AIDE MEMOIRE Second Joint Review Mission of Mahila Samakhya (9th to 17th November, 2009) INDEX Page No. Section 1: Process 3 1.1 Timeframe 4 1.2 Mission composition and States 5 visited 1.2 List of reading materials 6 provided to Mission members 1.3 Minutes of Briefing 7 1.4 Minutes of Wrap-up 8 Section 2: National Report 11 Section 3: State Reports 27 3.1 Assam 28 3.2 Gujarat 47 3.3 Jharkhand 68 3.4 Kerala 96 3.5 Uttar Pradesh 111 3.6 Uttarakhand 124 Section 4: Annexures 145 4.1 TOR for second JRM, MS (2009) 146 4.2 Presentation on MS 157 4.3 Physical progress data, MS 167 4.4 State report framework 168 2 Section 1: PROCESS 3 1.1 TIMEFRAME Schedule: 9th-17th November 2009 Date Activity 9th November, 2009 Briefing by Government of India (Monday) Internal discussions, preparation for field visits and Departure for States 10th November, 2009 State level discussions and briefings (Tuesday) Discussion with other districts and State level organisations and State Team. Travel to district 11th November, 2009 Field-visit in district (1) (Wednesday) 12th November, 2009 Arrival at SPO, and State Report Writing (Thursday) 13th November, 2009 Wrap-up at State level with draft State Report to be presented to the State (Friday) Education Secretary (Chairperson of EC of State MS). A fax or email copy of draft State report to be sent to NPO, GoI before departure from State. Depart for and arrive in Delhi 14th November, 2009 Arrival in Delhi for those Mission members unable to travel the day before (Saturday) Meeting with Mission Leader for finalization of core issues for National Report Core team writes National Report 15th November, 2009 Core team completes draft National Report and shares with NPO (by (Sunday) email/fax) Meeting with MHRD Officials to discuss State Reports and National Report (second half of the day) 16th November, 2009 Modification and finalization of State & National Reports, by Core team (Monday) Members other than core team depart by evening 17th November, 2009 Wrap-up (Tuesday) 4 1.2 Composition of Mission and six states traveled to: S.No. State MS Name of GoI nominee on Name of DFID nominee on Mission programme Mission visited 1 Assam Mahila Ms. Niti Saxena Ms. Biraj Laxmi Sarangi Samata Society 2 Gujarat Mahila Mr. Abhyuday Choudhary Ms. Aashti Zaidi Hai Samakhya (Finance & Procurement (Education Adviser, DFID-India) Society Specialist) 3 Jharkhand Mr. Bharat Bhushan Ms. Vandana Mahajan Mahila Samakhya Society 4 Kerala Mahila Prof. Fatima Alikhan Ms. Sangeeta Mehta (Deputy Samakhya Programme Manager, DFID-India) Society 5 Mahila Ms. Gita Menon Mr. Sampat Kumar Samakhya, Uttar Pradesh 6 Mahila Dr. K. Lalita (Mission Leader) Ms. Arundhuti Roy Chowdhury Samakhya, (Social Development Adviser, Uttarakhand DFID-India) 5 1.3 List of materials provided to Mission members: i) Agenda for MS JRM briefing (09.11.09) ii) TOR for MS JRM 2009 iii) XI Plan document of MS programme iv) Presentation by NPD, Ms. Mittal, at briefing (09.11.09) v) Physical progress data, MS (upto 30.09.09) vi) Releases & AWPBs, financial information (08-09 & 09-10) vii) State visit teams viii) State report framework ix) NPO contact information x) Progress briefs of 10 State MS programmes xi) Aide Memoire - MS JRM „08 6 1.4 Minutes of Briefing: The first briefing for the Mission members was held in the MHRD Conference Hall at Shastri Bhawan (New Delhi), on 9th November 2009. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Anita Kaul, JS (EE.II) and Dr. K. Lalita (Mission Leader), and continued from 11.30 a.m. to 2.30 p.m. Participants included: Mission members (12), Ms. Anita Kaul (JS-EE.II), Ms. Sarita Mittal (NPD), Ms. Taranga Sriraman, Ms. Santosh Sharma & Ms. Mousumi Chakraborty (NPO Consultants), Mr. Arun Sharma (US, MHRD), NPO staff, and other DFID officials (2). Ms. Sarita Mittal (National Project Director) made a presentation regarding the MS programme itself as well as its progress/action taken since the last JRM (2008). (Please refer annexure IVb.) The Joint Secretary made the opening remarks, asking the Mission members and other participants to introduce themselves. She spoke about the uniqueness of the MS programme as the longest running programme for education and empowerment. Ms. Kaul pointed out the danger of dilution of such an agenda by the pressures for service delivery, and also that the bottom- upwards planning process in MS – whereby rural women prioritise their own needs – is perhaps the main reason for the programme‟s sustenance so long. She then invited Dr. K. Lalita to lead the Mission. Dr. Lalita thanked the MHRD for the responsibility, and said she looked forward to catching up again with the programme that she has been associated with in various capacities over the years (including as NRG member earlier). She requested the Mission members to use the following time to raise any questions/concerns they may have prior to the State-visits etc. She herself pointed out the changing nature of MS‟ external visibility and identity/recognition Ms. Geeta Menon suggested that the Mission should look at overall differences in what makes one State MS programme more visible than the other. The National Consultant suggested that variations/diversity in programmatic strength, innovations & focus – e.g. strength/autonomy of federations, girls‟ education taken up on large-scale – be looked at in context of difference in age of various State programmes as well as the particular socio-political-economic atmosphere they exist in. There was also discussion on the backlash against the programme, pressures from political entities and pressure for service-delivery on a programme essentially focused on facilitating women‟s empowerment. Prof. Alikhan suggested that the role of State Resource Centers must be looked into by the Mission in this regard. Ms. Sangeeta Mehta and other DFID officials suggested that briefing and statistics provided may look at progress specifically in the past year as this is an annual JRM. They also requested more information on progress/action taken against the specific recommendation of the first JRM regarding setting up of the National Resource Centre. Ms. Mehta also suggested that the Mission garner feedback from the State programmes regarding use of the Technical Cooperation Fund so far (e.g. on ERU training cycle) and possible uses in the future. Finally, logistics of the entire schedule were discussed, NPO contact information was shared, and after lunch, the Mission members left in pairs (a GoI and DFID nominee each) for the respective States. 7 1.5 Minutes of Wrap-up meeting: The wrap-up meeting for the second MS JRM was held at the USI Campus (New Delhi), on 17th November 2009. The meeting was chaired by Ms. Anita Kaul (JS-EE.II) and Dr. K. Lalita (Mission Leader), and continued from 3.30 - 6 p.m. Other participants included: i) Mission members – Prof. Alikhan, Mr. Bharath Bhushan, Ms. Mahajan, Ms. Zaidi- Hai, Ms. Sangeeta Mehta; ii) MHRD officials –Ms. Sarita Mittal (NPD) and Mr. Arun Sharma (US, MS); iii) Mr. Nandkumar (State Education Secretary, Chhattisgarh) iv) MS SPDs – Ms. Prashanthi (A.P.), Sr. Sabeena (Bihar), Mr. Rangapariya (Gujarat), Dr. Seema Bhaskaran (Kerala), Dr. Suchithra Vedanth (Karnataka), Ms. Geeta Gairola (Uttarakhand) & Dr. Rashmi Sinha (U.P.); v) Representatives of State MS programmes - Ms. Nirju (APD, AMSS), Sr. Bernard (SRP, JMSS), Dr. Smriti (State Consultant, UPMSS), and Ms. Richa Rath (SRP, CGMSS); vi) Non-official members of the NRG – Dr. Ratna Sudarshan, Ms. Dipta Bhog, Ms. Ranu Bhogal and Dr. Geeta Nambissan; vii) NPO Consultants and staff. In her opening remarks, the Joint Secretary declared the successful completion of the second JRM for MS, and invited the Mission Leader to make a presentation of the key findings at the National level. This included observations regarding Sanghas & federations, expansion of MS coverage, participation in formal & non-formal education, women‟s empowerment & quality of life, MS leadership & visibility, programme & financial management, and Technical Cooperation Fund. The main recommendations made by the Mission were as follows: Central-level policy decision to ensure that MS learnings are integrated with other Centrally-Sponsored Schemes, to bring gender-perspective into the latter. MS programme should not become a service delivery agency on the ground. MS programme should reconnect with other national/state level movements and advocacy groups. Issues of long-term financial sustainability of the federations need to be acknowledged. SPOs should explore various models & options, including a need-assessment and visioning exercise to assist federations‟ making informed choice in programmatic & financial aspects. Participation, leadership & decision-making roles of sangha members from most marginalised communities need to be examined. State programmes should collect and analyse disaggregated data in terms of their access and reach. 2 studies to be commissioned (before next JRM) under the TC fund, on – (a) impact of MSK on girls‟ educational outcomes and (b) evaluation and documentation of MSK methodologies and needs of MSK learners. The FM&P Manual should be ready for State programmes‟ use by June 2010. 8 Mission strongly suggests that NPO should look for other alternatives to achieve the establishment of proposed National Resource Centre without delay. The Mission Leader also spoke in detail about the necessity to support the development of such leadership of State programmes so as to build MS‟ visibility and solidarity with other groups/agents of civil society. Issue-based action and empowerment-centric education of women are also focal points for leadership based on MS philosophy/non-negotiable principles. The challenge is to face pressure to deliver services and dilute processes for women‟s empowerment in the face of vested interests. The support of GoI (NPO/MHRD) is crucial in such cases, to help negotiate larger conflicts/systemic backlash faced by the State programmes.