1 Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal SAVIDYA UPASAMITI 2012 – 13 PROJECT RENEWAL PROPOSAL Kalyan Ghatak & Ravi Rajagopalan 18th Apr 2012 1 Introduction Project Overview 4 The Savidya Upasmiti project seeks to improve the quality of school education in the Champawat region of Uttarakhand by improving the resources in the public schools, and by increasing awareness in the local community regarding the importance of education and the people’s right to quality education. The project is managed and run by the Himalaya Water Service Tatha Vikas Avam Paryavaran Sanrakshan Samiti (HWSTVAPSS) and has been funded by the Silicon Valley chapter of Asha For Education (Asha-SV) since the project’s inception in 2005. The following slides contain: A report of the project activities during 2011-12, and A proposal to continue funding the project during 2012-13. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Project History 5 The Savidya-Upasamiti project started as a Support-A-School project in 2005-06. Funds were provided to augment the resources in a Primary School in Kulethi, Champawat. These include appointment of additional teachers, improvement of school infrastructure, distribution of school uniforms and study kits to the students, etc. By 2007-08, the project had expanded to support 6 schools. Adjacent programs, such as teacher training workshops and vocational training, were introduced to enhance the impact of the Support-A-School program. By 2010-11, Savidya had eliminated the less effective project components and stopped supporting schools that did not perform as per expectations. As of 2011-12, the project supports 7 schools, and includes experiential learning programs, teacher training workshops and community outreach efforts. Between 2005-11, Asha-SV has provided grants of ~$155,000 to the project. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Project Goals 6 Primary goals Improve the quality of education in the public schools Increase awareness among the students’ parents/guardians and the community regarding education and its benefits Secondary goals Involve the local community in the management of the schools and project efforts and, thereby, make them responsible for the project outcomes Impress upon the Govt. and the relevant agencies of the need to improve infrastructure and resources in the public school and to better monitor the performance of the teachers Seek alternate sources of project funding Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Project Status [1] 7 Achievements Infrastructure and teaching resources have been improved at every Savidya-supported school Academic performances have improved in the Savidya- supported schools There is increased collaboration between the community, Savidya, school management and the Govt. agencies Inspired by Savidya, private individuals and organizations have created trusts/programs to fund/launch various educational initiatives in the region Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Project Status [2] 8 Concerns Community participation/awareness remain below expectations. Savidya’s successes have not inspired the local community to act in other public schools. The inertia of officials in the local Govt. agencies is a major hindrance to the administrative reform of the public schools. Despite the project’s achievements and the favourable publicity it has received over the years, Savidya has been unable to find an alternate source of funding. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Organizational Information 9 HWSTVAPSS was established in 1998. The Savidya Upasamiti was started in July 2004. The parent organization, HWSTVAPSS, is a registered body, and has been allotted a renewal registration number 73/2004-2005 by the Haldwani Office of Registrar of Societies, Uttarakhand, under the Indian Societies Act. (The original registration no. of HWSTVAPSS is 758/1997/1998. The final renewal/extension is from Champawat District office in 2008.) HWSTVAPSS has received the FCRA certification from the Govt. of India. Contact information @Savidya Dr. HD Bist ([email protected]) @Asha-SV Kalyan Ghatak ([email protected]) Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Flashback: 2005-11 10 Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 2 2011-12 Project Update Overview 12 In 2011-12, the Savidya project included Support-A-School program Learning Resource Center Teachers’ Training Workshops Siddha Jagaran Seva Since Savidya had money left over from previous years and Asha-SV was short of funds, no money was sent to Savidya during 2011-12. Savidya cut down on many aspects of the project so as to sustain the Support-A-School program. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Support-A-School [1] 13 Savidya supported 7 schools in the Champawat area by appointing additional teachers to the schools. Savidya organizes health camps for the students, and distributes school uniforms, books and study kits to the students. Savidya also advises 5 other schools in the region. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Support-A-School [2] 14 Govt. Primary School, Kulethi Adopted in 2005-06 84 students, 3 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 3 teachers: Prakash Punetha, Ashok Kumar Tamta, Tanuja Punetha 4 students selected for admission to the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalay, Champawat Govt. Junior High School, Dungra Sethi Adopted in 2006-07 78 students, 4 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 1 teacher: Lalit Singh New furniture added to all the classrooms Savidya has been making plans to organize coaching classes for the National Talent Search Examination Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Support-A-School [3] 15 Govt. Primary School, Dhakna Adopted in 2007-08 61 students, 2 Govt.-appointed teachers One teacher was appointed by the Govt. in 2011-12 Savidya appointed 3 teachers: Chandra Joshi, Lakshmi Badola, Shakuntala Chaudhary 2 new classrooms were added to the school Govt. Middle School, Khark Karkee Adopted in 2007-08 81 students, 2 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 2 teachers: Bhuvan Punetha, Lalit Singh Savidya persuaded the School Principal and District Education Officer (DEO) to split Class-VI into two sections Very active participation by students’ parents and guardians Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Support-A-School [4] 16 Govt. Primary School, Dungra Sethi Adopted in 2007-08 35 students, 1 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 3 teachers: Babita Chaudhary, Bhagwat Chaudhary, Asha Bohra 2 students selected for admission to the Rajeev Gandhi Navodaya Vidyalaya, Champawat The School Principal was feted by the State and Central Govts. Govt. Primary School, Khark Karkee Adopted in 2008-09 113 students, 2 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 2 teachers: Hemalata, Deepak Tamta A new school building was constructed in 2011-12 Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Support-A-School [5] 17 Govt. Primary School, Dhakna-Bhadola Adopted in 2009-10 38 students, 2 Govt.-appointed teachers Savidya appointed 2 new teachers: Muktesh Pachauly, Jiwan Chandra Paneru Other activities Health camps were conducted at all the schools where students were given Hepatitis-B vaccines. The students were also given a 90-day supply of Liv-52, de-worming tablets and multivitamins. Eye tests were also conducted. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Learning Resource Center [1] 18 Library The library is housed within the premises of the PP Kulethi. The library currently holds over 2,500 books and a number of charts and models. Most of the books are used by students from local schools, including non-Savidya-supported schools. The parents/guardians of students in the Savidya-supported schools can access the books free of charge. The parents are encouraged to access the library. By targeting the parents, Savidya hopes to create an environment in the children’s homes that is more conducive to their learning. Savidya feels that if the parents can discover the joy of reading, they may be more inclined to encourage their children to continue their education. Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Learning Resource Center [2] 19 Month Books issued to students from Books issued to [2011] Savidya-schools Other schools Guardians Teachers January Holiday 48 12 16 February 180 45 15 13 March 185 28 9 11 April 155 18 7 14 May 145 20 11 10 June 210 30 6 17 July 170 15 9 12 August 165 12 10 13 September 140 15 8 23 October 175 14 18 13 November 165 15 11 23 December 100 12 11 15 Savidya Upasamiti: 2012-13 Project Renewal 18 April 2012 Learning Resource Center [3] 20 Science Resource Center The SRC is housed within the premises of the PP Kulethi. It was built in 2007 with funds provided through the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) in 2007, that were facilitated by Capt. Satish Sharma, Rajya Sabha MP. In 2008, the Center was equipped with scientific models and experiment kits. The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur (IITK), and Shiksha Sopan, an NGO managed by IITK faculty and students, helped get the Centre up and running. The Science Center has over 125 experiment kits that demonstrate various scientific experiments to students from the Savidya-supported schools and other local schools. A number of visitors, especially from academia, visit the Science Center and give talks on