EDUCATION 2.3 Pota Cabins: Residential schools for children in LWE-affected areas of Chhattisgarh Pota Cabins is an innovative educational initiative for building schools with impermanent materials like bamboo and plywood in Chhattisgarh. The initiative has helped reduce the number of out-of-school children and improve enrolment and retention of children since its introduction in 2011. The number of out-of-school children in the 6-14 years age group reduced from 21,816 to 5,780 as the number of Pota Cabins rose from 17 to 43 within a year of the initiative. These residential schools help ensure continuity of education from primary to middle-class levels in Left Wing Extremism affected villages of Dantewada district, by providing children and their families a safe zone where they can continue their education in an environment free of fear and instability. Rationale Secondly, it would also draw children away from the remote and interior areas of villages that are more prone to Left Wing Extremists violence. As these schools are perceived The status of education in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh as places where children can receive adequate food and was abysmal. As per a 2005 report, the literacy rate of the education, they are often referred to Potacabins locally, as state stood at 30.2% against the state average of 64.7%.1 ‘pota’ means ‘stomach’ in the local Gondi language. The development deficit in the Dakshin Bastar area, which includes Dantewada district, has been largely attributed to the remoteness of villages, lack of proper infrastructure Objectives such as roads and bridges, and weak penetration of communication technology. The situation in this region has worsened due to Left-Wing Extremism (LWE) and violence. The main objective of the initiative includes enrolment and According to a study published in 2014, nearly 86 primary continuous retention of out-of-school children by bringing and residential schools have been destroyed.2 them to the mainstream society through formal education. It also aims at inculcating a scientific temper in children to In January 2011, the number of out-of-school children prepare them not only for employment opportunities but in the age group of 6-14 years in Dantewada district was also for qualitative changes through the provision of basic 50.3%, and 20-30% schools were reported defunct. It amenities of healthcare, food and proper accommodation was in the backdrop of such adversity that the district along with an environment that encourages innovation and administration introduced a range of educational entrepreneurship. It seeks to promote vocational skills and interventions such as Education City, Livelihood Colleges, build capacities for self-employment among students. Choo Lo Aasman and Tamanna.3 For the benefit of out- of-school children, especially in Left Wing Extremism affected areas, Pota Cabins, or residential 500-seater Key Stakeholders campuses were installed in 2011. To address the destruction of concrete structures, The key stakeholders involved in the programme operate the administration decided to build schools made of at five different levels – state, district, block, cluster and prefabricated materials such as bamboo and ply so that school. The details of the key stakeholders are depicted schools cannot be used as hideouts or armed camps. in Figure 1. 1 UNDP and Planning Commission of India. ‘Human Development Report of Chhattisgarh’. 2005. Web. 01 April 2014. http://www.undp.org/content/ dam/india/docs/human_develop_report_2005_chhattisgarh_full_report.pdf 2 Against the Odds: A Case Study of Educational Initiatives in Dantewada; published by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances, Government of India, published in 2014 and web accessed on 14.05.2015 from http://darpg.gov.in/darpgwebsite_cms/document/file/DANTEWADA_case.pdf 3 ‘Education City’ is a Rs. 100 crore project wherein a single campus spread over 90 acres was created in Dantewada consisting of educational institutions ranging from primary schools (including Pota Cabin) to polytechnics.; ‘Livelihood Colleges’ are residential colleges run on a PPP model for youth who are barely literate or semi-literate and are class 5-12 pass. Reputed private organizations like IL&FS impart skill education and provide them linkages for further placement.; ‘Choo Lo Aasman’ addresses the deficit of science teachers and science education in Dantewada by bringing together students of classes 11 and 12 in two main campuses in the district headquarters and prepares them for professional courses like engineering and medicine.; ‘Tamanna’ is a special venture to expose students to different opportunities by visiting the district headquarters and major cities like Vishakapatnam, interacting with high-level government officials such as the Collector, and making use of a specially constructed Science Museum and District Library. Social Sector Service Delivery: Good Practices Resource Book 2015 33 Pota Cabins: Residential schools for children in LWE-affected areas of Chhattisgarh Figure 1: Key stakeholders in the initiative Implementation Strategy The conundrum in rebuilding schools was that concrete � Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha Mission of State structures take a long time to construct and are easily Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Chhattisgarh destroyed by the Left Wing Extremists violence. Therefore, ‘portable cabins’ made of pre-fabricated bamboo and ply � Collector were conceptualised. They are long-lasting and durable, � CEO of Zilla Panchayat fireproof and waterproof and can be easily rebuilt. District � District Project Coordinator Bamboo is procured from Nagaland and cement plinths � Assistant Project Coordinator are laid for the foundation. Further, it was decided that the Pota Cabins would be Block � Block Resource Coordinator built in educational clusters and not in interior areas so that there is no objection to laying cement plinths. This will also ensure that teachers would not be required to go to remote areas, which might affect their attendance, and Cluster � Cluster Resource Coordinator this would also make monitoring and evaluation easier. Around 10-12 Pota Cabin schools, each accommodating � Headmaster 500 seats, were built within a span of 4-5 months in 2011, School � Teachers/volunteers the first one being Kasoli Pota Cabin in Dantewada. � Students (upto class VIII) The following changes have been incorporated since the inception of the initiative - The beneficiaries, who are students up to class 8, are either i) Pota Cabins were introduced for conducting classified by age or by their actual level of education. The Residential Bridge Courses (RBC) which have now defined age group is 6-14 years but sometimes, older children with education levels corresponding to those below 14 years of age are also included in the group. While the District Project Coordinator (DPC) and the Assistant Project Coordinator (APC) look after district-level implementation, the Block Resource Coordinator (BRC) looks into block level issues. Monitoring activities are undertaken by the Collector at the district level, followed by the APC, BRC and Cluster Resource Coordinator (CRC). Image 2 and 3: The Kasoli Pota Cabin in Image 1: Students during dance practice for Dantewada district, which was the first Pota Cabin Annual Day at Karli Pota Cabin constructed under this initiative 34 Social Sector Service Delivery: Good Practices Resource Book 2015 EDUCATION been incorporated under the Rajiv Gandhi Shiksha exercise is now conducted annually in the months of Mission of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, Chhattisgarh. April-June before the start of the academic year. ii) The capacity of Pota Cabins has been reduced to Once the children are brought to the Pota Cabins, they 250 seats in order to reduce congestion. are classified on the basis of age and level of education up to class 8. Children whose educational level is not at par iii) Further, in 2013, qualified subject instructors have with their age are given special attention and training for been added to the teaching staff for enhancing the a period of six months. All students are provided lodging, quality of education. food (including Mid-Day Meals), uniforms and textbooks. iv) A number of NGOs are collaborating to ensure Students get acclimatised to the new environment good educational standards. Read India project has through local games and activities. Further on, the been implemented with Pratham, and Bachpan curriculum prepared by the State Council of Educational Banao has introduced 10 Fellows in 10 Pota Cabins Research and Training (SCERT) is taught to them in their in 2013-14 for assisting in and developing new respective classes. teaching methodologies, and improving the overall quality of education. In some cases, children run away since they are not used to living in closed spaces. In such cases, anudeshaks v) Lastly, owing to the success of Pota Cabins and trace them to their homes, bring them back and acceptance by locals, Left Wing Extremists and the make additional efforts to habituate them to the new armed forces, and keeping in view the temporary environment. During holidays and local festivals also, nature of the school structure, Pota Cabins will be children are taken home and dropped back by their replaced by permanent structures and old Pota parents or anudeshaks. Cabins will also be transitioned. b. Infrastructure and educational facilities a. Process Students are allotted lodging spaces in dormitories on the After the construction of Pota Cabins, the personnel campus. For the preparation of meals, steam boilers have involved – anudeshaks (volunteers) from the local Gondi been introduced in a few Pota Cabins on a pilot basis. and Halbi speaking population, adhikshaks (teacher-in- This has greatly helped in reducing the time, effort and charge) and other teaching staff – are hired. They are number of people involved in cooking meals. given the dual responsibility of being class instructors as well as wardens for the student residents. Generally, there are three sources of power supply in every Pota Cabin – regular government power supply, Anudeshaks are also given a target of enrolling children generator back up and solar panels.