Ubuntu Newsletter November-March '11

The Road Ahead – RTE implementation

The ‘Free and Compulsory Right to Education” bill was passed by both the houses in the Parliament in the year 2009. This has come into effect since 1 April, 2010.

This Act is being considered as a revolution in the field of education. Provisions under this Act include the following:

1.    It contains details of minimum facilities any school should provide. It says that every school must have at least 2 teachers. Teacher pupil ratio must be 1:30 per school.

 2.    A School Management Committee (SMC) must be appointed for every primary/upper primary school.  75% members in this committee should be the parents/guardians and females should not be less than 50% of committee’s total members.

3.  The responsibility of SMC is to ensure regular presence of teachers and RTE implementation.

4.  Apart from duties assigned during elections and census survey, no other extra work can be assigned to teachers.



5.  Every boy and girl aged 6-14 years should mandatorily be enrolled in the school. The education shall be free of cost. Besides, no student, under any circumstances, be punished, physically or mentally.

6.  The curriculum used in the school should be in accordance with the guidelines laid down in the Indian constitution. Therefore, the pedagogy will not make any discrimination based on sex, caste, creed and community.



RTE - The road less travelled?



7.  RTE implementation will be the responsibility of local authority. Here the local authority means the local Panchayat and the local level government structure for primary education.

The onus of RTE implementation lies not only with the state government but also with the organizations working for the social causes. DD is no exception. DD plans its role in the following manner:

a)  Although there is room for improvement in the Act, still DD will create forums to get the public opinion in favour of RTE implementation.

b)  Under the social mapping survey, identify and enlist unschooled boys and girls aged 6-14 years. Our efforts will be to get such children enrolled in schools.

c)  Ensure that re-formation of SMC is systematized and as per the desired norms. To the extent possible, the committee members selected should be dedicated people who are willing to spend their time and energy for the betterment of schools.

d) Work towards capacity building (organizing trainings/workshops) of SMC members.

e)  Ensure that with the help of Panchayat and education officers that the facilities and arrangements as mentioned in the Act are provided by the schools.

f)   With the help of SMC and Education Department officials, DD will also try to improve the system so that teachers regularly come to the school and teach students properly.

We will make our best efforts to effectively implement the Act and resolve the practical problems as quickly as possible.

DD's Lok Adhikar Yatra- a video on youtube

Doosra Dashak (DD), working to empower adolescents in rural and tribal areas of Rajasthan has succeeded in changing lives of many young people. In this video, some of the young change-makers share their experinces with DD.

Agla Kadam

Agla Kadam is a bi-monthly hindi newsletter published by Doosra Dashak which is a medium to promote the values and principles of DD. This is an important component of the Continuing Education Centres (CECs) – libraries, Ikhvelos and science centres. In CECs Agla Kadam is being used for sharing information about the recent developments in the field of human rights, education and development. This is an important medium to motivate the youth.

Curriculum Revision in DD

Here in Doosra Dashak, the 4-month residential programme is the most vital component. And equally crucial and important is the curriculum designed for these 4-month residential camps. The process of curriculum development in DD is time consuming and we take care that no detail (irrespective of how minute it is) should be missed.
Ten years back, with the beginning of residential camps, DD studied the social environment and beliefs of the residents in all the blocks it worked in and thereafter carefully chose the subjects to be covered in the residential camps. The subjects and pedagogy was meticulously designed after a thorough analysis of identified needs and the expected impact of the curriculum in the minds of young people. Subjects covered for the 4-month camps are:

• Language (Hindi)

• Mathematics

• Team Building and Participation

• Gender

• Samaj ki Parakh (An introduction to sociology)

• Health

• Adolescence and Sexuality

Over last ten years, there have been several changes both subtle and manifest, which inspired us to assess the relevance of the original curriculum in the present scenario. With the objective of revising the original curriculum; DD is now working on analyzing the changed conditions and needs as well as on impact assessment of the original curriculum.

The SCU (Steering and Coordination Unit, Jaipur) members have already started working on it. Several meetings were held at Jaipur with the eminent experts. With the initial framework ready, the SCU team will now work with the FESU (Field Extension and Support Unit) in all the nine blocks. Revised curriculum is expected by the end of this year.

We hope this exercise will guide us in making necessary changes in the course content and help us continue to strive for excellence.

Ubuntu Newsletter May-June

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Ubuntu

Ubuntu, the bi-monthly newsletter released by Doosra Dashak highlights the recent happenings in the organization as well as in other NGOs working for similar cause. Ubuntu is word of Xhosa language (from South Africa) which means “I am because we are”. It is used for referring to a way of life based on values of respect, caring, sharing and solidarity – currently seen as an alternative to values that promote individualistic goals.
We at Doosra Dashak believe in growing together and value our partners as much as ourselves. For us, victory is not a result of an individual’s achievements but is the outcome of several like-minded people working for a common goal. Ubuntu, at Doosra Dashak, is a platform for our partners for sharing their ideas and experiences that help us evolve better and continually inspire us to achieve our goals.