 REGAINING PRIDE OF PLACE

The Shikshak Samakhya Project is an innovation launched by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, in collaboration with the Government of India and assistance from UNICEF, with the major objective of developing a replicable strategy for achieving Universal Primary Education (UPE), throughout the state.

Madhya Pradesh is one of the educationally most backward states in the country. Its overall literacy level is a mere 44.2 per cent. Enrolment in the primary school is reported to be as relatively high as 104.5 per cent in 1993-94, but the dropout rate of 28.36 per cent (between Classes 1 and 5) considerably brings down the schools' effectiveness and efficiency. Educational indicators for girls and women, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, especially in the rural areas are among the lowest in the world. By any standard, MP, the largest state in terms of area, presents a formidable challenge to reaching every child of primary school age with a life-relevant, quality, basic education. In this scenario, the Shikshak Samakhya project aims to achieve universal enrolment, increased attendance, reduced drop-out rates and increased levels of learning.

Shikshak Samakhya literally translates as "Teachers' Empowerment". An after translation would be "Equal Say", a concept that projects the teacher as the key person in the implementation of the education strategy. The entire design, planning, formulation and implementation of the project is built around this concept, with the teacher being the key actor and the reference point. The success of the programme is due

largely to the recognition that behavioral and attitudinal changes on the part of the teacher can only be effective and sustainable if the teacher is involved. This teacher-centred orientation is perhaps what sets apart the Shikshak Samakhya project from other initiatives.

Basing itself on the premise that the teaching-learning process in the classroom is central to the achievement of these goals, the project, besides improving the competence of the teacher to teach effectively, also provides for making the classroom an attractive place to be in, providing effective and relevant teaching-learning materials and aids through a participative process. The project assists the teacher to regain his pride of place.

The project set itself a modest target at the beginning. Initially, five districts were chosen for the introduction of the project - Dhar, Raisen, Tikamgarh, Jabalpur and Raigarh. All the 7 blocks of Raisen district and one block each in the remaining 4 dis- tricts were selected for implementation of the project from December, 1991. In February '92, based on field experience, the project underwent some modifications.

While the planners were only too aware of the general education scenario in MP, there was a need to acquire a thorough understanding of the problems in the project area and evolve an action plan through participation and consensus. Quick assessment techniques (QAT) utilizing microplanning and other techniques to identify the magnitude of the various facets or dimensions of the problems in the area of primary education were initiated. Teachers and government officials were involved right from the genesis of the project.

SHIKSHAK SAMAKHYA

These efforts generated a consensus among key officials in each of the 5 districts on the reasons and magnitude of the problem of illiteracy in the area. The entire exercise helped to shape the path breaking philosophical assumptions which sets Shikshak Samakhya apart from other projects. The conceptual framework of Shikshak Samakhya (see box) which is based on these assumptions, dismissed popular misconceptions that lack of infrastructure, funds and parental apathy were the main reasons for low literacy levels.

As a very first step in the implementation of the project, all the pending claims like loans against provident fund, leave, annual increments and so on, were settled and new claims were attended to systematically and regularly. This created a favorable environment for the implementation of the project among the teachers in service.

All projects need a success story. Badnawar block turned out to be just that. Starting from September 1992, in all the 23 Resource Centres and subsequently in each of the 186 primary schools of the block, teachers began to get interested in the project. Initially, they perceived it as one more government project. It was only after a series of meetings and discussions and developing the project activities with them that they began to see and accept it as their own project which would be of direct benefit to them in their schools.

The in Badnawar rapidly spread to other blocks of Dhar district as well as to other districts. Badnawar demonstrated that a radical turnaround in teaching learning quality was possible, with a little effort. The significant achievements there gave the hope and con- fidence of achieving UPE in the whole district and even the entire state to the project organisers.

In April 1993, the Government of Madhya Pradesh decided to extend the strategies used in the 5 districts of the Shikshak Samakhya project to the other 19 districts covered by the DPEP. By June 1995, the project coverage extended to the Class 1 students in all the 45 districts of the state and plans are afoot to introduce Shikshak Samakhya in Class 2 from the 1995-96 academic year.

The project puts the human factor in command. If schools were to change and become attractive places where the teacher and students were excited about learning, and learning achievement is to be raised, it would be necessary to focus most pointedly on teacher empowerment, making it clear in every sense that the individual teacher was responsible for the teaching/ learning environment in the classroom.

Building on Solid Premises

SEVERAL ASSUMPTIONS under the Shikshak Samakhya. Most of them have been articulated in project documents. Others implicit in the approach have been added here because of their importance:

ALL PARENTS want their children to go to school and learn.

PARENTS WILL send their children to school if they learn there. Children will come to school regularly if they find the learning process enjoyable and attractive.

FINANCIAL AND non-financial incentives are poor substitutes to good and enjoyable learning in the classroom.

THE COMMUNITY Will support the teacher and will accept the school as its own when and only when they find their children are learning well.

INDIA, BEING a poor country, has to find low cost yet high quality solutions to the problems of primary education.

ABOUT 10 per cent of teachers will teach under any circumstances, while the large majority has to be motivated to teach. Settling of all administrative and financial claims and ensuring promotional channels as well as openings for professional growth, will go a long way in mobilising the majority.

PEER SUPPORT and an awareness of new ideas are important for any profession, and particularly important for teachers working in iso- lated and difficult circumstances.

THE STATE system of schooling should be revitalised and made accessible and relevant to all children, irrespective of differences such as gender, age, religion, caste and ethnic origin.

IT Is only highly motivated primary school teachers who can motivate other primary school teachers.

TRAINING METHODS and activities should closely reflect what is expected of teachers in their classroom practices.

The project changed the situation of teacher absenteeism by exposing thousands of teachers to an entirely novel way of teaching Class I children. Emphasising participation, multi-sensory stimulation, activity-based methods, increased student teacher interaction, heightened attention through involvement in learning activities which combine action songs and teaching aids, Shikshak Samakhya has developed a lively and powerful training approach.

The most visible aspect of Samakhya is the transformation of the school and the classroom. The school is converted into a `Bal Mitra Shala' (child friendly school) in name and appearance. The walls are whitewashed and scenes from popular nursery rhymes and stories are painted colourfully on the walls by the teachers themselves. A three feet high blackboard is painted all around the lower walls of the classroom to give the children their own "space" to write and also provide an easy way for the teacher to monitor their activities at a glance. The teaching-learning process is made participatory and en- joyable.

The programme also depends on the establishment of Resource Centres (RCs), each covering between 8 and 20 schools. Teachers are encouraged to meet atleast once a month at their RC to improve their teaching skills, share ideas and materials, seek each other's assistance and develop professional links with mutual respect. These RCs have been provided with teaching aids. They serve as a useful extension of the training workshops of the Samakhya project.

An essential strategy of the Shikshak Samakhya is to make the existing system work more effectively, using the existing cadre of teachers and administrators, buildings and administrative infrastructure, rather than create a new parallel system. The Shikshak Samakhya programme works in tandem with the other major educational initiatives in the state - the DPEP, the Total Literacy Campaign (TLC) and the Jawahar Rojgar Yojana (JRY).

All the officials take personal interest in the project. The Collector's pressure and the involvement of officials help change the situation so that administrative irritants do not dampen the enthusiasm of the teachers and they are free to concentrate on their work.

Allied to the strategy of making the existing system work more efficiently is the strengthening of the teaching support networks and administrative infrastructure through the building up of a "critical mass" of teachers within each block. This "critical mass" of teachers have a commonality of purpose and interact as professional colleagues cutting across hierarchies defined by status.

The project reposes full faith in the primary teachers. They are directly handed the money required for beautifying the school and preparing the teaching aids thereby creating self confidence in their own abilities teachers and organisers. This increased confidence and responsibility has reflected in the change in attitude of the community to the local teacher.

The Shikshak Samakhya project is extremely cost effective. Very small school level costs for purchasing the raw materials for paints and stationery and cloth for preparing the teaching aids, and a small expenditure to establish Resource Centres, compare extremely fa- vourably with any other educational programmes. Added to this is the fact that the recurrent costs will not be excessive because of the use of wall blackboards and slates for children instead of relying exclusively on workbooks or sheets.

Shikshak Samakhya has been very successful in enhancing enrolment and retention in the schools in which teachers have undergone initial training. Shikshak Samakhya has considerable potential to reach UPE in a cost-effective, sustainable way.

The achievements of the Shikshak Samakhya and its rapid spread to neighboring states has evinced interest among educationists and planners throughout the country to know more about the philosophy and aims of the project and methods and mechanisms of implementation.