Gyan Shala

 Project Update (March '2002)

Six monthly Report (September, 2001, March, 2002)

 The six-moth period under review covers a period of steady evolution and growth of Gyan Shala project that has adopted a growth and learning trajectory well ahead of what was proposed in the original proposal. This has come about because of starting a new set of classes on Gyan Shala pattern in villages with financial support from VIDE. The project has also been able to mobilize another type of financing support from a local private foundation to support more classes in Ahmedabad slums than supported by SRTT. The diversity among the children, community and teachers posed new challenges to the management while also providing opportunity to test the applicability of Gyan Shala approach over a wider canvass.

Preparation for material for grade I & II and revision of material for grade III

The project team did comprehensive revision of the learning materials and curricula for grade I and completed the design and implementation of grade II material. The team obtained inputs from various sources, including Gyan Shala’s own class experience, the approach of other leading private sector schools, and subject experts such as Mr. Hriday Kant Dewan, that led to significant revisions in both the language and Math components for grade I. In language, the new design introduces the basic alphabets and their use in building words at a faster rate than planned earlier, although Gyan Shala retains its approach of emphasizing sight vocabulary. Greater emphasis was also laid in providing reading practice by supplying more reading material to each child and in the class library. The daily feedback from teacher to children was streamlined along these lines. In math, the changes emphasized interconnectivity of different numbers and mental operations. Teacher student was also restructured to enable better linkage between the number system and its use in daily life. The learning material for all the components of the program for grade II too was completed as per our evolving understanding of what works on the ground. A significant aspect of Gyan Shala was the development of project component for grade II which can be regarded as a major innovation that has the potential to pitchfork Gyan Shala design into sector leadership. The project component is giving opportunity to children to start applying their learning in math and language already in addressing real life situation. The proposed design for the 3^rd grade too was finalized during this period. We decided to introduce a significant change in our earlier plans for grade-III. To ease the transition of Gyan Shala children into mainstream classes at the end of grade-III, it was decided to use the government text book as the core material that will be used in developing Gyan Shala learning schedule and exercises. This would mean that the team would not write the nez text of around ten lesson-books that was projected in the original proposals. Instead, the text of around 20 lessons in the standard text book would be used to design class material. With these changes, Gyan Shala appears well on course to meet its core objective of enabling its children to become independent reader and writers and capable of using math in normal life situation by the end of Gyan Shala module. Annex I, II, and III provide the detailed outlines for the modules for the three streams. 

Key highlight of Program Implementation and Management

The implementation of the program at the indicated size posed new challenges to Gyan Shala core team. First, it had to learn to deal simultaneously with both rural and urban spread which propelled the core team to systematize many operating procedures. The fee collection, material distribution and attendance analysis was streamlined. The role of supervisors too got streamlined although the team has yet to evolve the feedback mechanism so the supervisors could continuously monitor the children’s progress and report it to the core team.

A new lesson for Gyan Shala core team was to recognize the complexity of factors that affect children’s regular attendance and the intensity of efforts needed to ensure that. Table 1 summarizes the attendance pattern in different classes and at different locations. The dropping out of children from Gyan Shala classes too remained a significant problem and challenge. Though Gyan Shala team is confident of having developed effective ways to help children learn once they come to class, we can not claim to have learnt fully how to ensure children’s regular attendance in the classes. A large share of team energy in the field has gone to tackle this problem which is yet to be fully understood and analyzed. Among the reasons for absence and dropping out are (i) early years in Gyan Shala’s existence leading to limited credibility of it among the parents, (ii) mistakes in the initial launching of the classes and community communication in this regard, (iii) the poor performance and unhelpful attitude of teachers at some places, (iv) limited capacity of Gyan Shala to provide senior level supervisory support in the field, (v) socio-cultural pattern of behaviors that does not accord high priority to regular school attendance, and (vi) limited capacity of Gyan Shala field staff to sove behavioral problems on the spot. A majority of these factors would be partly neutralized as Gyan Shala matures.  We expect that next year’s experience would help Gyan Shala to better understand this aspect and evolve-test its strategies to tackle this. We are also planning to commission formal study of this phenomenon.

A new realization for the team is to recognize simply the quantum of work entailed in Gyan Shala pattern. Not only, the teachers in Gyan Shala class remains functionally occupied every minute of her stay, we are finding that the role requirement of supervisors and core team members too are onerous. The task analysis of the requirements of keeping the system in fine fettle has brought out the need for creating one more tier of senior supervisors, in between the school supervisor and core team, that was not conceived earlier. This also fits in well with the management system-organization design considerations.  Annex IV gives our current idea about the viable staff structure for Gyan Shala project team. The realization of the importance/ need of the role of senior supervisor has come to us during the course of work, and we do not have approval from our donors, SRTT and others, to hire people for these positions. As a result, the core team members are called upon to share more work than earlier visualized. While this has resulted in greater work strain, it has also helped the core team to learn to allocate its time more judiciously among alternate claims of development and ongoing maintenance/ implementation. The team, as a result, is far more confident and managerially mature in handling Gyan Shala pattern.

During the period under review, the team had to face a situation of strike of work by a group of rural teachers when we terminated the services of one field supervisor who was becoming a bottleneck in our attempt to instill quality and discipline among teacher’s work. The team successfully handled the situation so that at the end, not only every one came on board in accepting Gyan Shala commitment to quality but this was done without inviting negative reaction. 

With each new round of training, the core team is making improvements.  The design of training program and the contents of background notes have gone through many rounds of revision and the team’s confidence to find and prepare larger number of teachers for Gyan Shala has gone up. This takes care of one of the potential vulnerable aspect of the Gyan Shala design and makes the team confident of successfully handling program expansion.

During the period under report, the core team underwent some changes in its composition. We recruited a lady with a degree in child development and social work from MSU and another with an engineering degree. Due to the our inability to pay salary suited to the qualification and experience of the first candidate, she left the work soon after joining while the team has been able to successfully induct the other member. A copy of CV of new team member is enclosed as Annex V.

Children’s movement to mainstream at the end of Gyan Shala module

We plan to organize this on the basis of success of the project in providing demonstrably and measurably good quality education. We have traced an official circular of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation that would allow Gyan Shala children to seek admission in government primary schools on the basis of an entrance test. Gyan Shala team is now working with an Education Testing Service to evolve a suitable test that would be credible and acceptable to the municipal school authorities. We plan to meet the concerned officers of the education system with the result of year-end test results in Gyan Shala classes at the end of 2^nd year. That would be used to work out the necessary modalities in this regard. The copy of government circular is attached.

Community Involvement in Gyan Shala

Parent’s meeting are held approximately once each quarter to show them children’s progress and to seek their support for regular attendance and fee contribution. In the 2^nd year, we have started giving exercises which require children to seek information from parents. In most slums, the salary payments, and room rent payment is now formally done on behalf of parent’s committee. These processes are maturing and getting strengthened with the passage of time. 

One aspect of Gyan Shala design that is yet to be implemented is the proper constitution and functioning of parent’s committee. We have drawn the proper constitution for this forum which is attached as Annex VI. We plan to institute and regularize this forum from the beginning of June, 2002, so by the end of phase-I, this aspect too would stand implemented.

Website and New Sources of Funds

We have commissioned our website www.gyan.org. We also launched the program to mobilize funds for Gyan Shala through the concept of sponsorship of a child’s education. One class would be started under this schema from June 2002. 

Governance

The governing Board met on December 28, 2001. A copy of the agenda notes and minutes of meeting are attached.

Financial Report

Table 2 provides the break up of project spending under various heads. The total expenses incurred till the end of March 31, 2001 came to Rs. 14,33,420, which is close to the total grant received till date of Rs. 15, 51,000.

Table 2

Summary of Expenses for Gyan Shala-VIDE Unit

April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002

___________________________________________________________________

S.N.     Item                                                     Amount

                                                                        (in Rs.)
__________________________________________________________________

One time Expenses on capital items

(Class room furniture and office equipment) 

Till the end of first reporting quarter:                  412729
Addition during the quarter:                                 51841
                                                                        _______

Subtotal:                                   464570
                                                _______

                                Total: Till this qtr. end:           14,33,420

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