Quality Education For All Indian Children Recommendations to improve education quality of the non-formal education programs in Ahmedabad Thesis by Ayla Huizenga Supervisor Prof. Dr. Paul van Lindert ! International Development Studies Faculty of Geosciences, University of Utrecht Author Ayla Huizenga Student number 3412571 2 | Page Preface This thesis, written by Ayla Huizenga, concerning the theme - education quality in alternative education programs - , is conducted as part of the master program of International Development Studies (IDS). This master program is part of the Geography department of the Utrecht University. The aim of the thesis is to learn how to do research on development issues, and therefore, a part of the thesis is working together with a host organization or counter party in a less developed country. In this thesis, the research was conducted, in cooperation with a counter party in India addressing development issues of urban slum dwellers in Ahmedabad. The research and writing phase have been conducted during the period of January 2013 until August 2013. The data gathering was done in Ahmedabad in India in two months time from February until March and the writing phase was done in Utrecht/Amersfoort in The Netherlands from March until August. 3 | Page Acknowledgments Each country has a different culture with other of values, beliefs, customs and social interactions. Doing my research in India, I took a dive into this completely new culture for me. I would like to take the opportunity to thank several people that accompanied me during my research process. First of all, I would like to thank Saath for welcoming and hosting me, and supporting me during my research. I would like to thank Niraj Jani, Keren Nazareth and Chinmayi Desai. I am thankful for the opportunity to do research for your program and to gain insight in the work Saath does concerning the importance of addressing education as a way to break with poverty. A special thanks to Kunal Patel without whom I would not have managed doing research and adapting to the Indian culture. Thank you for all the relevant discussions we had and the insight you gave me on the Child Friendly Spaces and all the work Saath does. I also would like to thank my translator, Shipra Jain, who made it possible to talk with the people in the slums. Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my Italian friend, Antonio Santoro, for the endless talks about how to do the research in the best possible way, whilst we were in the field. Thank you for all the support you gave and all the great suggestions. Thank you that you stood by to me as a friend and made me laugh and carry on even when I felt like I couldn’t. I am grateful for my supervisor Paul van Lindert, because of his constructive feedback concerning my work and the way he helped me during the writing process. Similarly, I am thankful for all the others who played a crucial role during my research and life: my lovely fiancé Imre, without whom I would have lost my mind. Thank you for your unconditional support and your confidence in me, as well as your patience with me when I was freaking out and the way you helped me to keep going on. Thanks to my parents who listened to me in the difficult or easy times. Thank you for being there and all the support you gave me. I would also like to thank my sisters for the funny facetime chats and their support. I would also like to thank my friends for supporting me. Sue and Lisse, a special thanks for your time and support in writing English, and Marlies, because you kept pushing me. Finally, I am very thankful for my grandparents, for letting me stay at their place to write and supporting me by means of their confidence. 4 | Page Executive Summary This research is conducted, focusing on the quality of alternative education programs of Saath in Juhapura, Behrampura and Vasna in Ahmedabad, India. The centers of Saath are located in three completely different research areas, however, these areas have in common that most children living there do not attend schools. They are either child laborers or taking care of siblings. Hence, the Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) of Saath educates the children in the basic skills and knowledge required for everyday life and tries to equip them with the capabilities to change their own lives and creating opportunities for change. Education is important for several reasons: improving skills, knowledge and competencies, overcoming economic and social inequalities, enhancing productivity, and gaining access to information. Towards equity in education, global frameworks are set and national policy makers work on implementation of strategies into education to reach the goals determined for education provision and deliverance to children regardless of race, ethnicity, disability, gender, sexual orientation, language, socio-economic status, and any other aspect of an individual’s identity that might be perceived as different. In India, education was a privilege for the higher valued children that changed after the independence in 1947. Education became available for all children and in 2002, the Indian government even defined it as a fundamental right for children between the ages of 6 and 14 years old. Nevertheless, they are challenged to deliver access to good quality education for all these children, and still many children are out of school. In supplementing, the government provided formal education, non-governmental organizations stand up and provide alternative non-formal forms of education to enlarge the access to learning facilities. However, the education needs to be of proper quality to enhance the equity. The following primary research question is put central throughout the complete research process: What measures can be taken to improve the education quality in Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) of Non-Governmental Organisation Saath located in the selected areas of Vasna, Behrampura and Juhapura? Concerning an extensive literature study, more questions than answers arose. The additional sub-research questions elaborate on key elements of education quality and the expectations of the key stakeholders: 1) What are the expectations of the main stakeholders on the quality of education in the CFS? 2) What curriculum is implemented in the CFS of Saath? 3) What teaching components are used in the CFS of Saath? 4) What learning components are used in the CFS of Saath? The quality of education in the CFS is assessing according to a conceptual model that drafts quality in three key elements: learning, teaching and curriculum. 5 | Page The expectation of the different stakeholders varies in content and conceptual level. Most of the respondents assess education quality as the variation in activities provided in the learning process. The most striking analysis regarding education quality is that there is gap between the organizational level of Saath and the implementation of the program by teachers in the areas. Due to several challenges and a limitation in experience, skills and knowledge, the quality implemented is less than the organization envisions. From the observations, similar conclusions can be drawn. The quality of teaching is less that envisioned due to a lack of experiences and means. A curriculum is not present in the centers and teachers decide what is taught, thus used methods and given content are mostly limited in variation. Regarding learning, the main conclusion is that children are not properly motivated in their home environments and therefore the willingness to be education is low. Awareness of the importance of education would be beneficial for the society to stimulate parents to send their children and motivate children to get educated. An analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of Saath’s CFS offers a number of measures that can taken to improve the overall quality of education. The three main measures recommended are investing in teacher training and professionalization, creating and implementing a curriculum and collaborating with communities for example builder organizations. 6 | Page Table of Content ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 4 TABLE OF CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7 ABBREVIATIONS AND TERMS ------------------------------------------------------------ 11 LIST OF BOX’S ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 12 LIST OF FIGURES --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13 1. INTRODUCTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 15 1.1 Introduction ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 1.2 Global frameworks ------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 1.2.1 Millennium Development Goals --------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 1.2.2 Education for All ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 1.2.3 Post 2015 agenda ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16 1.3 Education in India --------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 1.3.1 Education campaigns --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 1.3.2 Problem definition -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17 1.4 Thesis research