Annual Ep Rt 2015-16 Gyan Prakash Foundation’S Guiding Principles for Sustainable Change
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ANNUAL EP RT 2015-16 GYAN PRAKASH FOUNDATION’S GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR SUSTAINABLE CHANGE Based on the belief that free and compulsory education is the right of all children and government is the key stakeholder in helping children access quality education, following principles guide our journey: • Alignment with Government and Local Authorities If a child can’t learn • System Driven Transformation • GPF as facilitator of change the way we TEACH, • Need based support with non prescriptive approach • Recognition and optimum use of local talent may be we should teach • Promoting internal sharing and learning the way they LEARN - Ignacio Estrada CONTENT FROM MANAGING TRUSTEE’S DESK 02 PROGRESS OVERVIEW 05 KHED-SHIVAPUR 05 VELHE 08 UDAAN 12 SPECIAL FOCUS DISTRICTS: 2016-2019 15 CONCLUDING REMARKS 17 ORGANOGRAM 18 FINANCIALS 19 DONORS AND SUPPORTERS 25 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 26 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 28 FROM THE MANAGING TRUSTEE’S DESK In 2016, every month, 1 million adolescents Gyan Prakash Foundation (GPF) started out with this core quality improvement program across 55 schools in Velhe will turn 181 . These young adults will be idea – to work in primary education and serve the needs of Block in 2015. The program began on ground, in complete in search for a means of livelihood. Taking disadvantaged children. Despite rapid urbanisation, 60% alignment with the Government’s vision for improving cognizance of this, the Union government of elementary age children in India still access rural public quality education. has launched several skill and employment education. Moreover, these children constitute some of GPF provided consistent on-site support to schools, based programs. These initiatives are laudable. the most deprived sections who have limited access to promoted internal sharing-learning between the teachers, However, they rest on the weak foundation resources and educational exposure. GPF is focussed on built understanding of the government assessment of elementary education where investment bringing educational gains to this marginalised population frameworks and motivated teachers to implement has remained low. As an education focused – gains that will eventually lead to social and economic constructivist pedagogy. NGO, Gyan Prakash Foundation strongly emancipation for disadvantaged populations. However, 3 believes that elementary education is the this cannot be achieved independent of the government. The Velhe experience has informed GPFs approach around bulwark for progress, and the greatest effort In order to have impact at scale, education governance focussing on system centric reform. must be put in improving the state of public and delivery must be strengthened and GPF endeavours elementary education in India. This conviction to contribute to that. Simultaneously, efforts in Velhe have been buttressed by is supported by global evidence linking early supportive State level policy. In June 2015, Government As our experience has deepened, GPF’s approach has grade literacy and numeracy with lifelong of Maharashtra launched a Quality Improvement Program matured. In Phase I (2012-14) we started out with a pilot/ earnings. Investment in elementary education called ‘PragatShaikshanik Maharashtra (PSM) where great lab approach where learning related innovation was has a lifelong multiplier effect which merits emphasis is being placed on tracking learning levels of tested and refined in small geographies. This allowed paying heavy attention to primary schools children and pushing a child-friendly teaching approach us to develop an understanding of pedagogy and gain across the country. based on the principle of constructivism. Given its lofty confidence in our intervention approach. Phase II (2014- goals, the State requires partners to augment the efforts 15) involved exploring working directly with the system of PSM in the above mentioned direction. In the wake in a rural geography. To do this, we took our learnings of a receptive policy environment,GPF plans to enter from the previous years and approached schools in one its Third Phase of work where the emphasis shall be on rural block – Velhe – in Pune district. After spending time strengthening government capacity at the State level. to understand the needs on the ground, GPF launched a 1 www.censusindia.gov.in/2011Census/.../ Demographic-Transition-in-India.pdf Annual Report • 2015-16 Annual Report • 2015-16 PROGRESS OVERVIEW Phase III will target GPF’s activities in such a way as to In the long term, GPF aims to stabilize at Phase IV – A. KHED SHIVAPUR achieve impact at a larger scale that is sustainable. becoming a learning organisation that is seen as a thought leader in the field of elementary education. With a focus In 2012, GPF established an incubation centre for quality As a first step in that direction, GPF has become part of an on improving student learning, GPF aims to be a platform activities in elementary education in four villages of Education Coalition thatwill provide financial and technical rather than an NGO. As a platform, GPF will be a resource Khed-Shivapur cluster, Pune District. An integral part support/augmentation to efforts by the State. The aim for teachers, administrators and policy makers, all of whom of the Coalition is to create a channel through which of this incubation centre, has been Vikas Ghar (VG). will tap into GPFs expertise for their respective needs. A private enterprise can contribute to public education in It is a school readiness program that runs as a two large part of the journey to this end point entails perfecting India and create/demonstrate successful models within hour after-school remedial intervention for children our understanding of how teaching can be made most the government ecosystem. In this way, such models can in Standard I and II. A team of VG teachers follow a 4 effective, how student learning can be measured and how 5 be replicated across geographies and impact millions of modified curriculum for children. In order to do this, VG government systems can be strengthened to deliver. Our children currently accessing public education. efforts in the coming year are geared towards building teachers are selected from the community and trained on the constructivist pedagogic approach which is child As part of Phase III (2016- onward), members of the this understanding. With this as background, I present Education Coalition are entering into a 3-year partnership the Annual Report (2015-16) which outlines our current centred. In the past four years, over 582 children have with the Department of Education, Maharashtra to provide initiatives and planned approaches for the coming year(s). benefitted through the VG and strong linkages have technical support to the State in four Special Focus Districts. formed between the VGs and the schools. In a baseline In Maharashtra, these districts have poor educational test that was conducted by the State government in indicators and require much attention. As one of the key Daljit Mirchandani September 2015, children in all the schools of the 9 implementing members of this Coalition, GPF will support Managing Trustee villages were tested on Language and Mathematics. district transformation in two SFDs on the lines of what is The results of the baseline and end line are presented in being perfected in Velhe (which itself will grow from a 6 Figure 1. The performance of students in the 9 clusters cluster to whole block program in 2016-17). If successful, where VGs have been active was higher than the state GPF’s systemic approach to educational transformation average to begin with. Further, an improvement was Gauddara ZP Primary School teacher getting ready for can be replicated across the country. her class with a variety of Teaching Learning Materials observed in 9 months between the two tests. Annual Report • 2015-16 Annual Report • 2015-16 Program reach and Program impact As district administration began to implement Pragat and communities, which has come to a stage where the Shaikshanik Maharahstra, Zilla Parishad schools in community and schools can take it ahead. Khed Shivapur turned to Gyan Prakash for guidance Year Grades included Number of villages Children Impacted In 2016, GPF has taken the decision to conclude its and support. Hence, two cluster level workshops activities in the cluster. The learning and positive 2012-13 I 4 66 were conducted to introduce Constructivism. These results from the Khed-Shivapur experience have 2013-14 I & II 4 125 workshops focussed on creating Teaching-Learning provided a context-specific framework for working Materials for Primary classes for Math and Language. 2014-15 I & II 9 169 toward improving education at the cluster level. These As a result, schools in Khed-Shivapur have begun 2015-16 I & II 9 222 learnings have been applied in 2015-16 to six clusters to implement Constructivism and reduced their in Velhe Block and, in 2016-17, GPF will fully pivot away dependency on the parallel structure like Vikas Ghar. Class I & II VG Performance in Language Class I & II VG Performance in Math from an incubation/full support approach toward a Khed-Shivpur served as a testing ground for our scaffold approach provided at the system level. 100% 100% 94% stretegies and interventions with children, teachers 90% 86% 90% 88% 80% 80% 72% 75% 72% 70% 70% 70% 60% 57% 60% 50% 50% 40% 40% 6 30% 30% 7 20% 20% 10% 10% 0% 0% Class I Class II Class I Class II Fig. 1 Baseline (Aug ‘15) Endline (Apr ‘16) Baseline (Aug ‘15) Endline (Apr ‘16) In 2014-15, GPF added children from Aanganwadi (pre- As the program matured, GPF took on capacity building school age) to the VG thereby creating a continuum for government teachers and parent engagement between early childhood education and formal activities through School Management Committees schooling. Running VikasGhar rigorously for 4 years, has (SMCs). helped us to develop a sound understanding of how In 2013, GPF was invited by the Maharashtra State Constructivist pedagogy can make learning effective Council for Education and Training (MSCERT) to support and how teachers can facilitate learning in child-friendly training and development of SMCs which added the environment.