[Research] Meeting with Jharkhand Education Secretary
Jean Dreze
jaandaraz at riseup.net
Sun Aug 22 17:29:37 IST 2021
Thanks Guru. Would be good to hear more about points 1 and 2 from
Mythili, Ranjani and Manisha. I will count myself lucky if we are able
to persuade the Secy that schools need to reopen soon and that the Govt
of Jharkhand may benefit from these inputs for the purpose of preparing
a transition plan. Hopefully they are on the job, but I will be
surprised if they have electrifying proposals.
Jean
On 22-08-2021 13:14, Guru wrote:
> Dear Jean,
>
> I have compiled inputs from Rishikesh, Jyotnsa and Sajitha in mail
> thread + Note on the Education Emergency in Hindi
> <https://educationemergency.net/2021/08/resume-and-renew-education-for-26-crore-children-hi/>
> + Press release advocating immediate opening of pre-primary and
> primary schools from the National Coalition, in the attached PDF, to
> make it easier to print/share.
>
> It may be useful to present the note as from the 'National Coalition
> on the Education Emergency' whose members are working to provide
> education support to schools, communities as well as larger
> mobilization of parents, teachers, stakeholders. *So that it is seen
> as a potential continuous support/engagement than a one-off
> interaction. *The note in the beginning summarises this potential
> support (also provided below)
>
> 1.
>
> The Working Group on ‘Education Support to Schools and
> Communities’ is in the process of documenting models of meaningful
> learning (of different groups/organizations) and compiling these.
> Based on this, the group is preparing ‘Guidelines for school
> opening’. We will provide the documents from this process to the
> Jharkhand education department. Contact Mythili Ramchand, Ranjani
> Ranganathan)
>
> 2.
>
> The Working Group on ‘Education Support to Schools and
> Communities’ is in the process of organizing a meeting of parents
> groups, teacher groups, NGOs, CBOs working in *Jharkhand*. The
> Education department should have a representative attend this
> virtual meeting to get a direct hearing of views of different
> stakeholders from Jharkhand. (Contact person - Manisha Priyam)
>
> 3.
>
> The Working Group on ‘Research’ is compiling research studies
> conducted relating to Covid and education, and will release the
> highlights soon. The suggestions made in this note, do alignwith
> the findings of almost all the research studies.
>
> 4.
>
> The press release in the note argues for the immediate opening of
> pre-primary and primary schools, (contrary to the political
> preference to open class X-XII) as the maximum harm from school
> closure affects this group. The note in Hindi
> <https://educationemergency.net/2021/08/resume-and-renew-education-for-26-crore-children-hi/>
> discusses the need to 'resume' and 'renew' school education.
>
> I am copying Manisha, Mythili, Ranjani and Venita for their
> inputs/suggestions.
>
> regards,
> Guru
> Gurumurthy Kasinathan,शिक्षा आपातकाल पर राष्ट्रीय सहभागिता
> <https://educationemergency.net/2021/08/resume-and-renew-education-for-26-crore-children-hi/>
>
> On 22/08/21 10:26 am, Rishikesh wrote:
>>
>> Sajitha & Jyotsna have already provided very useful inputs. So, I’m
>> not sure how useful this attachment is Jean. It contains examples on
>> how the current and next year can be designed and the kind of
>> curricular changes (broad and the next level illustratively for Math).
>>
>> I’m attaching the word version so that you can use any section of the
>> note to incorporate into your submission to the Secy, GoJ. Please
>> feel free to use the note I’ve shared in whatever way you feel fit as
>> it does not require any referencing.
>>
>> Warm regards,
>>
>> rishi
>>
>> *From:* Research <research-bounces at educationemergency.net> *On Behalf
>> Of *Jyotsna Jha
>> *Sent:* Sunday, August 22, 2021 10:06 AM
>> *To:* Sajitha Bashir <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>
>> *Cc:* research at educationemergency.net; Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya
>> <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Research] posters
>>
>> Hi Jean,
>>
>> I can see that we all have different and at times also contrary
>> suggestions.
>>
>> Yet, can help suggesting a few - I am sure you would discern and
>> decide: I think you should ask for some quick decisions that are also
>> easier to implement followed by some modified approaches for being
>> more supportive to children. I have five suggestions:
>>
>> 1. I am a votary for a Zero Year or a Bonus Year for all primary
>> kids, especially in states like Jharkhand and Bihar. In the lifetime,
>> one year is nothing but if pushed to higher grades without knowing
>> nothing, it would lead to much higher dropouts.
>>
>> 2. A curriculum-approach replanning with support of local (there are
>> some in Ranchi who understand these well) and some external people,
>> focusing on key and supportive concepts - I know that MP is making
>> some such initiative. Different from bridging in the sense that it
>> also takes note of already prevailing learning gaps and also
>> structural aspects.
>>
>> 3. Training teachers on this new approach and also extensively on
>> equity and learning issues making them able to have a
>> differential approach and not treating all children the same. It may
>> also mean individual testing (as Sajitha is suggesting) to know about
>> each one of them - but much better to equip teachers to do that
>> rather than organising large scale ones. It must include orienting
>> them on socio-emotional support and the importance of maintaining
>> links with children/parents during such breaks.
>>
>> 4. Preparing teachers/schools/system for future sudden such
>> occurrences (third wave?). For instance, many schools don't have all
>> children's addresses with landmarks, phone numbers (family or
>> neighbour), closest literate person's phone number/address. We found
>> that to be a major constraint that teachers faced when it came to
>> getting in touch with students and families. Record collection may
>> have happened but the school does not have these in many cases.
>>
>> 5. Textbooks (plus additional learning materials) and Meals to be
>> non-negotiable - the system must assess the current practices and
>> assure the availability of these two.
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Jyotsna
>>
>> On Sun, Aug 22, 2021 at 9:20 AM Sajitha Bashir
>> <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>> wrote:
>>
>> Studies from the US show that it takes several years for students
>> who are below grade level to "catch up" to grade level ; one
>> study I saw indicates that only 4 % catch up in two years !
>> (This is pre-pandemic). In general, younger children, and
>> students who are not independent learners take longer. So this
>> cannot be a one-time effort, it could take a few years. In other
>> words, think of what you have to do consistently for several
>> years (which may , if done well, actually introduce some much
>> needed changes in the education system). That is the first point
>> that I would make.
>>
>> The education support group of the coalition is preparing draft
>> guidelines/ principles . At this stage, a few other points that
>> could be put forward
>>
>> - children need to be assessed individually (not just on academic
>> subjects); sample based assessments and tests give us an idea of
>> the scale of the problem, but do not indicate what needs to be
>> done in each school. These have to be administered by teachers,
>> but there must be some quality checks and protocols, and
>> consistent analysis of data, to help develop school plans. [
>> Also, children would also have learnt new skills and resilience
>> during this time, and it is important to build on this]
>>
>> - extend the time for learning (eg weekends, holidays etc). This
>> obviously has to be negotiated with teachers or other
>> organizations have to be brought in.
>>
>> - mixed age groups / classes in smaller groups - eg you can teach
>> literacy skills to some students in classes 1-3 together, if some
>> grade 2-3 students have lost literacy skills. This becomes more
>> difficult at higher levels, but solutions can be found.
>>
>> - focus on core subjects initially - language, mathematics; and
>> socio-emotional
>>
>> - tailored training for teachers to understand and take up new
>> methods, and regular support provided to them
>>
>> - additional instructional materials for the above (ie the
>> textbooks usually cannot be used; but additional instructional
>> materials are not difficult to develop and need not take time)
>>
>> - a clear instructional plan developed by each school ( schools
>> will need support for this)
>>
>> - detailed district or block level planning and monitoring to
>> support each school;
>>
>> - meaningful and sensitive communication with parents on a
>> regular basis.
>>
>> - more public funding to support all of above; one can't tackle
>> the crisis meaningfully with the existing level of resources
>>
>> On Sat, Aug 21, 2021 at 9:56 PM Jean Dreze <jaandaraz at riseup.net
>> <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net>> wrote:
>>
>> We are meeting the Education Secretary in Jharkhand tomorrow.
>> If you have any suggestions, or any ready-made material that
>> might be useful to him, please let me know.
>>
>> Jean
>>
>> On 22-08-2021 07:12, Rishikesh wrote:
>>
>> That is right. The gap that has occurred over the 16+
>> months is so huge and as Jean says it is over the gap
>> that already existed! If we are to do anything
>> meaningful, we will need a lot of time with the children
>> to even get them to where they were before the lockdown.
>>
>> I guess all will agree with it too. But the challenge is
>> in coming up with the appropriate approach with a
>> suitable curriculum, material, pedagogy, capacity
>> building to use them & so on… we will have to start
>> working with State Govt’s to actionize this.
>>
>> *From:* Jean Dreze <jaandaraz at riseup.net>
>> <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net>
>> *Sent:* Saturday, August 21, 2021 8:09 PM
>> *To:* Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya
>> <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>
>> <mailto:aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>; Guru
>> <Guru at ITforChange.net> <mailto:Guru at ITforChange.net>
>> *Cc:* Sajitha Bashir <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>
>> <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>;
>> mehendalearchana at gmail.com
>> <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com>;
>> research at educationemergency.net
>> <mailto:research at educationemergency.net>; Rishikesh
>> <rishikesh at apu.edu.in> <mailto:rishikesh at apu.edu.in>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Research] posters
>>
>> It seems to me that the "bridge", however designed, will
>> have to extend to March 2023, not 2022. Because the
>> "gap", for children who've been left out all this time,
>> is not just one-and-a-half years (since lockdown began);
>> it's one-and-a-half years + what they forgot of what they
>> had learnt + whatever gap was already there before the
>> lockdown began. I don't see a 3-month bridge course
>> filling that gap.
>>
>> Jean
>>
>> On 21-08-2021 19:51, Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya wrote:
>>
>> Hi Jean and friends
>>
>> You have raised an important issue. Since March 24^th
>> to till date nothing much happened to children who
>> are in lower classes. Therefore, I propose the
>> following.
>>
>> The children who joined class 1 in 2020-21 can be
>> combined with the children who are joining class 1 in
>> 2021-22 since there levels of learning are one and
>> the same. These children will undergo accelerated
>> learning programme to learn basic things appropriate
>> to their age and grade in a combined manner to
>> benefit both the age groups and grades in 2021-22 for
>> 200 hundred learning days as indicated by RTE Act.
>> During this period, teachers with special curriculum
>> and methods help these children master the
>> competencies otherwise they would have mastered in
>> class 1 and two respectively. At the end of 2022
>> academic year , a special programme for children who
>> got admitted to class 1 in 2020-21 ( though they have
>> not attended school) can be designed with special
>> curriculum to prepare them for class 3, so that we
>> can avoid loss of one year for no fault of them.
>>
>> In the meal for all other grades from 2 to 10, the
>> first 3 months should be devoted to well-structured
>> bridge course with a specially designed curriculum to
>> get familiar with age wise- grade wise
>> competencies before we start curriculum transaction
>>
>> Otherwise, the loss is for marginalized children who
>> are first- or second-generation learners. Therefore,
>> while talking on behalf them and demanding any
>> solution needs a fair understanding and all benefit
>> should be given to children. The decision also should
>> be in the best interest of the children.
>>
>> Niranjan
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> *From:*Jean Dreze <jaandaraz at riseup.net>
>> <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net>
>> *Sent:* 21 August 2021 1:20 AM
>> *To:* Guru <Guru at ITforChange.net>
>> <mailto:Guru at ITforChange.net>
>> *Cc:* niranjan aradhya <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>
>> <mailto:aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>; Sajitha Bashir
>> <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>
>> <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>;
>> mehendalearchana at gmail.com
>> <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com>
>> <mehendalearchana at gmail.com>
>> <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com>;
>> research at educationemergency.net
>> <mailto:research at educationemergency.net>
>> <research at educationemergency.net>
>> <mailto:research at educationemergency.net>; Rishikesh
>> <rishikesh at apu.edu.in> <mailto:rishikesh at apu.edu.in>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Research] posters
>>
>> Dear Guru and friends,
>>
>> I am still tied up with the field survey, but doing
>> my best to keep up in the between with all the useful
>> material you are circulating.
>>
>> The survey findings are alarming (no surprise here).
>> In Latehar district, in 5 SC/ST hamlets, we found
>> that 75% of children were unable to read a single
>> word. Meanwhile, the schools are falling apart.
>>
>> I wonder what the "line" is on automatic promotion.
>> Once again it seems to suit privileged children, who
>> are more or less on track, but it is the kiss of
>> educational death for other children. How can
>> children who were enrolled in Class 1 last year, and
>> have never been to school or learnt the alphabet, be
>> in Class 2 now (Class 3 in a few months), where they
>> are given English textbooks (in Jharkhand)? Is there
>> not a case for a "bonus year" when all children are
>> helped to recover instead of sorting the winners and
>> losers yet again? Just curious - I am sure that you
>> have discussed this.
>>
>> I am not clear whether
>> "research at educationemergency.net"
>> <mailto:research at educationemergency.net> is a kind of
>> collective address so I am CC-ing a few at random!
>>
>> Best,
>>
>> Jean
>>
>> On 10-08-2021 11:05, Guru wrote:
>>
>> Thanks Jean
>>
>> We are in the process of translating posters to
>> as many languages as possible as these can help
>> in sharp and quick communication. We will share
>> these with you as well.
>>
>> regards
>> Guru
>>
>>
>> On 10/08/21 7:03 am, Jean Dreze wrote:
>>
>> Dear Guru: Thanks for this and other mails. I
>> am up to my ears right now with the field
>> survey (until 22 August), but I will catch up
>> as soon as possible. We will definitely help
>> with media for one thing.
>>
>> More asap,
>>
>> Jean
>>
>> On 06-08-2021 15:41, Guru wrote:
>>
>> Dear Jean
>>
>>
>>
>> I am attaching the posters that my colleague made in our Karnataka
>>
>> 'Open Schools' campaign
>>
>>
>>
>> The campaign included a street protest, media articles, few press
>>
>> releases which were reported in local papers. It may have helped a bit -
>>
>> the Karnataka Govt kept high schools open Jan-March 2021.
>>
>> Through the State SMC Federation, Niranjan and others also organized
>>
>> district level protest meetings on school opening. A PIL was also put up
>>
>> in Karnataka High Court on both opening schools and providing mid day
>>
>> meals. The CJ was sympathetic but did not give a firm directive to open
>>
>> schools. (there is a general middle class fear psychosis)
>>
>>
>>
>> For this time, apart from posters, street protests, short videos
>>
>> (children, parents, teachers) in multiple languages, social media
>>
>> campaigns, apart from policy briefs, guidelines/toolkits for school
>>
>> opening will be required. And the idea of the national coalition is to
>>
>> share resources/ideas across groups working in different geographies.
>>
>>
>>
>> regards,
>>
>> Guru
>>
>>
>>
>> https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/mar/19/midday-meals-as-crucial-as-classes-survey-2278502.html <https://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bengaluru/2021/mar/19/midday-meals-as-crucial-as-classes-survey-2278502.html>
>>
>> https://itforchange.net/press-release-open-all-schools-and-all-classes-local-hygiene-precautions <https://itforchange.net/press-release-open-all-schools-and-all-classes-local-hygiene-precautions>
>>
>> https://itforchange.net/press-release-open-all-primary-schools-now-to-avoid-a-learning-crisis <https://itforchange.net/press-release-open-all-primary-schools-now-to-avoid-a-learning-crisis>
>>
>>
>
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