PREVENTING DROPOUT

Schools and Communities Champion Retention through Joyful Learning

| August 2015 1 | School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program | India Awareness Leads to Support for in India

he ceiling fans whir on and off with the pilot project to keep children in class is cre- Tpower as 12 school headmasters sit on ating a tighter bond between parents and cushions against the salmon colored walls schools and showing teachers how to iden- of Chakbahuddin Upgraded Middle School tify and support children at risk of dropping sipping tiny paper cups of hot chai. out using an Early Warning System. The educators are used to the blinking The Early Warning System uses existing electricity, used to the dragging heat. They school data on attendance, behavior and are also accustomed to managing schools performance to identify at risk of where a quarter of the children leave after dropout, enhances the capacity of schools the free government-provided lunch, and to address the needs of at-risk students where 16 percent of India’s fifth graders and strengthens the partnership between never return for their year. schools and families. An Enrichment Pro- Here in Bihar, one of the poorest states gram also increases the attractiveness of of India, 26 percent of Grade 5 students education to motivate attendance. leave school to help with farming, work in Funded by the U.S. Agency for Interna- family shops or even get married. Some tional Development, the School Dropout leave because they don’t do well in class- Prevention Pilot Program was implement- es, and with no additional help to succeed, ed by Creative Associates International in are pulled out by parents who don’t see the 113 schools in Bihar’s Samastipur district, point of more schooling. where 4,213 fifth graders are at risk of After all, for many of them, a day spent dropping out. in school is a day spent not contributing Anecdotal evidence from meetings like to their families’ livelihood. It’s a very real these suggests the pilot’s interventions are tradeoff. working to dramatically reduce absentee- But, as the headmasters are discussing ism, a key predictor of school dropout. today, things are changing. “At my school, the students in the pro- While the poverty that churns as an gram seem really happy compared to other underlying driver of school dropout isn’t go- students,” says a headmaster wearing an ing anywhere, there is promise in the air. A orange sari. >>

USAID 2015 | 2 Equally dubious were the parents. Many first generation learners themselves, they had no idea what was going on at the schools and at the same time worried the schools weren’t doing enough for their children. “A lot of illiterate parents say ‘we send our children to school but they don’t get any monetary benefits,’” explains one Community Champion, a young volunteer working with the program. “We have to ask them if they send their children to school to learn or to earn.” Monitoring and home visits are breaking down these barriers, and in their place, building understanding. Teachers and the Community Cham- pions meet with families to emphasize how important school is for their children. Parents also have the opportunity to ex- plain why their children have been missing classes. These visits enable schools to learn more about each student’s home life “I’ve seen positive changes in the children who have been absent for multiple children’s development,” another head- school days and reach out to families to and to strategize with parents how they master says. “After the midday meal about ask why their children weren’t in class. can prioritize their child’s education. 25 percent of kids would leave. But now,” Such outreach is critical to building trust For one Class Five girl who was already because of the afternoon Enrichment where earlier there was none. Teachers married, her parents at first refused during Program, “they are staying and they enjoy need to understand their students. And, a home visit to return her to school, insist- themselves.” so too, parents need to understand the ing she was needed at home to help her schools. mother with housework. Seeing those at risk Some teachers in Samastipur doubted But repeat home visits gradually result- Using an Early Warning System, these that their students were truly interested in ed in a changed mindset by offering an headmasters and their teachers are able to learning, notes Neha Parti, an education alternative solution that met both parties’ monitor student attendance and zero in on specialist with the program. interests. 3 | School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program | India literacy. Using this readily available data, teachers are able to identify children at risk of dropping out, track their progress and trigger actions to address problems when they occur. With these new skills, teachers are approaching their classrooms with re- newed determination to help their students “We told the parents ‘Don’t make your succeed. daughters work during school hours. Make them work after school, if you want,” re- That dedication appears to be the result calls Community Champion Swarna Rani. of making teachers stakeholders in the program’s – and their students’ – success. Parents are not only encouraged to send their children to school, but also to “They plan and set targets for achieving become more involved in their children’s a goal,” says Principal Virender Jha of academic achievement. Through the pro- his teachers at Madh Vidayala Bishanu- gram, parents have the opportunity to meet pur Baande. “They want to achieve their with teachers at quarterly Open Houses objectives.” held at the school and are welcome to stop by regularly. “Parents’ involvement has increased, Toward a promising future along with our phone calls and, home During a visit to one school, a headmas- visits. The gap between the teachers and ter pulls out the attendance log for Class the parents has been bridged,” observes Five. He displays the current academic Shahid Ahmad, a monitoring officer with year results, which followed the implemen- the program. He sees teachers realizing tation of the program. Attendance tipped their responsibilities and parents becoming toward 90 percent. He then flips back the more involved in their children’s education. pages to show the previous year, when the students were in Class Four, before the program’s implementation. Those same students came to school only 60 percent to Training engaging teachers 65 percent of the time. Training teachers in observation and Locally, the pilot program is known as engagement techniques has made a differ- Anandshala, which translates from Hindi ence both in the classroom and in motivat- to “a place of joyful learning.” Teachers, ing students to come to school. headmaster, community champions, One aspect of the training, Focus Child parents and students tell us how much Identification, trains teachers to assess Anandshala has changed the education the students’ progress through a compre- atmosphere in Samastipur for the better. hensive approach, making note of such A school director wearing a bright yellow indicators as: class attendance; behavior; sari puts it this way: “it has created hope subject comprehension; early departure; for the children that they will learn and be degree of responsibility; and parents’ successful in life.” n USAID 2015 | 4 Joyful Learning Keeps Indian Classrooms Full

ihar, India—Rahul Kumar is not a ten days of school every month. 42 percent of primary students regularly basket weaver. He is supposed to be attend school. B If school were different, he says, he in school. But today he is helping his family would go despite the work that must be Their absences are not without con- weave fronds into traditional trays used done. Rahul says he would attend class sequence. Attendance is one of the most to offer rice to the sun god to sell for an more regularly if students learned more telling indicators of how likely a child is to upcoming festival. In a lackadaisical line from the classes, and if there were sports. drop out of school. And here in Bihar, 26 under trees bearing pink and white offer- He especially loves playing cricket. percent of the children in fifth grade never ings to a different deity, they cut and pull make it to the sixth. For children in Bihar, the poorest state the dried leaves expertly so that no light in India, Rahul’s simple request for more “Students will stay in school when they shines through. interesting classes and a little fun is famil- can study in a joyful and happy environ- Rahul’s practiced fingers belie his claim iar. Due in part to an unattractive school ment,” says Sivnath Chaudhry, a fifth that he is missing school because he is environment where teachers use beatings grade teacher at the Utkarmit Urdu Vidya- sick today. In fact, Rahul misses at least and criticism to ensure compliance, only laya School near Samasitpur, India.

5 | School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program | India Chaudhry’s students used to show up shy children moving around and breaks Daily attendance used to be abysmal, to make roll call and then bolt, he said, or the ice for nervous teachers. according to Vice Principal Prasan Kumar Paswan, who says up to a third of his stu- stay until the government-provided midday “They’ve never facilitated a session like dents were dropping out after fifth grade. meal which, for some, is the only one this before,” explains Program education they’ll eat. But a program being tested at specialist Neha Parti. Paswan runs a finger over the fourth his school has started to foster a happier grade attendance records of last year’s The last class of the day is reserved environment. worn attendance log to show that the very for life skills activities, which include the same students who had an attendance The School Dropout Prevention Pilot development of skills enhanced by the rate of around 60 percent have brought it (SDPP) Program is a U.S. Agency for enrichment activities, such as communica- up to 90. International Development initiative im- tion, teamwork, and problem-solving. But plemented by Creative Associates Inter- the region’s teachers often have very little national and local Indian partner, QUEST formal training or professional develop- The fun effect Alliance. It is part of a broader pilot project ment to speak of, let alone exposure, to Learning in a joyful environment seems that has also been implemented in Cam- new methods that inspire participation and to have resulted not just in better atten- bodia, Tajikistan and Timor-Leste. “The creativity, and break down gender and dance but overall interest in education too. School Dropout Prevention Pilot Program,” class barriers. explains USAID’s Rebecca Adams, “is an “Because of Anandshala the children Those qualities are exactly what Anand- impact evaluation testing promising low- who used to run away from studies and shala’s enrichment program tries to spur. cost interventions that may reduce school classes now come to school on time and By getting children active and excited in a dropout.” Local data collected from the stay,” says community leader Mohammed supportive setting, they learn interpersonal pilots can inform responses to what has Naseemuddin. “They want to stay because skills that can cross India’s lingering caste become a global crisis. of the fun and play in the Anandshala pro- system and build their confidence. In Bihar, part of that response is working gram and they feel happy.” “The kids become so much more with teachers to deliver an enrichment Parents report that their children spend confident and much more open in terms of program that makes school an engaging more time at home studying as well as expressing themselves,” says Parti. “Usu- place where kids can both learn and enjoy recreating the crafts and games they ally in study it’s the smart students who themselves, motivating them to come to learned at school. They have better focus are always in front. But something like an school and stay the entire school day. and attention, and say they look forward to enrichment program gives them an equal learning new things. Now after a full day of classes, opportunity where they can also showcase Chaudhry’s students who have been iden- whatever…talents they have.” Teachers remark that the improved tified as at-risk for dropout stick around attendance has resulted in better reading The fifth graders at the front of Saleha for activities that include making masks, and writing skills. drawing and painting with colors they Parveen’s class are showing off their cre- According to School Dropout Preven- mix themselves out of materials they find ativity and quick-thinking in a game similar tion Pilot Program officer Shahid Ahmad, around them, like bricks and spices. Local to charades. They imitate or pantomime the same cannot be said for the control youth who are paid a small stipend to the words they’ve drawn on slips of paper schools, which receives no interventions. volunteer as “Community Champions” help from a basket, trying to get their class- him and other teachers organize sports mates to guess that they are a motorcycle, The local government has observed and games. a rainbow or an egret. Three students similar results. band together to form a water pump and “These activities are much more “Because of the activities children put then a chugging train. time into school, and they work in a happy enjoyable and fun, and children become environment,” Chaudhry says. “Because of students crowd the connected to the school and think they this, students do their work diligently and doorway to watch. The game is the most should do more,” says District Education they stay on in school.” interesting thing going on at Vishnupur Officer Sanjay Kumar, who credits the Bande middle school. community champions and class teachers Then, in a big circle, Parveen leads with reaching the most at-risk students and The joy of learning n them in a reflection of the activity. “What encouraging them to stay in school. Anandshala, as the pilot is known in were the challenges?,” she asks them. India’s schools, literally means “a place What did they like and dislike? “The noises Produced for USAID by Creative Associates of joyful learning.” That translation aptly the boys made!,” answers one girl—all the International. Written by JC Finley with reporting describes the noisy enthusiasm of the encouragement a few of them need to start by Jennifer Brookland in India. Photos by David Snyder. program classrooms. Each enrichment chirping, howling and motoring all over session starts with an “energizer”—a call again. and response song and dance that gets

USAID 2015 | 6 Why Students Drop Out of School in India Academic:

% cited poor academic 10performance.

% of at-risk students and 55% of dropouts have 40missed more than 15 consecutive days of school. 40% of parents/guardians were not or seldom aware of their child’s absences.

% of students report that teachers use physical 50punishment on students.

% say teachers criticize them for wrong answers. 44 Economic:

% of parents/guardians and 60% of child respondents 55cited the need to supplement income through household chores or domestic work.

% -40% of respondents cited school-related 30expenses. Source: USAID Situational Analysis