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Volume 1, Number 2, November 2014 Jamia Journal of Education

Developing Inter-Sectoral Synergies: Re-defining State-NGO Relations in

the Field of Education.

Amiya Kumar Das

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology

Tezpur University, Assam

“The state shall endeavour to provide within a period of ten years from

the commencement of the constitution, free and compulsory education

for all children until they complete the age of fourteen years”

(Article- 45 of the constitution of India).

Basic primary education is considered in India and elsewhere in the world as a fundamental

human right. In India, since long universal primary education has been a goal of the state

since long. Even though the constitution makers had envisaged the possibility of universal

education and Right to Education Act has been enacted in 2009, it has unfortunately

remained a privilege rather than a right in Indian society. The Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act compels children between 6 and 14 to attend school. In spite of

the state making strenuous efforts to improve the state of public education, the percentage of

literates in Indian society is as low as 74.04 (GOI, 2001 census).

To combat the problems of non-enrollment and dropouts cases in the schools, civil society

organisations and NGOs have started actively intervening in the field of education. Their

practices have, at times, been more effective and successful in comparison to government run

schools. The intervention of the NGOs in the educational sector has been part of the global

trend of the civic sector becoming a major player in the development field. At the same time

critics have argued on the other side of the NGOs intervention. They are skeptical about the

NGOnisation of various basic sectors which needs to be taken care by the state. They argue

that collaboration with NGOs and civil societies may lead to a process of privatization from

backdoor. In this article I attempt to examine the role of NGOs in education and compare the

performance of the NGO sector with the public sector through one example from the state of

Rajasthan.

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Then, the possibilities of collaboration between the NGOs and the government in the

education sector in general are explored. The following questions are raised in the discussion.

What are the basic problems that have public education in India? How and why do NGOs

differ from the government in their interventions in the education sector, both in terms of

pedagogical discourses and concrete practices? .What are the possibilities for collaboration

between the government and NGOs?

Jan Nederveen Pieterse (2001) who is a development theorist has argued that a ‘post

paradigmatic approach’ to development would lead to better outcomes in terms of results. By

he means that instead of favouring any one sector, a good development agenda should try to

work towards creating ‘inter-sectoral synergies’. In other words, cooperation between the

private, public and civic sectors is necessary. How can such ‘inter-sectoral synergies be

created in education? Can community participation in education be ensured through the

intervention of NGOs?

Problems of Public Education in India

Scholars who have worked on education, cutting across disciplines have pointed to various

kinds of inequalities in school education. Upper caste and upper class bias still exists in our

education system. Discrimination against the backward castes, especially the dalits and

adivasis in the wider society is reflected in such discriminatory practices in schools. There

have been reports of upper caste teachers behaving in a hostile way towards the lower caste

students. Students are sometimes kept outside the classroom, subjected to physical and verbal

abuse and not allowed to share mid-day meals. A study by Navsarjan trust in Gujarat reveals

that some dalit students are often asked to do odd jobs in the school like collecting firewood

and berries. This forces many students to drop out. Even teachers from lower caste are

discriminated against. In the tribal areas special residential schools function, but they lack

sufficient resources. Gender discrimination in education is another major problem.

Banerji observes that a new and flexible approach to the schooling of children of the urban

poor is imperative. Her field studies in Mumbai and Delhi have yielded the insight that the

reason for so many slum children not being in school has less to do with their families’

economic circumstances than with the school system’s shortcomings. From her field study

she suggests that the amount of learning the

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average slum family pupil in India acquires in primary school falls far short of what may

legitimately be expected. (Banerji,2000)

The PROBE (Public Report on Basic Education in India) Report (1999) paints a bleak picture

of the schooling system in rural India. There are many general misconceptions about the

poor, including a false belief that poor parents do not care about educating their children.

Children are not in school because they are working and so on, even elementary education is

free and schools are available and functioning.

It is necessary to dispel myths like poor parents not caring about educating their children. A

common misconception is that poor people are simply disinterested in educating their

children. Very often, this idea becomes the basis for explanations on the dismal state of

public education in India. To disapprove this formulation Tilak (2002) argues with the help of

NCAER survey data on Human Development in rural India (HDI: 1994), along with data

from different sources. He shows that there is nothing like 'free' education in India. Even poor

spends on education. Households from even lower socio-economic background like dalits and

tribes all spend considerable amounts on acquiring education, including specifically

elementary education, which is expected to be provided free to all by the State. They

generally spend on items like books, uniforms and fees. It is also found that households do

not discriminate much against spending on girls' education; substantial differences exist in

household expenditures between expenditure on children attending government schools,

government-aided schools and private schools. Other important determinants include size of

the household, caste and religion. Generally, gender is believed to be a very significant

determinant of household expenditures on education even if this not applicable in all cases.

Accessibility to school within the dwelling area is also quite important.

PROBE report reveals that, on the contrary, the parents are very keen that their children

receive a good education, though they do not always have much faith in the education. WLC

(World Literacy Canada) in the study report writes that:

“Poor parents do care about educating their children. The myth of

parental indifference is astonishingly widespread, especially in

official circles, whether it provides a convenient rationalization

for India’s low schooling level. On the contrary the typical father

and mother are very keen that their children received good

education, it is another matter that they do not

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always have much faith in the system ability to impart such

education. In the state of Uttar Pradesh where WLC works, 100%

of parents thought education was important for boys, and 92% of

parents said education was important for girls. However, in rural

India sending a child to school on a regular basis requires a great

deal of effort on the part of the child and his or her parents. Costs

may be prohibitive, there may not be a functioning school within

walking distance, the child may be deterred by a hostile

environment at school and lack of support and progress at school

may discourage parents and children. In light of obstacles it is

easy to understand why so many children are out of school even

when their parents express a strong interest in education.”

(Quoted by Reed: 2008 p. 151)

.

The bad physical condition of government schools is another serious problem. School

buildings are usually bare, often dilapidated, and even filthy. Classes are generally over

crowded. Teacher shortage and short duration of teaching activity reduce quality. Teachers

arrive late and leave early and even when present may not teach. Many children do not have

textbooks. Special teaching aids are not used. Copying and cramming are the most common

teaching methods. Extra-curricular activities like craftwork, painting or music are absent.

As a consequence, going to school is neither attractive nor stimulating for the child. A very

common sight in most of the government schools is of children playing or fighting among

themselves, puzzled, bored and switched off. First generation learners are specially

disadvantaged because they do not get support or help at home. This disparity widens the

divide between first generation learners and others, which in turn reproduces unequal class

and caste relations. In this environment, there is no stimulation for a thinking mind to develop

or for self-confidence to grow. Lack of committed teachers is another problem plaguing

Indian public education system. The state of teachers in India is very poor. Teachers are

generally disinterested to work in rural areas and tribal settlements. At the same time,

teachers are also expected to perform other functions such as census taking and election

work, which take time away from teaching. The education system in India operates with top

down management style from the national government down to the rural level, and gives

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the impression of a rigid bureaucracy, unresponsive to the real needs of teachers and children.

The 73rd

and 74th

amendments to the constitution have made the local self-governments a

major participant in development in general and education in particular. The central advisory

board of education emphasized a need for integrating educational planning efforts at the

district level with panchayati raj institutions. The basic idea was to involve rural and urban

local bodies in educational planning and increasing community involvement implementation

and monitoring of programmes. The role of NGOs becomes important here as case studies

point out their successful efforts in increasing community participation. NGOs have an

important role to play in the education sector if a culture of collaboration and partnership

with the state can be built.

NGOs in Education

The main contributions of NGOs have been new innovative models of the classroom

pedagogy, teacher training school management design of new teaching- learning material and

evaluation systems. A survey (Jagannathan,2001) of six NGOs namely M V foundation(child

labour education), Pratham (universalisation of preprimary and primary education in a

metropolis), Bodh Shikshya Samiti (primary education for urban poor), Rishi valley rural

education centre (multigrade and multilevel teaching and learning model), Eklavya

(pedagogic renewal) and centre for education management and development (school

improvement through management inputs) shows that NGOs can play a major role in

assisting the state to improve the effectiveness of public education.

Vimala Ramachandran discusses case studies of NGOs working in the education sector. NGO

efforts can be broadly classified into two- i) working with children who are not in school with

the aim of getting them back to the formal system or without back to formal school ii)

programmes that work with children who are in school but not learning.(Ramachandran et al ,

2001). To involve both children and parents in basic education, various models have been

developed. Development Education is a contemporary model of education from which

students, parents and community members of all benefit. It is commonly applied to

marginalised groups who tend to experience difficulties in the mainstream education.

Development education as explained by McCann and McCloskey (2003) focuses on the

needs of the students and the community, and attempt to correlate this with pedagogy.

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Similarly the concept of Community Based Education (May 1999) also tends to be a goal for

many indigenous communities, enabling them to obtain full control over the education

system and thus making schooling relevant to their life styles. This model is considered

development from the bottom-up, and has proven to be effective in empowering individuals

and communities through the results of their participative actions, thus reflecting the goal of

human development (Sen 2000).

Bodh Shiksha Samiti (BSS)

This section is based on a study of the Bodh Shikshya Samiti, an alternative education

initiative in Jaipur. The methodology of intensive fieldwork based on observation has been

used. Observation of schooling practices is a method widely used by sociologists of

education. The ethnographies of Kumar(2000), Mclaren (1986), and Willis (1977) have

offered valuable insights into educational practices.

The philosophy of the Bodh Shiksha Samiti (BSS) is that curriculum and methodology

should be child friendly and child centered. It envisage for an egalitarian society by equitable

and quality education and development for all children irrespective of class, caste, religion

and language. It also emphasises on equitable access to education for all children especially

the communities which are hard to reach. BSS acknowledges that every child has its own

pace of learning. The first Bodhsala started in Jaipur in 1987. It reaches out to thousands of

students in Jaipur and Alwar district. BSS also partners with the government of Rajasthan to

improve the situation in the field of primary education.

Bodh samiti runs many schools in Jaipur called Bodh Shalas. Teachers work closely with the

students and study their levels. Then according to their requirements they develop plan and

work with them. One teacher has a group of 25 to 30 students. Every day, they conduct a

workshop for half an hour before the class starts. They discuss about the difficulties,

problems and strategies to tackle them. They develop a work plan for the children. Teachers

develop TLM (Teaching Learning Materials) and worksheet according to the child’s need.

They observe the children and develop a method which suits the children most. There is no

uniform or dress code in Bodh Shikshya Samiti.

There are teachers meetings every day where strategies to increase the efficiency of teaching

are discussed. The Bodh Shala teachers believe

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in student centered teaching. They create a homely atmosphere. Children learn while they

play. In Bodh Shala students learn practically so that they understand things in a better way.

Special focus is laid on the learning pace of different students. Children do not have any

examination phobia. They learn and enjoy their child hood at the same time. They learn

extra-curricular activities like drama, art and music. Children films are also screened once in

a week time. These activities attract children to school. Students are promoted according to

their ability and learning.

In government schools parents have almost no role but Bodh gives a lot of importance to

interactions and dialogue with parents and the larger community. Parents’ and community’s

suggestions are seriously taken into consideration and attempts are made to implement them

in school. Unlike the Government and private schools, admissions are open throughout the

year.

Adolescent School

The Bodh Shikshya Samiti also runs an adolescent school which targets girls in the age group

of 12 to 18 years, who had either dropped out of school or had never attended schools. A

three-month package has been designed for these adolescent girls. For the first fifteen days

they stay in a residential hostel and for the next two and half months, they go through a non-

residential teaching programme. They learn music, life skills, art and get vocational training

in this programme.

This programme is specially designed for girls involved in stone polishing and stone cutting

work. They do not go to school because of the work constraint. School timing for them is

scheduled according to their convenience.

Mother Teacher

Another interesting concept in Bodh Shala is the concept of Mother Teacher. These teachers

are basically from the same community from where the children belong and they teach

preprimary children between 3 to5 years. Mother teachers are generally selected by the

community itself. Children identify with the mother teachers and come to school regularly.

When one mother teacher was asked what a mother teacher was she replied “Maa Jaise Pyaar

dene wali teacher hoti hai mother teacher” (one who loves the children like a mother is called

mother teacher.) The child can communicate with the mother teacher in a better

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way. The mother teacher can also convince their own community so they send their children

to school.

Mother teachers keep their patience and behave with the kids in a motherly way. Children

consider the school as a different home. They find love from their mother teacher and do not

feel estranged. Mother teachers also thoroughly enjoy their job. When one mother teacher

was asked about the difference between the general school and Bodh shala , she replied that

‘ yeh din raat ka pharak hai, yehan bacchho ko school jaisa ghar aur ghar jaisa school

milta hai’.( this is a difference like day and night. Here children find a home like school and

school like home.)

Mother teachers stress the importance of the training given by Bodh Samiti. Training gives

them inspiration and they learn how to be child friendly. They learn to adopt children’s

language to teach them. They find children themselves telling their parents to send them to

Bodh Samiti and not to work.

Bodh Samiti uses visual aides like photographs and videos to teach children. Some time they

also go for study excursions. Bodh Samiti is very efficient in designing primary curriculum

and monitoring the standard that it has provided around 120 facilitators to government

schools, which are based in the slums of Jaipur. It is supposed to cover 327 schools in another

two years of time.

Facilitators first survey and prepare a list of children under the age group 6 to 14 and enroll

them in school. To a large extent, the facilitators have been successful in reducing the

dropout rate among the children from the slum areas. They enhance the quality of education

in government schools through Bodh Pedagogy and by interacting with the teachers and

introducing them to new pedagogical techniques.

Rajasthan government has invited Bodh Samiti to manage primary schools in Jaipur city.

Now more than hundred schools have one person who is trained and deployed by Bodh

Samiti. The job of the coordinator is to study the problems relating to pedagogy and

attendance of students. They apply all innovative styles to make teaching interesting and

ensure attendance.

Conclusions

NGOs, through their innovative pedagogical techniques and better community outreach

programmes have been successful to a large extent in solving the problems of public

education in India. They have been

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able to offer alternative paradigms of educational practices. However, the activities of a few

NGOs in some isolated areas cannot make significant impacts at the macro level. This is

where the idea of collaboration between the governments and the NGOs (as seen in the case

of cooperation between Bodh Sikhsya Samiti and the Rajasthan government) in public

education becomes increasingly pertinent. The Janbodh programme was initiated both by the

government of Rajasthan and BSS in 2005. This programme targeted the universalisation of

education. This programme involved local communities, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and other

agencies who work in the field of primary education. BSS also worked as the technical

support agency for the state SSA. It helped in establishing community schools, capacity

building and so on. This initiative of BSS has tremendously increased the enrollment rate and

retention rate both in rural and urban areas. BSS has been encouraging and strengthening

local platforms such as PRIs to work jointly with local community and providing them

consultation and expertise to achieve the universalisation of education. BSS considers

community as the highest stakeholder in the primary education intervention process. BSS and

PRIs along with the local communities managing the defunct government schools. They are

also working with SSA effectively to empower the local level education. Such collaborative

ventures are bound to create inter-sectoral synergies in the education sector, which is very

crucial to improve the rather dismal state of public education in India.

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