Post on 07-Aug-2020
International Workshop on
Innovative Efforts for
Universal Quality Education
10 July 2014
‘Improving the relevance of Teaching and Learning to the Learners and their Contexts’
OASiS – A Social Innovation Lab • Identify gaps and long pending issues in society. • Research on why these gaps still exist – causes. • Research forgotten customs and rituals related to
the issue. • Study solutions and approaches by others. • Compile their best practices and failures. • Use out-of-box thinking techniques to design a
simple, innovative, practical solution for the issue • Pilot the solution, through the stakeholders. • Use learning to develop the solution into Model. • Share the model with others for Replication.
MODELS OF OASiS • CESS - Consumption and Expense based Social Security System,
with no taxes, cuts or savings. Implemented in 2 states, planned in 3 more.
• NIRAMAYA - A National Health Insurance mechanism for People with Disabilities, implemented by National Trust (GoI) since 2008.
• THE MUSEUM SCHOOL – for Urban slum Children – In Bhopal since 2005, in Bangalore since 2012, in Delhi and Mumbai since 2010.
• SIL - Social Innovation Labs in Universities. Implemented in Canada, soon in Singapore and Indian Universities and Institutes.
• SWANS - Youth development through Social Volunteering – 900 Volunteers nationally.
• SCALE - Social Credit system giving Advantage for Learning and Employment. Adopted by a State Govt. in their Youth Policy, and by other Volunteer Groups in the country.
• GRAMODAYA – A School of Rural Development for Rural Children, with local employment. Being piloted by Collaborators in 3 states.
Children of the same world
But Two different Environments
RURAL URBAN
TWO QUESTIONS
• SMOKE GOES UP
• PLANTS HAVE BRAINS
OASiS – A Social Innovations Lab
• Education of Underserved children: GAPS
– URBAN : Quantity but no Quality
• Lack of Infrastructure
• Lack of Resources and Teaching Aids
• Lack of well trained Teachers
• Knowledge follows Literacy
– RURAL : Content not relevant to Context
• Poor understanding of concepts
• No employability after schooling
• Knowledge gained – no help to existing Livelihood or to improve their living environment.
RURAL - The PROBLEM • Indian School education - designed to develop
aspirations and careers for urban professions, like Doctors, Engineers, Lawyers, etc.
• This education is forced upon rural students as well. So they too develop urban aspirations, leading to migration at different levels.
• On one hand urban professions are getting stagnated with overflowing human resources, from both urban and rural areas.
• On the other hand rural development is lagging behind, because of lack of trained human resources.
• Because rural development education is being given to urban students in B-Schools like IRMA, TISS, etc.
THE QUESTIONS • If rural development lacks trained human
resources, why aren’t there enough schools to teach rural development?
• If rural children have such high potential, that they can take up urban professions, why can’t they be trained on rural development?
• If rural students get enough local employment by studying rural development, would they still dropout of school?
THE IDEA - GRAMODAYA
• A rural school that teaches rural development.
• To Std 8th and 10th pass rural students.
• All aspects of rural development in 1st year.
• Specialization in any 2 areas in 2nd year.
• 6 month internship with an NGO / Govt body.
• 70% on-field, 30% classroom teaching.
• Certification from National Open School, National Open University and Gramodaya.
GRAMODAYA Pass Outs
• Can become freelancers, providing their specialized services to Panchayats for implementing NREGA and other programmes.
• Can get employed by Govt welfare programs and NGOs working for rural populations.
• Can pursue further studies in a stream of their choice in B-Schools and other Universities.
• Can start GRAMODAYA Schools in deeper rural pockets for more children.
IMPLEMENTATION • Being Piloted in 3 states
Andhra Pradesh Anantpur District
Madhya Pradesh Seoni District
West Bengal Bankura District
FINANCIAL STRATEGY
• At the Pilot stage, the model is being implemented through funds and awards.
• After 2 years, when the first batch is placed, an educational loan mechanism will be started through philanthropy or a revolving fund.
• Once established, education loans will be tried out with Banks and other Financial institutions
• Govt welfare programmes and NGOs share the on-field learning costs.
Do You Need
A COMMERCIAL BREAK ?
URBAN – The PROBLEM
• All big cities have huge slum populations, that have many non-school-going children and dropouts.
• Quality of Education for them – Huge Concern
• Little infrastructure not sparking quest for learning
• Almost NO Teaching Aids
• Less Teachers for more classes, with no motivation to teach or upgrade themselves.
• No employment after schooling.
The OPPORTUNITY
• Every big city has lots of Museums, that are subject focused and house different levels of knowledge, a beautiful learning environment
• The exhibits of Museums are powerful tools to facilitate conceptual understanding.
• Every big city has lots of Colleges offering B.Ed courses (that produce teachers), but little Practice Teaching.
• Every big city has enough out-of-school slum children, not interested in the rote-learning, fear failure, and have no employment after schooling.
THE MUSEUM SCHOOL • Based on the belief that nature is the best teacher, and
exposure provokes inquisitiveness and learning.
• Collaborated with 5 Museums of Bhopal, to create a new environment of Learning and development.
• Curriculum designed to provide wholistic education, starting from behavioral changes ,academics, physical, adolescence education and finally ending with vocational skills and entrepreneurship.
• Exhibits of Museums – used as teaching aids.
• Collaborated with B.Ed Colleges for conducting practice teaching classes for B.Ed students.
• Educated girls recruited from the same slums, and trained in literacy teaching techniques, to become Literacy Teachers.
LEARNING • The initial days might be only a picnic for children, but soon their
inquisitiveness provokes them to start asking What, Why and How – the first step to Learning
• The Museum exhibits helps them to understand every concept practically and very easily.
• Children ask very interesting questions to the Museum staff and B.Ed students, at times challenging their existing knowledge.
• Even without literacy, children absorb knowledge; proving existing notions wrong that knowledge follows literacy.
• The world of alphabets and numbers introduced by our innovative approaches, helps the children express their knowledge gained through it, and impress others.
• The fast change in their personality and newly found confidence, gets them appreciation from community, and back into school.
THE MUSEUM
SCHOOL
BEFORE
AFTER
Replication in other Cities
• The Museum School model has been running in Bhopal for past 9 years.
• Bangalore has replicated the same model, collaborating with 2 Museums.
• Delhi has replicated it in a weekend mode, collaborating with 1 Museum.
• Mumbai has replicated it in a weekend mode, collaborating with 1 Museum.
• Mysore will also soon have The Museum School.
Next steps • To train these children in different
vocations so that when they move out of this school, they are independent enough to earn their livelihood from these vocations.
• To get them admission in institutes offering professional courses, after they complete their 10th and 12th.
• Share learning with regular schools, so that they can adopt this model, for better learning through practical experience.
• To take this model to more and more cities, so that underprivileged students get quality education in every part of the country.
OBJECTIVE of our APPROACHES
• Both GRAMODAYA and THE MUSEUM SCHOOL focus on:
– Give choices in learning and wider opportunities.
– Teach content related to their environment.
– Make education improve employability.
– Make every space a Learning space – move beyond four walls and a blackboard.
– Groom children to absorb and learn from everything and everyone around them.
Have we Answered these ?
• Do low-income students need a different pedagogy? Are active pedagogies appropriate for these students?
• Is national curriculum, well adapted to the needs of low income communities?
• Does our program move away from OR support mainstream education?
• How do we reach out-of-school children? • How are low-income students integrated into
mixed socio-economic schools? How are diverse socio-economic schools created?
Pradeep Ghosh (Ashoka Fellow)
Email: oasisorg.india@gmail.com
Tel: 0-9893274407, 0755-4274407
Web: www.oasisorg.notlong.com