[Research] Meeting with Jharkhand Education Secretary

Tue Aug 24 09:56:15 IST 2021

Good to note that at least the meeting took place and was not as bad as you expected it to be. Thanks for the update Jean – looks like ‘we are still going to be in the tunnel for some more time’ if we don’t do more. I think it will be a good idea to meet the CM as well. I think, both the bureaucrats and the pol. reps, have to be influenced to ensure that they act.

I know all of you at Jharkhand will be pushing hard on this issue with further data that you are collecting. Best wishes & let us know if we can help in any way.

Meanwhile, please find attached a document that illustrates how Grade 4 Hindi syllabus, based on the Rimjhim textbook (NCERT), and Grade 6 Science syllabus could be re-cast by prioritizing LOs.

Warm regards,

rishi

From: Research <research-bounces at educationemergency.net> On Behalf Of Jean Dreze
Sent: Tuesday, August 24, 2021 7:06 AM
To: Guru <Guru at ITforChange.net>; Jyotsna Jha <jyotsna at cbps.in>
Cc: Mythili Ram <mythiliramchand at gmail.com>; research at educationemergency.net; venita kaul <vkaul54 at gmail.com>; Sriranjani Ranganathan <sriranjani.ranganathan at gmail.com>; Manisha Priyam <priyam.manisha at gmail.com>; Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [Research] Meeting with Jharkhand Education Secretary

The meeting was so-so - not great overall, but not as bad as I expected.

On the positive side, the secretary was cordial, sympathetic, gave us a lot of time, and was aware of the gravity of the situation. I think that his heart at least is on our side. But it sounds like there is a lot of opposition to reopening of schools from various quarters, including certainly the health department, and other quarters also that he did not specify. So no specific plan as of now though he said that "there may be some good news by the end of the week" as we departed.

Also, it doesn't sound like any serious preparations are being made for reopening - not even repairing the school buildings. About the "learning transition", the only measure they seem to have in mind right now is to tell teachers to spend half of their time on "remedial learning".

Their main concern right now seems to be the forthcoming "National Achievement Survey". That's based on grade-specific learning, so that's what they are focusing on right now. They don't want Jharkhand to end up at the bottom...

I think the bottom line is that everyone is "playing safe" and no-one wants to take the risk of being blamed in the event where some children die (or infection spreads) after schools reopen.

That's the long a short. We might seek an appointment with the Chief Minister. (Meanwhile I sent Rishikesh's note to the secretary, in a follow-up mail.)

Jean

On 23-08-2021 10:10, Guru wrote:

Dear Jean,

As Jyotsna says the letter is brief yet  communicates the most important points. Perhaps in the conversation you may be able to bring in the larger consequences of school closure (child labour, malnutrition, early marriages, likely high school drop out across next decade and iniquitous nature of all these) and possible support in terms of models/resources from the national coalition on the education emergency.

All the best. Along with the letter you could also release the 'press release' post your meeting. 

regards,
Guru

On 23/08/21 9:58 am, Jyotsna Jha wrote:

Jean,  

The letter looks good - communicates the most important. Wish you all the best - let us hope it creates an impact. I think it will be good to release it elsewhere through media as well once you have had your meeting. 

Regards,

Jyotsna

On Mon, Aug 23, 2021 at 8:08 AM Jean Dreze <jaandaraz at riseup.net <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net> > wrote:

That will be really useful. Here is the letter I have drafted for the Education Secretary (not for circulation please, we will release the final version to the media tomorrow). If need be, we will send a similar letter to the CM and request an appointment.

Jean

On 22-08-2021 21:31, Mythili Ram wrote:

We have received about a dozen cases of what's being tried in different sites, largely in South India for now. We will compile them by Thursday and share. 

Mythili

On Sun, Aug 22, 2021, 5:29 PM Jean Dreze <jaandaraz at riseup.net <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net> > wrote:

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 align with 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,  <https://educationemergency.net/2021/08/resume-and-renew-education-for-26-crore-children-hi/> शिक्षा आपातकाल पर राष्ट्रीय सहभागिता

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  <mailto:research-bounces at educationemergency.net> <research-bounces at educationemergency.net> On Behalf Of Jyotsna Jha
Sent: Sunday, August 22, 2021 10:06 AM
To: Sajitha Bashir  <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com> <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>
Cc: research at educationemergency.net <mailto:research at educationemergency.net> ; Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya  <mailto:aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com> <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  <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net> <jaandaraz at riseup.net> 
Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2021 8:09 PM
To: Niranjanaradhya.V.P Aradhya  <mailto:aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com> <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>; Guru  <mailto:Guru at ITforChange.net> <Guru at ITforChange.net>
Cc: Sajitha Bashir  <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com> <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>; mehendalearchana at gmail.com <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com> ; research at educationemergency.net <mailto:research at educationemergency.net> ; Rishikesh  <mailto:rishikesh at apu.edu.in> <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 24th 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  <mailto:jaandaraz at riseup.net> <jaandaraz at riseup.net>
Sent: 21 August 2021 1:20 AM
To: Guru  <mailto:Guru at ITforChange.net> <Guru at ITforChange.net>
Cc: niranjan aradhya  <mailto:aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com> <aradhyaniranjan at hotmail.com>; Sajitha Bashir  <mailto:sajitha.bashir at gmail.com> <sajitha.bashir at gmail.com>; mehendalearchana at gmail.com <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com>   <mailto:mehendalearchana at gmail.com> <mehendalearchana at gmail.com>; research at educationemergency.net <mailto:research at educationemergency.net>   <mailto:research at educationemergency.net> <research at educationemergency.net>; Rishikesh  <mailto:rishikesh at apu.edu.in> <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  <mailto:research at educationemergency.net> "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://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

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