PEASANTS : THE PROUD MANAGERS OF SCHOOLS
Many of them could
not go anywhere near a school. Nor could they get any formal education.
But now they are the proud managers of schools in their villages.
It seems to be impossible, but has become a reality, thanks to
the innovative and comprehensive Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan i.e.
the movement for education for all. It is a Central
scheme to eradicate illiteracy from future generations by involving
the peasants and parents who know well the real issues that come
in the way of education for their wards, local bodies, NGOs, teachers
and the Central and State governments, especially at a time when
primary education has been recognized as a fundamental right.
Earlier, schools
were out of reach for the children of many villages due to distance.
In some other cases, there were children, enrolled in hundreds,
but a single teacher had to manage them all. The teacher had to
club all the classes together and teach what the children have
heard already from the same master, to their utter boredom, resulting
in a large number of dropouts. In a few other cases, different
linguistic groups had to go to a school where the children had
to listen to in an alien tongue, dampening their spirit to learn.
Some were in the habit of migrating from region to region periodically
in search of livelihood, resulting in dislocation of education
of their ward. The problems were myriad, mainly localized, engulfing
elementary education. But the parents were earlier under the impression
that finding a solution was out of bounds for them, thinking that
it was an exclusive domain of the educational authorities, who
had little comprehension of the local issues. Now they do not
complain of such problem areas any more. Instead, they think aloud
as a group to solve the issues themselves with the Government
funding and backing, as enabled by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Under the scheme,
the Government provides the necessary infrastructure to primary
education. But the responsibility of managing the institutions
is largely in the hands of the Village Education Committees (VEC)
set up at local levels. It includes representatives from among
the parents, Panchayati Raj institutions, local self-help groups,
non-governmental organizations and other opinion leaders who are
willing to give their time for teaching in their locality, apart
from the teachers. This committee assesses the situation, the
needs and the strategy to enroll all the children of school-going
age in their areas and submits its report to the Block Resource
Centres (BRC) which are being established in all the Panchayat
unions in the country. They compile the reports of various Village
Education Committees under their areas and forward them with necessary
recommendations to the district level committees. In some areas,
Cluster Resource Centres (CRC) are also formed under the BRC,
depending on their educational needs.
Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan aims at imparting at least 8 years of education to
all children of school-going age before the year 2010 with specific
intermediate timeframes by way of bridging all gender and social
gaps and improving the quality of education. Wherever necessary,
either additional schools are started or extra class rooms built
up. If needed, a primary school can also be upgraded into a middle
school. There are scientifically worked out provisions in the
scheme for office equipment, maintenance, surveys and cultural
activities. Cultural programmes would be designed to motivate
students and parents on the need for education. Apex educational
bodies such as the National Council for Education, Research and
Training (NCERT), State Councils for Education, Research and Training
and other academic institutions would be extending the needed
help at various levels of the scheme like preparing and carrying
out the District Elementary Education Plans. The Government allocates
resources based on these plans and other aspects like commitment
of the State administrations and institutional reforms in aid
of decentralized management of education. Resource allocation
is not only need-based, but also performance-linked.
Under the Sarva
Shiksha Abhiyan, there should be one teacher for every 40
students. In a primary school, at least two teachers are ensured.
In the middle schools or upper primary schools, the norm is to
have one teacher for every class. Within one kilometre of every
habitation, a school should be there as per the scheme. For every
class, there are provisions to build separate classrooms. Refresher
courses are conducted for teachers to hone their knowledge and
skills, which would go a long way in imparting quality education
to the children. Separate allocations are made for teaching aids
and maintenance and repair of school buildings.
For habitations
which are devoid of educational facilities at present and as a
preparatory measure to bring those who are out of schools into
the educational mainstream, educational guarantee centers can
be established in which the pupils could be educated in a flexible
environment. Afterwards they could be brought into the normal
schools. After two successful years of running the Educational
Guarantee Centres, they could even be considered for upgrading
into primary schools.
In Tamil Nadu
there is a plan to create 412 Block Resource Centres and to appoint
4120 Block Resource Teachers under the scheme over the next five
years from this academic session onwards. The estimated cost is
Rs. 1,800 crore. A major proportion of the fund would be met by
the Centre. Initially, the Centre’s share is 85 per cent of the
project cost which would marginally be reduced over the years.
Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan, meant for universal elementary education, is, in
fact, a people’s movement, designed to spread the light of knowledge
throughout the country, penetrating all barriers. It is being
implemented through the active participation of the people, both
the illiterate and the elite alike who are the major stakeholders,
especially at a time when elementary education has been recognized
as a fundamental right.
Inputs
from M. Jaya Singh, AIO, PIB, Chennai
