Asha Wide Initiatives on Education & Related issues Sept 2010

2 Background As volunteers at AfE we all know and have always been discussing the issues like poor enrollment rates in schools, high drop out rates, child labor, below par learning levels of kids, sustainability of Asha projects etc. There are focus groups in Asha that have been working different with ideas that try to address these issues through innovative methodologies. The ideas that have been discussed by these focus groups would be of interest to all the chapters. The general funds proposal facilitated 20% of each years disbursal amount be available to large scale, innovative projects that have an impact on all the chapters across the organization Given that the proposals from these focus groups are at a stage where they can be considered by the General funds committee for potential funding, it behooves all the chapters to discuss these proposals to see how they might participate and benefit from the proposals.

3 Asha wide Initiatives NREGA Focus Group  Emerged out of the discussion in the Self-Sustainability Focus Group  Several studies / reports have pointed out that lack of livelihood in villages is the primary reason for high drop out rates in schools.  This group pursues the ways and means to promote NREGA as a tool to generate the basic livelihood for rural communities and consequently improve the school enrollment & retention rates and reduce malnutrition among children. Quality-Ed Focus Group  This is a Focus group aimed at understanding and promoting the quality of education aspects in Asha’s projects  Understanding the “Quality” aspect in education begins with realizing the fact that there is more to quality than just getting good marks in exams.  This group aims to articulate the various aspects of quality and conceptualize measures that promote quality.

4 National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) Focus Group NREGA is a legislation in India that provides a legal guarantee for 100 Days of employment every year to all the members of a household who are willing to do unskilled manual work. NREGA facilitates an improvement in the infrastructure of rural India by leveraging the untapped human resource that is available. NREGA is unlike any other predecessor poverty alleviation programs. NREGA is designed as a demand driven program (ie. Employment *should* be given if one asks for it.) unlike other previous schemes where employment is given at the discretion of the government. NREGA is marked by many other interesting paradigm shifts in its design.  Fixing of minimum wages at Rs 100/day for both men and women.  Payments only through direct deposits into post office or bank accounts  Complete ban on contractors / middlemen and mechanized equipment in work  Payment of unemployment allowances when work is not provided  Making social audits an integral part of the NREGA framework etc.

5 As cutting edge as NREGA is, why isn’t it working NREGA goes far beyond all other employment schemes by making employment a basic right of every citizen in India NREGA is a demand driven program which means employment will be provided *IF* a citizen asks for it. Hence its effectiveness depends on whether the unemployed individuals come forward to seek employment. Given the dismal literacy levels in rural India, the uneducated rural Indian doesn’t know enough to realize that getting employment is his right and he needs to step forward and ask for it. Lack of awareness about the rules and regulations of NREGA is the biggest impediment. This has made NREGA like any other govt scheme that is fraught with corruption

6 NREGA: What can Asha for Education do Various pilot studies have shown that in areas where NREGA is being successfully implemented the school dropout rates have been reduced by 90% and risk of child malnutrition was reduced substantially What can Asha chapters do Promote NGOs that work towards an effective implementation of NREGA. Provide training to NGOs that are willing to step forward and participate in its implementation Take measures to increase the awareness about NREGA within Asha’s projects and other partner NGOs. The NREGA Focus group has a proposal to the General funds group which facilitates any Asha partner or other NGOs to receive training on NREGA. The cost of training will be covered by the proposal. The proposal also funds NREGA coordinators (/fellows) who can coordinate an effective implementation of NREGA in their areas and also help other smaller NGOs in coordination with their efforts NREGA focus group has identified long time Asha partners who are well experienced in working with NREGA legislation to provide training to other NGOs. Chapters can check with their project partners to see if they might be interested in receiving the training

7 QED Focus Group and the Quality Initiative: Background An Asha-wide focus group of volunteers and project partners interested in exploring, understanding and addressing Quality in its different dimensions A forum to facilitate sharing and learning where different ‘Quality' related ideas (within and outside Asha) can be discussed and tested through field practice. Currently has volunteers from several chapters of US and India and a few project partners Any interested Asha volunteer can join the group ( The group has been organizing open conference calls since August 2009  Discussion of National Curriculum Framework  Assessment methodologies  Calls with Project partners on the dimensions of quality A wiki is under construction to host the documents and discussions.

8 QED Focus Group and the Quality Initiative: Background (Contd) Two Documents have been developed through the collaborative discussions over this period.  Dimensions of School Quality Document explores the different dimensions that influence quality in an educational setup Learning (Scholastic) Learning (Non-Scholastic) Society Parents Teachers Learner/Student School Management/Leadership Relationships Self-awareness of the school about its aims and Objectives  Quality of Education Framework Questionnaire contains a comprehensive set of questions to understand how the school is addressing these dimensions QED group submitted a proposal to support quality of education related initiatives from up to 25 Asha projects using General Funds (details in next slide)

9 QED General Funds proposal: Objectives Collaboratively implement initiatives with Project Partners that address different dimensions of Quality. Provide an effective channel for the utilization of the funds set aside through the recent ARC vote for Large scale, Innovative projects through a process that suits the simple, decentralized nature of Asha Demonstrate a strong, conscious and pro-active consideration of ‘Quality’ as a core objective by Asha chapters, volunteers and project partners Generate a repository of documentation that, over time, can enhance our understanding of Quality Facilitate an Asha-wide learning of quality initiatives (as against the knowledge staying just with individual chapters). Under the proposal, each chapter can nominate 1 project with a proposal that seeks to improve ‘quality of education’. Sample initiatives may be teacher training, increased salary for teachers, student scholarships, or any other proposal given by project partner to address ‘quality’