[Socialmobilization] [Updates] Education Emergency

[Guru]

Dear friends,

Newsletter from the National Coalition on the Education Emergency, with
updates on the Education Emergency, our work and  our plans. Please
circulate widely in your networks.

regards,
Guru
Gurumurthy Kasinathan
www.ITforChange.Net| Cell:91 9845437730 | Tel:91 80 26654134, 26536890
*|MC_PREVIEW_TEXT|*
View in your browser
<https://educationemergency.net/newsletter/NewsletterOctNov6.html>

Newsletter on the Education Emergency
October 1 - November 10, 2021

A FUTURE AT STAKE

The National Coalition on the Education Emergency (NCEE) continued its
work to '*resume*' and '*renew*' school education. Articles in the print
media, social media campaigns, press releases and meetings with
bureaucrats, protests, helped to keep the pressure on state governments
for opening schools. The voice of NCEE was a useful counter to
apprehensions about opening schools, and most states have opened schools
over the last month.

Highlights & Next Steps


The coalition's publication _A FUTURE AT STAKE
<https://educationemergency.net/2021/11/a-future-at-stake/>_was released
on November 2^nd by Padmashree Smt. Shantha Sinha. The publication
identifies and discusses specific steps that need to be taken by the
national and state education systems, schools, teachers, parents and
communities, in order to respond to the education emergency and to save
the future of our children. It was widely reported in the national,
Hindi and Malayalam press.


The Education EmergencyP
<https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/>olicy
<https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/>T
<https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/>racker
<https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/>and research briefs
<https://educationemergency.net/2021/09/coalition-releases-research-brief/>have
been widely circulated. Several survey tools have been developed (for
parents, teachers, school leaders) and the method of data collection and
analysis tested. Karnataka is the first state where we have done these
short surveys.

The immediate actions for the NCEE include sharing the ‘A Future at
Stake <https://educationemergency.net/2021/11/a-future-at-stake/>’ with
interested governments, continuing interactions with Tamil Nadu and
Karnataka governments, developing detailed guidelines for early
childhood and foundational learning, creating and sharing curricular
resources for schools and communities. Expanding the Policy tracker to
analyze education budgets, conducting quick surveys to capture ground
realities, releasing research briefs, continuing outreach to media,
including local language media, and holding a meeting of expanded
coalition are also planned.

The NCEE continued its work through the three working groups – Social
Mobilization, Education Support and Research.


*Social Mobilization*


*Consultation with Governments: *Members of the NCEE have been in talks
with the Karnataka and Tamil Nadu governments to recommend guidelines
and steps that can become part of the school opening planning and
decision making of the education departments. Work is underway to reach
out to other governments as well to build awareness of the education
emergency and provide suitable responses to the same.
 

The coalition has held meetings with organizations and individuals in
Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Telangana and efforts are being
made in other states as well. We are explaining the work of the NCEE and
the importance of focus on a meaningful education recovery effort for
children from marginalized groups.


*Education support to schools and communities*


*Resource repository: *Additional resources
<https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/Educational_resource_repository>
and tools that are flexible and allow for contextualization are needed
for teachers, students, parents and school administrators to support
children coming back to school after a very abnormal disruption. The
education support group has been compiling different resources with
ideas and activities in a manner as to support the acquisition/
re-acquisition of skills of learning – in terms of language abilities,
mathematical abilities as well as social skills with an intention to
help teachers equip themselves with a flexible repertoire of approaches
and resources to respond to children at different levels.

*Innovation Models*: The work and efforts of different organizations in
engaging with children and creating opportunities for learning during
the pandemic have been documented as innovative models
<https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/Education_Innovation_Models>.
The experiences are being compiled to be made available to teachers,
volunteers and groups working / planning to work with children in
communities as well as in schools.

*Research*


*Policy Tracker: *Policy measures being taken by the state and central
governments to address the emergency situation arising out of prolonged
school closures in India are being compiled as a Education Emergency
Policy Tracker <https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/>. Policy
measures are being tracked using indicators that reflect whether
meaningful teaching-learning has resumed in different states, such as
school re-opening, supply of mid-day meals, textbooks, adjustment of the
syllabus to address learning losses, support to teachers, extra
educational support to vulnerable groups and additional funding to
address the emergency. The tracker will focus on public education
budgets across states, which will be important as governments will soon
start the budget preparation for the next fiscal year.











A point-in-time snapshot of high school opening status in the policy
tracker.


*Research Brief: *The NCEE on Teachers Day released a Research Brief
<https://educationemergency.net/2021/09/coalition-releases-research-brief/>that
summarizes research studies conducted across India and selected
international studies between early 2020 and mid 2021. The complete
research compendium can be found here
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1coEeu0lZRBsMEg366uIVxEYPS7Bc2ey_nO2uCIQwSyE/edit?usp=sharing>.
The research findings convey a consistent and grim picture of the
catastrophic consequences that continuous school closures and the
limited reach of online/remote learning have had for children, on the
academic, emotional, nutritional, social, and economic fronts. Read the
brief in English
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/16ij8JyoqIrcEBewoTUiek_LCKuLcId_P/view?usp=sharing>
Hindi हिंदी
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kZ8cPoAmcWb469-uIO9Z3mbCqimunbJ1/view?usp=sharing>
and Kannada ಕನ್ನಡ
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Fzhuqd3qRs_hdApq4n_TwpR2b82M7TvZ/view?usp=sharing>.

*TeacherSpeak:*A Survey was conducted with high school teachers in
Karnataka to get their opinions heard about their students' learning
levels and the challenges associated with the reopening of schools.
Teachers overwhelmingly reported that students were not at grade level.
The _report
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/10W0y9fRDwFPVEA5eanJNlcZ6BqMjmEBF/view>_is
a warning that resuming grade level textbook teaching prematurely would
be harmful.

*Family Survey:*An ongoing households survey to capture the experiences
of parents and students regarding their education during the pandemic
and school opening after a disruption of over a year. The survey is
being conducted in rural and urban regions of Karnataka and will be
conducted in Telangana.The short survey instrument can be translated
into different languages. /Groups interested in administering the survey
in their states can contact the NCEE <mailto:info at educationemergency.net>./

*School Heads Survey:*This survey is expected to be done regularly and
aims to capture inputs from school principals/HMs about the situation on
the ground, focusing on the school re-opening process, enrollment of
students, teaching-learning challenges, guidelines and support from
governments. The tool is ready, and the survey will be launched shortly.


Coalition in the news

_*Report warns of deepening inequalities as schools reopen*_
<https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/report-warns-of-deepening-inequalities-as-schools-reopen-101635920336267.html>
The reopening of schools cannot be considered a normal “return to
schools”, and lack of a comprehensive approach at this time may deepen
the existing education inequality says the National Coalition on the
Education Emergency, a group of academics and educationists.

*As schools reopen, study warns of deepening divides*
<https://www.thehindu.com/education/schools/as-schools-reopen-study-warns-of-deepening-divides/article37315195.ece>
“The worst affected are children of the rural and urban poor, migrants,
minorities, Dalit, adivasi and other backward communities, many of whose
families faced a health and livelihood crisis during the lockdown apart
from a lack of educational access.”

*The challenge of going back to school*
<https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/the-challenge-of-going-back-to-school/article36847844.ece>
Op-Ed in the Hindu, discussing measures to be taken up on school opening.

*Covid, folk psychology and pedagogy viruses*
<https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/in-perspective/covid-folk-psychology-and-pedagogy-viruses-1040390.html>
Op-Ed in the Deccan Herald, alerting to the need for educators to
communicate the purpose and processes of education clearly to
communities, for a larger shared understanding.

*Press release: Oct 2021*
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/12AH8OTq-ds1bX-UrSs2T-i7Aq4wgb9uN/view>
The NCEE has issued a press release 'Open LPS and start MMS soon'
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/12AH8OTq-ds1bX-UrSs2T-i7Aq4wgb9uN/view>
in Karnataka demanding opening of primary schools and anganwadis along
with mid-day meals. The release was carried by the Karnataka media, and
the state government responded positively by announcing opening of lower
primary schools and resumption of the MMS.

*Infrastructure worries for govt schools in Karnataka as kids return
today*
<https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/bengaluru/infrastructure-worries-for-govt-schools-in-karnataka-as-kids-return-today/articleshow/87248285.cms>
Many schools are in a poor state as some facilities haven’t been used
for over 17 months. The National Coalition on the Education Emergency
has been seeking an untied grant from the government for developing
these schools.


Covid and Education News

_*34,000 children out of school in Karnataka, 6,000 in BBMP limits*_
<https://www.deccanherald.com/state/top-karnataka-stories/34000-children-out-of-school-in-karnataka-6000-in-bbmp-limits-1046869.html>

Citing health issues, financial crisis and family issues as the three
main reasons, the report from Samagra Shikshana Karnataka (SSK) shows
that 34,411 children in the state are out of school. This includes
children who never enrolled and those who dropped out.

*Schools fully open in 22 States, Union Territories*
<https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/schools-fully-open-in-22-states-uts/article37311100.ece>

The only States where schools are still completely closed are West
Bengal and Manipur. Over 92% of school teachers across the country have
been vaccinated, and 86% of non-teaching staff in schools.

*Drums, stationery, chocolates: TN students get grand welcome as schools
reopen*
<https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/drums-stationery-chocolates-tn-students-get-grand-welcome-schools-reopen-157147>

Schools across Tamil Nadu reopened for offline classes after being
closed for a year and a half, for classes 1 to 8, on November 1. Schools
decided to give the students a grand and traditional welcome, with Chief
Minister Stalin at the forefront in welcoming students to schools.

*Notes from Jaipur on How School Closures Impacted Children from
Marginalised Communities*
<https://thewire.in/education/notes-from-jaipur-on-how-school-closures-impacted-children-from-marginalised-communities>

A survey carried out in Jaipur's Kathputli Nagar Basti and Hathroi areas
has revealed that several children completely forgot what they had
learnt before the lockdown was imposed due to COVID-19.


Resources from the NCEE

_*Research Compendium:*_
<https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1coEeu0lZRBsMEg366uIVxEYPS7Bc2ey_nO2uCIQwSyE/edit#gid=61609172>
A compilation of various research studies on education during the pandemic.

_*Resource Repository:*_
<https://teacher-network.in/OER/index.php/Educational_resource_repository>
Curated educational resources contributed by different individuals and
organizations to support teachers and students in meeting their learning
requirements.

_*Policy Tracker:*_ <https://educationemergency.net/policy-tracker/> The
tracker provides information on policy measures being taken by state
governments and the Central government to tackle the emergency situation
arising out of prolonged school closures in India, among the longest in
the world.

*NCEE is now on Twitter <https://twitter.com/EduEmergency>and Facebook
<https://www.facebook.com/EduEmergencyIndia/>. Follow our handles for
regular updates. *
*Media articles are updated regularly and available on the Education
Emergency site <https://educationemergency.net/category/media-articles/>*


*|MC:SUBJECT|*

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