, the provision of opportunity cost and all necessary support systems for the poor, disadvantaged and the disabled;
Take over all fee-charging private schools, colleges and universities and place them under democratic, decentralized and participative governance at par with state-funded institutions;
Convert all self-financing courses in government colleges and universities to fully public-funded courses;
Stop all forms of Public Private Partnership (PPP) including tax exemptions; free or subsidized land and other hidden subsidies; voucher schools; sale, leasing or renting of government schools or their campuses; outsourcing of government schools and schemes;
[As revealed by the HRD Minister Shri Kapil Sibal yesterday, the private institutions benefiting from PPP shall be free to arbitrarily hike their fees and make profit which makes it necessary to seek a complete ban on PPP]
Reject reports of Sam Pitroda’s Knowledge Commission and Yashpal Committee on higher education as these are embedded in the neo-liberal policy of commoditization, PPP and facilitating the entry of foreign universities and other foreign providers instead of advancing the agenda of improving the quality of the existing government colleges and universities;
Establish at least one comprehensive government university in each district whose academic agenda will include socio-economic development of the region;
Withdraw all proposals for introduction of Foreign Education Providers Bill and Private Universities Bill;
Allocate adequate funds to fill up the cumulative gap of investment building up since 1986 and all required funding thereafter for continuing improvement of the education system while strictly banning the siphoning off the public funds to the corporate houses, religious bodies and NGOs through the PPP mode; and
Withdraw ‘offers’ made to WTO-GATS with respect to higher and professional education lest they become irrevocable ‘commitments’.
The Parliament March will call upon all political parties to support the above agenda in the Parliament as well as the state legislatures and also undertake a political programme to compel the central and state governments to recover the Constitutional agenda of building a democratic, socialist, secular, egalitarian and enlightened society through the education system.
1. Shri Kuldip Nayar, Eminent Journalist and former Member, Rajya Sabha.
2. Prof. Ramakant Agnihotri, Deptt. of Linguistics, Delhi University and Member, AIF-RTE Board of Advisors.
3. Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Shiksha Adhikar Manch, Bhopal & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
4. Sh. Sunil, National Vice-President, Samajwadi Jan Parishad & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
5. Dr. Madhu Prasad, Zakir Husain College, Delhi University & Member, AIF-RTE Presidium.
6. Sh. Ramesh Patnaik, Organising Secretary, A.P. Save Education Committee, Hyderabad & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
7. Dr. V.N. Sharma, Jharkhand Vigyan Manch, Ranchi & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
8. Dr. Shaheen Ansari, Arkitect India, New Delhi & Member, AIF-RTE Secretariat.
9. Ms. Geeta Athreya, Member, AIF-RTE Parliament Rally Organising Committee.
10. Ms. Guddi, Committee for Equal Fundamental Right to Education, Mumbai & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
11. Sh. T. Surjit Singh, Synroplang for Social Transformation, Shillong, Meghalaya & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
12. Sh. Ravi Rai, General Secretary, All India Students Association (AISA) & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
13. Sh. Arman Ansari, Vidyarthi Yuvjan Sabha & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
14. Sh. Manoj, All India Revolutionary Students Organisation (AIRSO) & Member, AIF-RTE National Council.
Monday, April 27, 2009
Fee Hike, Parents Associations & Right to (Quality) Education
Children are born into the nation, the religion and the social class with which their family identifies. Few will dispute the power of the family as a socialising agent. I believe major stakeholders in education are parents followed by teachers, students and government & civil societies etc. The government has to play an important role in providing access to quality education to all children but HOW?
The success or failure of the education process depends on the interaction of the first three groups and the changing roles they play in. In addition, they are affected by government policies and civil societies’ activities.
The most important stakeholders, parents, have not been playing their role in an organized way to claim/ demand right to free and quality education for their children. The reason for not involving in such activities may vary from parents to parents depending on their socio-economic status. Some parents may not have time and others may not have courage to fight for their constitutional rights. Some have money to send their children in so called best schools. Reasons for not joining any movement or agitation as organized parents may differ but the end result remains the same- Compromise With Right To Education.
I am a student of history and I know that small incidents lead to historical change in a society. 4-5 months back parents of Faridabad organized and forced school authorities to reconsider their decisions to raise fee. Now similar activities can be seen in NOIDA where parents are protesting outside schools. Their pressures are being felt and some of schools are considering to close their schools for sometime. Bal Bharti Public School, NOIDA has already declared 4 days holidays.
What Next?
My suggestion, I will wait for yours:
I am thinking loudly:
The present agitation is centered on Fee Hike. Parents are more concerned about fee hike and not on improvement in quality of education in government schools which are free.
Is it right time to contact such parents’ organizations and guide them with some logistic support to fight for fundamental rights of free and quality education? Should we provide them a direction- right based approach for their agitation?
Should we organize an advocacy among parents to empower government schools to deliver quality education?
How can we do?
1. Preparing teachers profiles of government & pvt. Schools.
Generally teachers in government schools are more qualified.
Then why are they not delivering? Parents need think on it.
2. Facilities
Government schools provide (officially as per the policy) books to all, dress to girls, scholarships.
Then why are they not delivering? Parents need think on it.
3. We can think on these lines to compare govt. & pvt. schools
Should we convince parents that with the money, which they pay to the pvt. Schools as fee, can be invested in improving the educational quality of government schools in their locality. Can we transform this agitation into a movement for Common School System based on Neighborhood Schools. CSS can save public and government money on:
• Saving on hostels
• Saving on school transport
• Saving on model schools
• Saving on scholarships
• Saving due to fees
• No reservation needed
Some of the parents may not be aware of these evidence/ facts
i) In most countries the whole education is provided free
ii) ‘Free’ is a part of the UN/UNESCO resolution
iii) a part of the Convention on the children’s rights
iv) It is the Constitutional obligation
v) It ensures equity and justice
Question to Address:
• Why should parents send their children to government schools?
• And how to engage them to fight for their rights- specially right to free and quality education in their own locality?
Objective/Goal/ KFA???:
• Quality of education in govt. school at par with the best school of the area
• CR centric school syllabus
• All children in the govt. school
• Teaches & parents jointly taking responsibilities for quality education
• Awareness about CR
Intervention Tools:
• Teachers training
• Sensitizing parents and youths
It is right time to catch them.
• Engagement of local youths
• Teachers’ motivation level
We need to work on motivation level of a teacher also.
Teachers Concern:
• We have to understand teacher’s problem also.
• Relive them from their non-educational responsibilities
Eg. Teachers of govt. schools do all sorts of things except teaching. Now they will be engaged in election process. They are also involved in survey (Census) etc.
• Accountability aspect
From Teachers points of views
From Parents points of views
From Youth points of views
I am just sharing my thoughts.
I am open for comment, criticism and suggestion.
Please find a report “Noida School In Fee Fracas, Stir Spreads” attached with it. It was published in HT/ April 23, 2009.
Thanks & regards,
Shaheen
Noida School In Fee Fracas, Stir Spreads
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=8b4faa32-c9f5-46d6-b993-28b6f97b0612&Headline=Noida+school+in+fee+fracas%2c+stir+spreads
The agitation over the hike in school fees in Delhi and the national capital region gained momentum on Wednesday.
As parents continued to protest outside schools, Bal Bharati Public School, Noida, declared a four-day holiday fearing a lockout. “We were informed about a planned agitation in front of the school. We didn’t want to risk the safety of our students and declared a holiday,” said principal S. Bhattacharjee.
In Faridabad, protests, dharnas and blockades on highways and at schools and administrative offices have become common. Some parents are on hunger strike. In response, at least 60 schools observed a one-day holiday last Friday.
Parents are furious. “The additional district magistrate had said schools shouldn’t charge fee arrears and the hike shouldn’t be more than 25 per cent,” said A.K. Singh, president of the Noida Parents Welfare Association. “But several schools haven’t gone along with the suggestions.”
The Delhi education department had passed an order to increase fees in a staggered manner with the hike ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500 per month.
However, parents claim many schools have hiked tuition fees beyond that limit.
“Almost all schools have increased the security fee, building fund, development fund, annual charges and computer fee. So, overall increase is more than Rs 500 per month,” said Aanchal Sharma, a parent. “Schools increase fees by 10 per cent every year along with annual and development charges. During this economic crisis, they should consider parents’ position,” she added.
But the schools are in no mood to relent. “The government has already clarified that schools can increase tuition fees in order to pay increased salaries of teachers. Since we change 15 per cent of tuition fees as development fees, the latter is bound to increase,” said S.L. Jain, chairperson of National Progressive Schools’ Conference, an association of 100 public schools.
PS
When classes are small enough to allow individual student-teacher interaction, a minor miracle occurs: Teachers teach and students learn.
The success or failure of the education process depends on the interaction of the first three groups and the changing roles they play in. In addition, they are affected by government policies and civil societies’ activities.
The most important stakeholders, parents, have not been playing their role in an organized way to claim/ demand right to free and quality education for their children. The reason for not involving in such activities may vary from parents to parents depending on their socio-economic status. Some parents may not have time and others may not have courage to fight for their constitutional rights. Some have money to send their children in so called best schools. Reasons for not joining any movement or agitation as organized parents may differ but the end result remains the same- Compromise With Right To Education.
I am a student of history and I know that small incidents lead to historical change in a society. 4-5 months back parents of Faridabad organized and forced school authorities to reconsider their decisions to raise fee. Now similar activities can be seen in NOIDA where parents are protesting outside schools. Their pressures are being felt and some of schools are considering to close their schools for sometime. Bal Bharti Public School, NOIDA has already declared 4 days holidays.
What Next?
My suggestion, I will wait for yours:
I am thinking loudly:
The present agitation is centered on Fee Hike. Parents are more concerned about fee hike and not on improvement in quality of education in government schools which are free.
Is it right time to contact such parents’ organizations and guide them with some logistic support to fight for fundamental rights of free and quality education? Should we provide them a direction- right based approach for their agitation?
Should we organize an advocacy among parents to empower government schools to deliver quality education?
How can we do?
1. Preparing teachers profiles of government & pvt. Schools.
Generally teachers in government schools are more qualified.
Then why are they not delivering? Parents need think on it.
2. Facilities
Government schools provide (officially as per the policy) books to all, dress to girls, scholarships.
Then why are they not delivering? Parents need think on it.
3. We can think on these lines to compare govt. & pvt. schools
Should we convince parents that with the money, which they pay to the pvt. Schools as fee, can be invested in improving the educational quality of government schools in their locality. Can we transform this agitation into a movement for Common School System based on Neighborhood Schools. CSS can save public and government money on:
• Saving on hostels
• Saving on school transport
• Saving on model schools
• Saving on scholarships
• Saving due to fees
• No reservation needed
Some of the parents may not be aware of these evidence/ facts
i) In most countries the whole education is provided free
ii) ‘Free’ is a part of the UN/UNESCO resolution
iii) a part of the Convention on the children’s rights
iv) It is the Constitutional obligation
v) It ensures equity and justice
Question to Address:
• Why should parents send their children to government schools?
• And how to engage them to fight for their rights- specially right to free and quality education in their own locality?
Objective/Goal/ KFA???:
• Quality of education in govt. school at par with the best school of the area
• CR centric school syllabus
• All children in the govt. school
• Teaches & parents jointly taking responsibilities for quality education
• Awareness about CR
Intervention Tools:
• Teachers training
• Sensitizing parents and youths
It is right time to catch them.
• Engagement of local youths
• Teachers’ motivation level
We need to work on motivation level of a teacher also.
Teachers Concern:
• We have to understand teacher’s problem also.
• Relive them from their non-educational responsibilities
Eg. Teachers of govt. schools do all sorts of things except teaching. Now they will be engaged in election process. They are also involved in survey (Census) etc.
• Accountability aspect
From Teachers points of views
From Parents points of views
From Youth points of views
I am just sharing my thoughts.
I am open for comment, criticism and suggestion.
Please find a report “Noida School In Fee Fracas, Stir Spreads” attached with it. It was published in HT/ April 23, 2009.
Thanks & regards,
Shaheen
Noida School In Fee Fracas, Stir Spreads
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=8b4faa32-c9f5-46d6-b993-28b6f97b0612&Headline=Noida+school+in+fee+fracas%2c+stir+spreads
The agitation over the hike in school fees in Delhi and the national capital region gained momentum on Wednesday.
As parents continued to protest outside schools, Bal Bharati Public School, Noida, declared a four-day holiday fearing a lockout. “We were informed about a planned agitation in front of the school. We didn’t want to risk the safety of our students and declared a holiday,” said principal S. Bhattacharjee.
In Faridabad, protests, dharnas and blockades on highways and at schools and administrative offices have become common. Some parents are on hunger strike. In response, at least 60 schools observed a one-day holiday last Friday.
Parents are furious. “The additional district magistrate had said schools shouldn’t charge fee arrears and the hike shouldn’t be more than 25 per cent,” said A.K. Singh, president of the Noida Parents Welfare Association. “But several schools haven’t gone along with the suggestions.”
The Delhi education department had passed an order to increase fees in a staggered manner with the hike ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500 per month.
However, parents claim many schools have hiked tuition fees beyond that limit.
“Almost all schools have increased the security fee, building fund, development fund, annual charges and computer fee. So, overall increase is more than Rs 500 per month,” said Aanchal Sharma, a parent. “Schools increase fees by 10 per cent every year along with annual and development charges. During this economic crisis, they should consider parents’ position,” she added.
But the schools are in no mood to relent. “The government has already clarified that schools can increase tuition fees in order to pay increased salaries of teachers. Since we change 15 per cent of tuition fees as development fees, the latter is bound to increase,” said S.L. Jain, chairperson of National Progressive Schools’ Conference, an association of 100 public schools.
PS
When classes are small enough to allow individual student-teacher interaction, a minor miracle occurs: Teachers teach and students learn.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Field Plan
Project Management Team:
Project Manager: 1
Field Manager: 1
Quality Control & Validation Manager: 1
Supervisors: 5
Data Entry Incharge: 1
Data Entry Personnel: 5
Investigators: 50
Timeline: 7 weeks for Delhi
Delivery time: Every Monday before 6:30 PM (Weekly Delivery System)
Billing & Payment: Weekly billing & payments in 2 weeks after the date of billing (15 days)
Advance: Rs. 50,000 (fifty thousand only) to start the survey .
Deliverables: 10 questionnaires per booth area
03 photographs per booth area
Coverage/ list of cities:
The list is given in order of priority.
1st Round
We will start from Delhi and expand towards NOIDA, Ghaziabd, Faridabad, and Gurgaon.
2nd Round
Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Thane, Pune
Kolkatta and sorroundings
3rd round
Chennai , Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Gandhinagar, Coimbatore and
Surat
Project Manager: 1
Field Manager: 1
Quality Control & Validation Manager: 1
Supervisors: 5
Data Entry Incharge: 1
Data Entry Personnel: 5
Investigators: 50
Timeline: 7 weeks for Delhi
Delivery time: Every Monday before 6:30 PM (Weekly Delivery System)
Billing & Payment: Weekly billing & payments in 2 weeks after the date of billing (15 days)
Advance: Rs. 50,000 (fifty thousand only) to start the survey .
Deliverables: 10 questionnaires per booth area
03 photographs per booth area
Coverage/ list of cities:
The list is given in order of priority.
1st Round
We will start from Delhi and expand towards NOIDA, Ghaziabd, Faridabad, and Gurgaon.
2nd Round
Mumbai, Greater Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, Thane, Pune
Kolkatta and sorroundings
3rd round
Chennai , Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahemdabad, Gandhinagar, Coimbatore and
Surat
Friday, March 06, 2009
Executive Summary: Madrasa Seminar Report
Madrasas are known for being traditional seats of Islamic learning in modern India. Irrespective of the connotations the generic term madrasa carries in the contemporary political culture, thousands of madrasas are busy in improving the literacy level of the masses, without incurring the Government any expense, in most of the cases.
Two groups emerged during the delibration on the reform of madrasa education system. The majority of the views were in support of upgrading the education system in madrasa. Equipping Madrasas with modern educational infrastructure will contribute significantly towards making their role more effective in shaping young minds and their career. There is no denying the fact that they need to incorporate secular subjects in their curriculum. What is more important is to introduce student-friendly teaching methodology in the madrasa education system. Learning and then internalizing basic science, speailly computer skills, into the madrasa ethos will be of great help in this connection. These measures not only boost the morale of students, the madrasa graduates but also go a long way in enhancing their interface with the market economy. Consequently, they will be able to push their economic aspirations beyond the boundaries of madrasa-masjid.
Backwardness of Indian Muslims in the field of modern education makes chances of India to emerge as a developed nation bleaker. Modernization of Madrasas offers a solution for the problem.
The fact that madrasas still enjoy an important place in the immediate cosmological scheme of the majority of the Indian Muslims, spoke volumes about the relevance of the seminar. In the view of ongoing changes in different walks of national life, drastic restructuring is required in Madrasa education system so that the madrasa going sections of Indian Muslims can meaningfully respond to the changing needs of contemporary Indian society at large.
It was felt throughout the seminar that the madrasa education system has produced some scholars of international fame but majority of talaba is deprived of the job opportunities. How many madrasa graduates could be accommodated in mosques and madrasas? Majority of them fail to get jobs in other institutions or open market due to their ignorance of modern skills and knowledge. It should be borne in the mind that it is the economically backward sections of the society who send their children to madrasas. Those who could afford send their children to public schools to offer quality education for their children.
The seminar was a big leap towards developing a synthesis of the classical and the modern subjects. The focal accent was on exploring possibilities of using education as a mean to make Muslims familiar with the ways to integrate the revealed fundamentals and the ever transforming world of modern knowledge. It was also attempted to demonstrate how the changing realities of the physical world can be explained without diluting the core of the traditional thought.
Modernisation, in the context of the madrasas, is primarily understood in terms of the introduction of science and technology subjects in the Madrasa curriculum. A comprehensive course-structure for the discipline of history, for instance, may be one milestone towards achieving the goal. Likewise, the study of social sciences, at least one of vernacular languages and English may help the madrasa graduates in developing a symbiotic relation with the world they live in. At the primary and intermediate levels, the students need exposure to key subjects taught in the alternative system of education. An arrangement for professional training of the students should constitute an integral part of the madrasa modernization programme as the same will enable them to meet up the economic expectations of their family.
The seminar aimed at developing a roadmap for upgradtion of Madrasa Education System in India. Dr. Syed Shahid Mahdi drew attention towards the difference between the maktab and the madrasa as two terms widely used in connection with the education of the Muslim community. Maktab means Muslim elementary school (small madrasa). Until the 20th century, boys were instructed in Qur’ān recitation, reading, writing, and grammar in maktabs, which were the only means of mass education. The teacher was not always highly qualified and had other religious duties, and the equipment of a maktab was often simple. Madrasa means school: Islamic school for teaching Islamic religion and law.
Curriculum of some madrasas, especially those of the South India, symbolizes an interesting convergence of the secular and religious sciences. Some scholars have made this point repeatedly in the light of the field work carried out across the country. The madrasas of North India have proved very reluctant in incorporating the modern sciences in their curriculum. But there are exceptions in this part of India also. Jameatul Hidaya, Jaipur which has included technical subjects in its core curriculum, is also a case in point in this regard.
There were some arguments against uniformity of syllabus. Dr Ishtiaq Danish was critical of development of uniform curriculum for madrasas throughout the country. He questioned about the very concept of uniformity. He was advocating about unity in diversity concept. The syllabus should reflect regional variations.
Speaking on the Evolution of Madrasa Education, Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad Aahan has mentioned milestones of the education history of the Muslim community. During the 11th century, the Muslims established elementary and secondary schools, "Madrasas" or colleges, and even universities at cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad, mostly using Arabic as the medium of instruction. During the medieval period, there was excellent interaction between Indian and Islamic traditions in all fields of knowledge like indology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, painting, architecture, mathematics, medicine and astronomy.
Discussing about the politics of madras curriculum Dr. Ahan sys that the Nizamiah school, like the madrasas which, following it, were set up in other parts of the Muslim world, was intended to train bureaucrats for the royal courts and the administration, as well as judges (qazis), jurisprudents (fuqaha) and muftis qualified to issue fatawa or legal opinions, all of whom were appointed by the state to staff various levels of the bureaucracy. Typically, teachers as well as students were drawn from the elite, and there seems to have been little provision for the education of children from the poorer classes. The thirteenth century commentator, Ziauddin Barani, a Turkish noble attached to the court of the Delhi Sultans, insisted in his Fatawa-i-Jahandari that higher religious education and top religious and administrative posts were to be kept as a closely-guarded preserve of the foreign-born Turkish, Central Asian, Iranian and Arab Muslim elite. The poorer classes of the Muslims, in India consisting largely of ‘low’ caste indigenous converts and their descendants, were to be content merely with knowledge of the basic principles of the faith. Now the things has been changed. There is a great need to relook at the syllabus.
Prof. Baseer Ahmad Khan gave many reasons to support the reform in the education system. Despite losing their relevance to the present times, Persian and Greek Logic are still part of the Madrasa curriculum. Hindi should replace Persian there. But the reform in the madrasa education system can be achieved only after taking the ulama into confidence. The madrasa authorities will not agree to reform their curricula as the same has direct relationship with the economy of the madrasa system and also with the clout the ulama enjoy in the society. Hence, it is better to come up with an alternate education system. In this regard, the government should establish model madrasas where it will be possible to teach some modern subjects also, along with the religious sciences.
We need to think about the educational progress of the non-madrasa going 96 percent of Muslim population as well. Moreover, the government should ensure the admission of the Muslim children in its educational institutions.
There was a group of people which is critical about change in the madrasa education system. Dr. Yogi Sikand explains that the madrasas are established with the aim to produce specialists in various disciplines of the Islamic Studies. Hence, any reform initiative to reform the madrasas has to take this nature of the madrasas into account. There should be reform within the madrasa system to make its products play their role in the society in a better and engaged fashion. It is not wise to restrict the reform debate only to the curriculum. There are other related issues which call for modification as well. For instance, the salary of the madrasa staff is very low. Likewise, most of the madrasas, due to paucity of the adequate funds, can not offer balanced diet to their students. Living condition prevailing in majority of the madrasas can not be categorised as good for the health of the boarders as well as the day-scholars.
Prof. Faizanullah Farouqui started his speech with the importance of the madrasa. He puts emphasis on that Madrasas should remain madrasas and keep teaching what they teach. An arrangement should be worked out for combined education till Munshi (secondary level of schooling). Then, there should be provision for students to choose whether between a programme of religious sciences (offered in madrasas) and secular sciences (offered in government schools/colleges).
Religious education has lost its link with the job market. Not long before, the madrasas used to churn out man power for the bureaucracy and other courtly needs. The situation has changed after introduction of Macaulay’s policies. Prof. Farouqui emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between the religious education and the job economy.
Deepika shows how a collaboration between a religion organization (Jamiatul Ulama-i-Hind) and secular organizations (Kachh Mahila Parivar Sangthan & Jan Vikas Udan) can produce desired result for the community in terms of education and communal harmony.
Together they started an initiative to look into the issue of access to education and also of the quality of education, with special reference to the Muslim children in Gujarat. According to the Sachar Committee Report, 25% Muslim children have till date no access to the education. So, our effort is largely to respond to the problem of access to education among the Muslim community. Maktabs and madrasas differ significantly from each other. The latter provide more holistic kind of education while the former restricts them to the teaching of basics of religion
Experiments with Reforms Within Madrasa Institutions was a very interactive session. Prof. Roger Jeffrey shared his experience in Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh. He mentioned four points and explained them in detail. Prof. Jeffery discussed that every proposal to reform the madrasas, should have taken into account all the varieties of madrasa. Main driver of sending children to the madrasas is the pathetic condition of the government infrastructure of education in Bijnor and in most of the country. There is also need to understand the nature of the training these madrasas provide, one needs to understand the system. The system there is that they prepare the students for joining the Deoband madrasa. Those who do well in the examinations, are considered eligible to enroll in Deoband madrasa.
Zubair Hudawi is product of Kerala Madras System, which is considered be the most progressive system of education. It is interesting, Said Hudawi, to know that since the arrival of Islam in India, Kerala has never been under any ruler who happened to be a Muslim. However, unlike other parts of the country, especially the North India, the Keralite Muslims have hardly had any experience of religious intolerance or suppression. Denominationally speaking, they are divided into three major groups: Sunnis, (who are Shafiites in their jurisprudential outlook and also follow teachings of Abul Hasan Ash’ari), Mojahid Movement (Ahl-i-Hadis Movement) and Jama’at-i-Islami. What characterizes the Keralite Muslims is the collaboration of the ulama and umara (businessmen and also the secularly educated persons) for the cause of education.
Maulana Syed Salman Nadwi started his lecture with thanking Ark Foundation for initiating such a debate and bring religious and secular scholars on a platform. He said that the seminar is a meaningful intervention to ponder upon the educational problems of the Indian Muslims. He said that Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama was established on the principle of a balanced synthesis of the classical education with the modern. Its chief purpose was (a) to evolve a proper integration between the eternal fundamentals of the faith and ever-changing values of human knowledge and learning and (b) to bring about harmony and cohesion among the different groups and schools of thought of Ahl-i-Sunnat Muslims. As Islamic sciences are living, evolving and progressive and education was subject to the law of change and reform, hence it was essential that the system of education too, should change and evolve with time for needs of Islamic Millat.
Maulana Syed Salman Nadwi described the silent features of the syllabus. The Darul Uloom concentrated particularly on the holy Qur'an and introduced it into syllabus as a living book and an eternal message. At the initial stages a simple study of the Qur'an was prescribed. For moral training and discipline a course of the Traditions of the holy Prophet dealing with his noble virtues and ethical and social conduct was included in the curriculum. For secondary and higher classes the commentary of the Qur'an (Tafsir) and selected books of Traditions and fundamentals were prescribed for study. Full attention was paid to the Arabic language since it held the key to the understanding of the Book and the Sunnah. Without knowledge of it, it was not possible to avail oneself of the vast treasurehouse of Islamic thought and learning. Moreover, it was the sole medium of contact with the entire Muslim world. The Darul Uloom thus, included Arabic in its syllabus both as a classical and a modern language. Many books were specially got written by it for the purpose of promoting the study of Arabic language. The importance and usefulness of the endeavours of the Nadwatul 'Ulama in this respect have been acknowledged not only throughout India but in the Arab world also. Thanks to these efforts, the Darul Uloom has been able to produce a number of Arabic scholars and writers whose proficiency and merit has won whole-hearted praise even from the literary circles of the Arab countries.
Addressing the apprehension of some audience Zafar Agha asked why the Christian missionaries who run quality educational institutions across India do not feel threatened while running institutions of modern education? They do not perceive modern education as a conspiracy to obsolete their identity, culture and religion. They also are religious experts. Why do only ulama buy the conspiracy theory? It is true that the Muslims have been suffering from several crises for last two hundred years and consequently they have developed a complex which encourages them to take all initiatives for change as conspiracy. This issue has assumed a critical importance in the contemporary debate on the Muslim situation in the world. One needs to understand it in totality.
Prof. Akhtarul Wasey started with a note that the group wants to work with ulama as friends on the project of the madrasa reform and our intention is not to interfere with their activities. This seminar should be seen as an expression of the concerns of the secular intelligentsia for the educational development of the Indian Muslim community for the betterment of which madrasas had been working for centuries.
The debate of madrasa reform is not new. Only 30 years after the establishment of the Deoband madrasa, ulama felt the need to reform and assembled in Madrasa Faiz-i-Aam, Kanpur for deliberations. Here they, under the chairmanship of Maulvi Lutfullah, agreed to come up with a new madrasa, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, which would offer the reformed curriculum. Not before long, Maulana Shibli Nomani, one of driving forces behind the new madrasa, got disheartened with the Nadwa programme of reforms. It failed to meet his expectations and standards of reform. Around hundred years ago from now, he started expressing his dissatisfaction and concerns in this regard, through his writings and speeches.
We should acknowledge contribution of the madrasas in making Muslims literate. A major section of the present Urdu readers have got their education in madrasas.
Recommendations:
The last session of the Seminar “National Consultation On Madrasa Education System: Towards Drafting A Roadmap For Reform” was devoted to discuss recommendation of the two days seminar. There were several recommendations. Following are the recommendation which have been accepted by all the participants in the seminar.
1. The Communication gap between the madrasas and government universities calls for immediate attention. It should be bridged by initiating a process of dialogue between them.
2. A team consisting of ulama and secular intelligentsia should be constituted to study the issue and come up with some concrete suggestions. The team should visit prominent madrasas of India and present its views before authorities of these insititutions.
3. The madrasa curriculum should be refashioned in a way that theology relating to the contemporary issues should receive more time in the academic schedule of the madrasas.
4. Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow had organised a seminar on Issues in the Madrasa Curriculum. All the papers presented in it are available in a printed volume titled Rudad-i-Chaman. It should be acquired and studied for better understanding.
5. The Central Madrasa Board should be an autonomous institution although affiliation to it should be voluntary.
6. Madrasas should incorporate in their curriculum some courses/modules on domestic violence or women rights to sensitize talaba with concerned issues/themes.
7. Ark Foundation may open a training center where ulama can acquaint them with the modern issues while students of secular education can learn basics of religious sciences.
8. Teachers Training for Madrasa teachers.
9. Youth Engagement Programmes
10. Creation of Minority Education and Employment Fund
11. Establishment of Minority Education and Employment Exchange Centre to provide:
• Educational facilities
• Coaching Centre for preparation of entrance test in various professional courses like medical, engineering, BCA, BBA, MCA, MBA,etc.
• Coaching and guidance for preparation of government jobs like civil cervices, police department, defense, information, statistics, etc.
• Vocational and Technical Training Centre
• Customized Training of students as per the requirement of particular company or industry
• Links with industrialists and corporate bodies for placement of trained students
• Teachers Training for Madrasas and other minority institutions
• Updating the syllabus to match the demand of job market
• Monitoring and Evaluation of ongoing programmes
• Research and Survey
• Social Audit of all the Waqf Boards of India
B. Following suggestions were made with special reference to the madrasas situated in the state of Assam:
There was a group of scholars who had specific suggestion for Madrasas in North East, specially Assam. Here those recommendations.
11. A State Level Council for Educational Research and Training in the pattern of NCERT is necessary for writing, translating and publishing books mentioned in the madrasa syllabus. It should also decide the length of the syllabus at least for the government madrasas Eminent Muslim and non-Muslim Academicians, Senior and experienced prominent Madrasa teachers can be taken as members of the Council.
12. Separate Teachers Training Colleges—at least a couple of them—should be established in the state for madrasa teachers. These colleges should conduct B. Ed or E.T.E. degrees for the teachers of Senior, Title, and if possible Qaumi madrasas. These degrees should be made necessary eligibility for the appointment of madrasa teachers.
13. Arabic or the mother tongue should be made as the medium of instruction in the provincialised and Qaumi madrassas. Special focus should be laid on the learning of modern communicative Arabic. The contents of the syllabus of Arabic language needs urgent reconsideration at least for the provincialised madrasas.
14. A Central Madrassa Board in the pattern of C.B.S.E is required for the proper conduct of examination and smooth functioning of madrassas. Different types of vocational and professional courses should be introduced at the initiative of central and state governments in the provincialised and community-run madrassas to avoid increasing number of unemployment among the madrassa graduates. The Assam government should launch Pre-Tibia courses in selected madrasas so that madrasa students become eligible for direct admission into medical courses like B.U.M.S. and so on.
15. In this era of latest technology modern teaching instruments/electronic equipments which make teaching easier and understandable for students should be granted to madrassas. The Government, NGOs, and the madrasa management committees should organize vocational training for existing teachers on different vocational and life skill education.
16. At least one Counseling and Guidance centre for madrassa students should be opened in each district at the initiative of community and government agencies.
17. Since Qaumi madrassas are run by different Muslim organisations with different interests, a coordination committee should be set up to maintain good relationship between these madrasas.
Two groups emerged during the delibration on the reform of madrasa education system. The majority of the views were in support of upgrading the education system in madrasa. Equipping Madrasas with modern educational infrastructure will contribute significantly towards making their role more effective in shaping young minds and their career. There is no denying the fact that they need to incorporate secular subjects in their curriculum. What is more important is to introduce student-friendly teaching methodology in the madrasa education system. Learning and then internalizing basic science, speailly computer skills, into the madrasa ethos will be of great help in this connection. These measures not only boost the morale of students, the madrasa graduates but also go a long way in enhancing their interface with the market economy. Consequently, they will be able to push their economic aspirations beyond the boundaries of madrasa-masjid.
Backwardness of Indian Muslims in the field of modern education makes chances of India to emerge as a developed nation bleaker. Modernization of Madrasas offers a solution for the problem.
The fact that madrasas still enjoy an important place in the immediate cosmological scheme of the majority of the Indian Muslims, spoke volumes about the relevance of the seminar. In the view of ongoing changes in different walks of national life, drastic restructuring is required in Madrasa education system so that the madrasa going sections of Indian Muslims can meaningfully respond to the changing needs of contemporary Indian society at large.
It was felt throughout the seminar that the madrasa education system has produced some scholars of international fame but majority of talaba is deprived of the job opportunities. How many madrasa graduates could be accommodated in mosques and madrasas? Majority of them fail to get jobs in other institutions or open market due to their ignorance of modern skills and knowledge. It should be borne in the mind that it is the economically backward sections of the society who send their children to madrasas. Those who could afford send their children to public schools to offer quality education for their children.
The seminar was a big leap towards developing a synthesis of the classical and the modern subjects. The focal accent was on exploring possibilities of using education as a mean to make Muslims familiar with the ways to integrate the revealed fundamentals and the ever transforming world of modern knowledge. It was also attempted to demonstrate how the changing realities of the physical world can be explained without diluting the core of the traditional thought.
Modernisation, in the context of the madrasas, is primarily understood in terms of the introduction of science and technology subjects in the Madrasa curriculum. A comprehensive course-structure for the discipline of history, for instance, may be one milestone towards achieving the goal. Likewise, the study of social sciences, at least one of vernacular languages and English may help the madrasa graduates in developing a symbiotic relation with the world they live in. At the primary and intermediate levels, the students need exposure to key subjects taught in the alternative system of education. An arrangement for professional training of the students should constitute an integral part of the madrasa modernization programme as the same will enable them to meet up the economic expectations of their family.
The seminar aimed at developing a roadmap for upgradtion of Madrasa Education System in India. Dr. Syed Shahid Mahdi drew attention towards the difference between the maktab and the madrasa as two terms widely used in connection with the education of the Muslim community. Maktab means Muslim elementary school (small madrasa). Until the 20th century, boys were instructed in Qur’ān recitation, reading, writing, and grammar in maktabs, which were the only means of mass education. The teacher was not always highly qualified and had other religious duties, and the equipment of a maktab was often simple. Madrasa means school: Islamic school for teaching Islamic religion and law.
Curriculum of some madrasas, especially those of the South India, symbolizes an interesting convergence of the secular and religious sciences. Some scholars have made this point repeatedly in the light of the field work carried out across the country. The madrasas of North India have proved very reluctant in incorporating the modern sciences in their curriculum. But there are exceptions in this part of India also. Jameatul Hidaya, Jaipur which has included technical subjects in its core curriculum, is also a case in point in this regard.
There were some arguments against uniformity of syllabus. Dr Ishtiaq Danish was critical of development of uniform curriculum for madrasas throughout the country. He questioned about the very concept of uniformity. He was advocating about unity in diversity concept. The syllabus should reflect regional variations.
Speaking on the Evolution of Madrasa Education, Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad Aahan has mentioned milestones of the education history of the Muslim community. During the 11th century, the Muslims established elementary and secondary schools, "Madrasas" or colleges, and even universities at cities like Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad, mostly using Arabic as the medium of instruction. During the medieval period, there was excellent interaction between Indian and Islamic traditions in all fields of knowledge like indology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, painting, architecture, mathematics, medicine and astronomy.
Discussing about the politics of madras curriculum Dr. Ahan sys that the Nizamiah school, like the madrasas which, following it, were set up in other parts of the Muslim world, was intended to train bureaucrats for the royal courts and the administration, as well as judges (qazis), jurisprudents (fuqaha) and muftis qualified to issue fatawa or legal opinions, all of whom were appointed by the state to staff various levels of the bureaucracy. Typically, teachers as well as students were drawn from the elite, and there seems to have been little provision for the education of children from the poorer classes. The thirteenth century commentator, Ziauddin Barani, a Turkish noble attached to the court of the Delhi Sultans, insisted in his Fatawa-i-Jahandari that higher religious education and top religious and administrative posts were to be kept as a closely-guarded preserve of the foreign-born Turkish, Central Asian, Iranian and Arab Muslim elite. The poorer classes of the Muslims, in India consisting largely of ‘low’ caste indigenous converts and their descendants, were to be content merely with knowledge of the basic principles of the faith. Now the things has been changed. There is a great need to relook at the syllabus.
Prof. Baseer Ahmad Khan gave many reasons to support the reform in the education system. Despite losing their relevance to the present times, Persian and Greek Logic are still part of the Madrasa curriculum. Hindi should replace Persian there. But the reform in the madrasa education system can be achieved only after taking the ulama into confidence. The madrasa authorities will not agree to reform their curricula as the same has direct relationship with the economy of the madrasa system and also with the clout the ulama enjoy in the society. Hence, it is better to come up with an alternate education system. In this regard, the government should establish model madrasas where it will be possible to teach some modern subjects also, along with the religious sciences.
We need to think about the educational progress of the non-madrasa going 96 percent of Muslim population as well. Moreover, the government should ensure the admission of the Muslim children in its educational institutions.
There was a group of people which is critical about change in the madrasa education system. Dr. Yogi Sikand explains that the madrasas are established with the aim to produce specialists in various disciplines of the Islamic Studies. Hence, any reform initiative to reform the madrasas has to take this nature of the madrasas into account. There should be reform within the madrasa system to make its products play their role in the society in a better and engaged fashion. It is not wise to restrict the reform debate only to the curriculum. There are other related issues which call for modification as well. For instance, the salary of the madrasa staff is very low. Likewise, most of the madrasas, due to paucity of the adequate funds, can not offer balanced diet to their students. Living condition prevailing in majority of the madrasas can not be categorised as good for the health of the boarders as well as the day-scholars.
Prof. Faizanullah Farouqui started his speech with the importance of the madrasa. He puts emphasis on that Madrasas should remain madrasas and keep teaching what they teach. An arrangement should be worked out for combined education till Munshi (secondary level of schooling). Then, there should be provision for students to choose whether between a programme of religious sciences (offered in madrasas) and secular sciences (offered in government schools/colleges).
Religious education has lost its link with the job market. Not long before, the madrasas used to churn out man power for the bureaucracy and other courtly needs. The situation has changed after introduction of Macaulay’s policies. Prof. Farouqui emphasizes the need to bridge the gap between the religious education and the job economy.
Deepika shows how a collaboration between a religion organization (Jamiatul Ulama-i-Hind) and secular organizations (Kachh Mahila Parivar Sangthan & Jan Vikas Udan) can produce desired result for the community in terms of education and communal harmony.
Together they started an initiative to look into the issue of access to education and also of the quality of education, with special reference to the Muslim children in Gujarat. According to the Sachar Committee Report, 25% Muslim children have till date no access to the education. So, our effort is largely to respond to the problem of access to education among the Muslim community. Maktabs and madrasas differ significantly from each other. The latter provide more holistic kind of education while the former restricts them to the teaching of basics of religion
Experiments with Reforms Within Madrasa Institutions was a very interactive session. Prof. Roger Jeffrey shared his experience in Bijnore, Uttar Pradesh. He mentioned four points and explained them in detail. Prof. Jeffery discussed that every proposal to reform the madrasas, should have taken into account all the varieties of madrasa. Main driver of sending children to the madrasas is the pathetic condition of the government infrastructure of education in Bijnor and in most of the country. There is also need to understand the nature of the training these madrasas provide, one needs to understand the system. The system there is that they prepare the students for joining the Deoband madrasa. Those who do well in the examinations, are considered eligible to enroll in Deoband madrasa.
Zubair Hudawi is product of Kerala Madras System, which is considered be the most progressive system of education. It is interesting, Said Hudawi, to know that since the arrival of Islam in India, Kerala has never been under any ruler who happened to be a Muslim. However, unlike other parts of the country, especially the North India, the Keralite Muslims have hardly had any experience of religious intolerance or suppression. Denominationally speaking, they are divided into three major groups: Sunnis, (who are Shafiites in their jurisprudential outlook and also follow teachings of Abul Hasan Ash’ari), Mojahid Movement (Ahl-i-Hadis Movement) and Jama’at-i-Islami. What characterizes the Keralite Muslims is the collaboration of the ulama and umara (businessmen and also the secularly educated persons) for the cause of education.
Maulana Syed Salman Nadwi started his lecture with thanking Ark Foundation for initiating such a debate and bring religious and secular scholars on a platform. He said that the seminar is a meaningful intervention to ponder upon the educational problems of the Indian Muslims. He said that Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama was established on the principle of a balanced synthesis of the classical education with the modern. Its chief purpose was (a) to evolve a proper integration between the eternal fundamentals of the faith and ever-changing values of human knowledge and learning and (b) to bring about harmony and cohesion among the different groups and schools of thought of Ahl-i-Sunnat Muslims. As Islamic sciences are living, evolving and progressive and education was subject to the law of change and reform, hence it was essential that the system of education too, should change and evolve with time for needs of Islamic Millat.
Maulana Syed Salman Nadwi described the silent features of the syllabus. The Darul Uloom concentrated particularly on the holy Qur'an and introduced it into syllabus as a living book and an eternal message. At the initial stages a simple study of the Qur'an was prescribed. For moral training and discipline a course of the Traditions of the holy Prophet dealing with his noble virtues and ethical and social conduct was included in the curriculum. For secondary and higher classes the commentary of the Qur'an (Tafsir) and selected books of Traditions and fundamentals were prescribed for study. Full attention was paid to the Arabic language since it held the key to the understanding of the Book and the Sunnah. Without knowledge of it, it was not possible to avail oneself of the vast treasurehouse of Islamic thought and learning. Moreover, it was the sole medium of contact with the entire Muslim world. The Darul Uloom thus, included Arabic in its syllabus both as a classical and a modern language. Many books were specially got written by it for the purpose of promoting the study of Arabic language. The importance and usefulness of the endeavours of the Nadwatul 'Ulama in this respect have been acknowledged not only throughout India but in the Arab world also. Thanks to these efforts, the Darul Uloom has been able to produce a number of Arabic scholars and writers whose proficiency and merit has won whole-hearted praise even from the literary circles of the Arab countries.
Addressing the apprehension of some audience Zafar Agha asked why the Christian missionaries who run quality educational institutions across India do not feel threatened while running institutions of modern education? They do not perceive modern education as a conspiracy to obsolete their identity, culture and religion. They also are religious experts. Why do only ulama buy the conspiracy theory? It is true that the Muslims have been suffering from several crises for last two hundred years and consequently they have developed a complex which encourages them to take all initiatives for change as conspiracy. This issue has assumed a critical importance in the contemporary debate on the Muslim situation in the world. One needs to understand it in totality.
Prof. Akhtarul Wasey started with a note that the group wants to work with ulama as friends on the project of the madrasa reform and our intention is not to interfere with their activities. This seminar should be seen as an expression of the concerns of the secular intelligentsia for the educational development of the Indian Muslim community for the betterment of which madrasas had been working for centuries.
The debate of madrasa reform is not new. Only 30 years after the establishment of the Deoband madrasa, ulama felt the need to reform and assembled in Madrasa Faiz-i-Aam, Kanpur for deliberations. Here they, under the chairmanship of Maulvi Lutfullah, agreed to come up with a new madrasa, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow, which would offer the reformed curriculum. Not before long, Maulana Shibli Nomani, one of driving forces behind the new madrasa, got disheartened with the Nadwa programme of reforms. It failed to meet his expectations and standards of reform. Around hundred years ago from now, he started expressing his dissatisfaction and concerns in this regard, through his writings and speeches.
We should acknowledge contribution of the madrasas in making Muslims literate. A major section of the present Urdu readers have got their education in madrasas.
Recommendations:
The last session of the Seminar “National Consultation On Madrasa Education System: Towards Drafting A Roadmap For Reform” was devoted to discuss recommendation of the two days seminar. There were several recommendations. Following are the recommendation which have been accepted by all the participants in the seminar.
1. The Communication gap between the madrasas and government universities calls for immediate attention. It should be bridged by initiating a process of dialogue between them.
2. A team consisting of ulama and secular intelligentsia should be constituted to study the issue and come up with some concrete suggestions. The team should visit prominent madrasas of India and present its views before authorities of these insititutions.
3. The madrasa curriculum should be refashioned in a way that theology relating to the contemporary issues should receive more time in the academic schedule of the madrasas.
4. Darul Uloom Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow had organised a seminar on Issues in the Madrasa Curriculum. All the papers presented in it are available in a printed volume titled Rudad-i-Chaman. It should be acquired and studied for better understanding.
5. The Central Madrasa Board should be an autonomous institution although affiliation to it should be voluntary.
6. Madrasas should incorporate in their curriculum some courses/modules on domestic violence or women rights to sensitize talaba with concerned issues/themes.
7. Ark Foundation may open a training center where ulama can acquaint them with the modern issues while students of secular education can learn basics of religious sciences.
8. Teachers Training for Madrasa teachers.
9. Youth Engagement Programmes
10. Creation of Minority Education and Employment Fund
11. Establishment of Minority Education and Employment Exchange Centre to provide:
• Educational facilities
• Coaching Centre for preparation of entrance test in various professional courses like medical, engineering, BCA, BBA, MCA, MBA,etc.
• Coaching and guidance for preparation of government jobs like civil cervices, police department, defense, information, statistics, etc.
• Vocational and Technical Training Centre
• Customized Training of students as per the requirement of particular company or industry
• Links with industrialists and corporate bodies for placement of trained students
• Teachers Training for Madrasas and other minority institutions
• Updating the syllabus to match the demand of job market
• Monitoring and Evaluation of ongoing programmes
• Research and Survey
• Social Audit of all the Waqf Boards of India
B. Following suggestions were made with special reference to the madrasas situated in the state of Assam:
There was a group of scholars who had specific suggestion for Madrasas in North East, specially Assam. Here those recommendations.
11. A State Level Council for Educational Research and Training in the pattern of NCERT is necessary for writing, translating and publishing books mentioned in the madrasa syllabus. It should also decide the length of the syllabus at least for the government madrasas Eminent Muslim and non-Muslim Academicians, Senior and experienced prominent Madrasa teachers can be taken as members of the Council.
12. Separate Teachers Training Colleges—at least a couple of them—should be established in the state for madrasa teachers. These colleges should conduct B. Ed or E.T.E. degrees for the teachers of Senior, Title, and if possible Qaumi madrasas. These degrees should be made necessary eligibility for the appointment of madrasa teachers.
13. Arabic or the mother tongue should be made as the medium of instruction in the provincialised and Qaumi madrassas. Special focus should be laid on the learning of modern communicative Arabic. The contents of the syllabus of Arabic language needs urgent reconsideration at least for the provincialised madrasas.
14. A Central Madrassa Board in the pattern of C.B.S.E is required for the proper conduct of examination and smooth functioning of madrassas. Different types of vocational and professional courses should be introduced at the initiative of central and state governments in the provincialised and community-run madrassas to avoid increasing number of unemployment among the madrassa graduates. The Assam government should launch Pre-Tibia courses in selected madrasas so that madrasa students become eligible for direct admission into medical courses like B.U.M.S. and so on.
15. In this era of latest technology modern teaching instruments/electronic equipments which make teaching easier and understandable for students should be granted to madrassas. The Government, NGOs, and the madrasa management committees should organize vocational training for existing teachers on different vocational and life skill education.
16. At least one Counseling and Guidance centre for madrassa students should be opened in each district at the initiative of community and government agencies.
17. Since Qaumi madrassas are run by different Muslim organisations with different interests, a coordination committee should be set up to maintain good relationship between these madrasas.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
POORVAIYA: An initiative to empower government schools to deliver quality education
POORVAIYA[1]
An initiative to empower government schools to deliver quality education
Question to Address:
- Why should parents send their children to government school
- And how to engage them to fight for their rights- specially right to free and quality education in their own locality
Objectives:
- Quality education in govt. schools
- Child Rights in curriculum
- Integration of children in process
- Integration of teachers, parents and villagers in the process
- Capacity building of school teachers & village heads to deliver quality education
- Creating a sustainable model for advocacy & intervention
Timeline:
- 3-to 5 years
Intervention Tools:
- Teachers training
- Sensitizing parents and youths
- Engagement of local youths in village development process
- Reinforcement of sramdaan (donation of labour that is traditional concept of volunteering)
- Baseline survey
i) Students understanding level (we may have to develop a test paper)
ii) Brief profile teachers
iii) Brief profile of parents of students - Teachers’ motivation level
Identification of Organizations:
· Main organization- to lead the federation of organizations
· Identification of local organizations to work in collaboration for the cause.
- We have to understand teachers problem also.
- Relive them from their non-educational responsibilities
- Accountability aspect
- From Teachers points of views
- From Parents points of views
- From Youth points of views
- Community radio
- Magazine (Newsletter)
- Film show
- Folk song & Play
- Seminar & Workshops
i) Delhi (National level seminar)
ii) Varanasi (State Level seminar, most probably in BHU to involve youth and teachers)
iii) Kataila, Ghazipur (Local/ district level consultancy)
(this will be consultation or focused group discussion) where we will try to understand real issues/ hurdles in the process of quality education from
a. School teachers
b. District Magistrate of Ghazipur
c. Education Officer of Ghazipur
d. District Judge of Ghazipur
e. Village heads
f. Village Education Committees
g. Children through essay writing competition
- Essay writing competition (Up to 8th standard)
Entry fee Rs. 2/-
- Essay writing competition (9th & 10th standard)
Entry fee Rs. 5/-
- Essay writing competition (11th & 12th Standard)
Entry fee Rs. 7/-
- Essay writing competition (Graduation & Above)
Entry fee Rs. 10/-
[Note on Essay writing competition: 1. This will sensitize children & youth with CR. 2. Entry fee will help in two ways- (i) Participant will take it seriously (ii) Prize money can also be raised. 3. Local partner organizations will be requested to tie up with local or national Hindi Newspaper(s) to get top three entries published in the newspapers]
The seminar in Ghazipur will be known as Panchayat and this will be a sort of consultation.
I think the seminar should start from Kataila village.
- Improvement in govt. school
i) On teacher for one class
i) Teachers’ attendance
ii) Students attendance
iii) Distribution of scholarship to all
iv) MDM
v) Accountability
- Engagement of Parents & local youths in school management
- All children in govt. schools
- Understanding of the subjects
- Decrease in number of Pvt. Schools
- CR become topic every discussion in the village
- Increase in parents participation
- Increase in villagers participation
- High level of awareness about rights
[1] I am proposing project school empowerment as “Poorvaiya” because it symbolizes positive things in our belt (Bhojpuri belt). People wait for poorvaiya and when it comes they open their windows, doors and let it come to their home without fear and favour. It just a natural act of their lives.
Our movement for engaging parents and villagers should be like poorvaiya which brings happiness and relief without any precondition.
Like poorvaiya the movement should also be welcomed in every inhabitant of the project area.
But, which is important, it should not be like poorvaiy in term of its sustainability. We have to give some more meaning to our poorvaiya that is a sustainable long term intervention ‘by the people and for the people’.
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