Lessons from Gadchiroli (Maharashtra)

By V Santhakumar, Rema Devi | Jan 10, 2019

We look at the work of Quest Alliance with the government schools in the Samastipur district of Bihar. This intervention was started as part of the School Dropout Prevention Pilot (SDPP) programme, a project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in four countries during 2011 – 15.

It may not be desirable to advocate for a separate curriculum for tribal children. Instead, teaching should be localised to achieve the objectives of the present curriculum.

It is noted in India that ST families with a literate head of the household have a significantly lesser chance of being below the poverty line. Similarly, even a few years of school education may enhance the chances of getting rural non-farm employment which has notably a higher wage than agricultural work.

Decentralisation is minimal in Gujarat and line departments remain the nodal agencies for the implementation of almost all development and welfare schemes. This limits the local decision-making process and reiterates the dependence of local bodies on state and central governments, both for resources and programmes, which is in violation of the spirit of decentralisation that is envisaged in the 73rd Amendment of the Constitution of India.

The model of conservation of village commons shown by the Kunjer Gram Panchayat is easily replicable and could be applied across the state. It is recommended that regular training programmes be offered by the District Administration (Baran) where village officials from all districts in Rajasthan can be called to see the benefits associated with such conservation measures.

Women need to understand the deep-rooted social ideas that make them dependent on their husbands. They need to be prepared by like everyone else and view education and employment as the main basis for their personal, financial and social security (and then see marriage as a possible relationship between two equal human beings)

Almost all these fellows came not only from poor families and marginalised groups but also from difficult and/​or disabling circumstances. Most of them encountered different forms of discrimination. Girls and women have faced sexual harassment and violence in their social context. Social life was highly restricted for most of these women. The GLDP has enhanced their capabilities along multiple dimensions.

In this essay, we look at the work of Utthan sahayaks in supporting those children who are identified as lagging behind in learning. This is based on a short-period fieldwork in three schools in the Mundra region of Kutch district in Gujarat.

We take a look at the Gyanodaya project of Adani Foundation in the Godda district of Jharkhand. As part of this, the Foundation has provided basic infrastructure (including TV sets) for smart-classrooms and digital learning materials to 293 government schools in the district. These learning materials, prepared by ​‘Eckovation’ – an edu-tech company, are based on the Jharkhand State Board syllabus.

द्वारा: शेफ़ाली त्रिपाठी मेहता, अंकुर मदान | Feb 9, 2022

दिव्यांगता सम्बन्धी जागरूकता पर आरुषि द्वारा निर्मित लगभग 120 पोस्टर बांग्लादेश, श्रीलंका और पाकिस्तान के गैर‑सरकारी संगठनों सहित, सरकारी एजेंसियों और निजी संगठनों द्वारा इस्तेमाल किए जाते हैं, जो दिव्यांगता से सम्बन्धित मुद्दों के लिए समर्थन जुटाने और जागरूकता फैलाने के लिए इस्तेमाल में लाए जाते हैं। उर्दू, असमिया, गुरुमुखी, बंगाली और तेलुगु सहित कई भारतीय भाषाओं में अनुवादित पोस्टर देश भर में प्रदर्शित किए गए हैं।

द्वारा : वी शांताकुमार एवं सुब्रत मिश्रा | Jan 25, 2022

सामुदायिक वन अधिकारों के प्रभावी और सतत उपयोग की दिशा में आम्ही आमच्या आरोग्यसाठी (AAA) के प्रयास उल्लेखनीय हैं। उनके द्वारा लगभग 560 परिवारों को शामिल करते हुए ज़िले के कोरची ब्लॉक के छह गाँवों में सामुदायिक वन अधिकारों के प्रभावी प्रवर्तन के लिए आदिवासी सामुदायिक संगठनों, ग्राम सभाओं को मज़बूत बनाने के लिए कार्य किया जाता है। इन क्षेत्रों में गोण्ड और कंवर जनजातियाँ निवास करती हैं। प्रयासों का उद्देश्य स्थाई कटाई, और स्थानीय वन, कृषि वनस्पतियाँ और पेड़ उगाने के माध्यम से आजीविका के अवसरों को मज़बूत बनाना था।

द्वारा : वी शांताकुमार एवं रमा देवी | Jan 10, 2022

आनन्दशाला कार्यक्रम के प्रभाव को देखने के बजाय, यह रिपोर्ट भारत के इस हिस्से में स्कूली शिक्षा में सामने आने वाली बड़ी चुनौतियों पर ध्यान केन्द्रित करती है और इन्हें दूर करने के लिए सम्भावित रणनीतियों का भी सुझाव देती है। हम उस भूमिका पर ध्यान केन्द्रित करते हैं जो आनन्दशाला जैसे हस्तक्षेपों द्वारा निभाई जा सकती है और इस कार्यक्रम द्वारा अपनाई गई कुछ निश्चित मुख्य प्रक्रियाओं की पहचान करते हैं।

In terms of the larger insights and learning, this course gave a big picture of EVS to teachers. They could see the importance of taking children out and using the outdoor environment as an effective approach for developing appropriate EVS skills and sensitivities.

The challenge of an online course lies in making it interactive and lively to sustain the interest and attention of the participants. The Tamil language teaching certificate course had six modules, each of two hours. In Puducherry, compared to English and Mathematics, there are very few in-service capacity development programmes conducted in Tamil teaching. 

The foundation has partnered with a local NGO to implement HBMNC in this area. Young women from the region who have received education up to an undergraduate level or diploma in midwifery or nursing are enlisted for this program. Each of these young women works with about 15 – 16 ASHA workers to enhance their awareness and capacity and ensure that essential care is given to pregnant mothers.

In a face-to-face session, the facilitator can always know the participants’ state of mind and can crack a joke or play a game to break the monotony and capture their attention. Also during a face-to-face interactions, power point presentations are only secondary; the facilitator is the primary point of interaction. In online sessions, PowerPoint presentations, play a central role in keeping the participants engaged as a facilitator cannot see the reaction of the participants and the participants cannot see the facilitator.

The organisation receives funding from individual donors from India and abroad (non-resident Indians). Though ​‘giving’ for charity, altruistic or social purposes is catching up among Indians, this is not enough for an adequate amount of resources flowing towards social purposes. Though many middle-class Indians afford to provide some money towards this, they are yet to see the importance of doing so. There is a lot more money flowing towards religious purposes and festivals than for social purposes.

In the present context of teacher professional development process, the TLC core committee has an important role to play. The TLC is a platform for teacher development through various modes but sustaining and motivating a group of teachers around the TLC to regularly engage in events needs concerted efforts. This is only possible when stakeholders from within the system come together to take the responsibility of identifying the professional needs of teachers and design suitable events to support them. The core committees are playing this role in most of the TLCs in the NEK region.

There is a need for a set of actions to achieve an environmentally sustainable and welfare-enhancing future for the people of Kerala. These require the use of technological solutions; institutional changes; public investments to make the future environmentally benign, and; enabling policies at the state level.

In general, people are probably reluctant to adopt those eco-friendly behaviour that have a significant personal cost, even though they are aware of the importance of doing so. This is evident from the correlations seen in empirical studies between environmental attitude and low-cost pro-environmental behaviour (e.g. recycling).

Lakshmi Murmu Smriti Vidyalaya in Chaachanpur, West Bengal run by the Chaachanpur Mahila Kalyan Samiti is an initiative by two women who believed that only education could bring empowerment among the Santhali community.

By V Santhakumar and M S Sriram | Nov 27, 2019 

This essay is part of a series on the challenges and dynamics of the Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). Its transition is compared with the experience of Azim Premji University, which also strives to create reflective practitioners in the domains of education and human development.