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THE MODEL SCHOOL PROGRAMMEAn Initiative in Rural Transformation
Byrraju FoundationSatyam Enclave, 2-74, Jeedimetla Village, NH-7, Hyderabad - 500 055 (AP) INDIA
Phone: 91-40-23191725, 23193881 / 82 Fax: 91-40-23191726
Email: [email protected]
www.byrrajufoundation.org
EDUCATION MODULE
Table of Contents
• 1. Introduction
• 2. About Byrraju Foundation
• 3. About the Binder
• 4. The Byrraju Foundation Model – A model for under-privileged children’s education
• 5. Model School framework
• 6. Quick Start Guide (For Model School Development)
• 7. Programme Coverage
� 7.1 Alliance Partnership
� 7.2 Initiatives
• 7.2.a Computer-aided learning
• 7.2.b IBM KidSmart Programme
• 7.2.c Environment Education
• 7.2.d Spoken English Programme
• 7.2.e VirtuaLab
• 7.2.f Teacher Training Programme
• 8. Resource Pool
• 9. Events
� 9.1 Co-curricular/Extra curricular activities
• 9.1.a Sports & Games
• 9.1.b Quiz Programme
• 9.1.c Painting Competition
• 10. School Health
• 11. Conclusion
• 12. FAQs
1. Introduction
World over, education has proved to be the key to development and prosperity of the individual and
society as a whole. Developing countries have recognised the fact that education could hasten their
development process better than most other reforms and policies. These countries also understand that
while education is important, it is its quality that makes a deeper impact on the pace of development. For
decades, India too harboured the dream of education for all, yet the dream remains elusive.
It is ironical that India is renowned for its scientifically trained manpower, yet a large section of its
population remains uneducated. The reason for the paradox is, according to educationists, over the
decades India unwittingly nurtured a fractured system of school education. The system is divided into
two apparent divisions; one has kept pace with the most advanced learning systems of the world, while
the other remained inefficient and ineffective. This has created a chasm in the society, what with just a
few people able to afford advanced learning systems. The largely ineffective and inefficient system
obviously failed to provide meaningful education to the remaining people, especially the poorest and
disempowered sections of society.
While urban India grapples with increased number of dropouts, rural India is caught in a battle for the
basics. To help improve the state of literacy, the government is promoting non-formal modes of education
that complement the existing policies and initiatives. However, there are some issues that have been a
cause for concern and need to be addressed before ‘education for all’ can be achieved. The issues are:
• Infrastructure: Most schools across the country (including some urban areas) are not equipped to
deal with the changing needs of the education system. Shortage of funds has led most of them to
set up rudimentary classrooms without basic facilities like black boards, tables and chairs,
electricity, toilets and drinking water provisions. Often, funds allotted to schools by the
government are misappropriated.
• Accountability: There is little or no scope in the system to hold anybody accountable for the
quality of education imparted, especially at the grass root level. This shortcoming has proved to
be a hindrance in cohesive policy making.
• Girl child: The mindset of a majority of people against educating the girl child has widened the
disparity between genders. This disparity is especially pronounced in the rural society. This
contributed to discouraging literacy rates among the Indian female population.
• Child labour: Child labour is an issue that plagues several developing countries. The problem is
especially widespread in India, where children are forced out of school to earn a living. There are
no initiatives to extend incentives for these children to stay in school and take interest in the
curriculum.
• Dearth of teachers: The paucity of teachers, especially in rural areas, is another cause for worry.
Poor student-teacher ratios have led to deterioration in the quality of education being delivered, as
teachers are often required to tutor a large group of students.
• School environment: A factor contributing to the high dropout rate is that the prevalent school
atmosphere is discouraging. Lack of facilities compounded by staid teaching methods failed to
provide a motivating environment for the child to study.
What has gone wrong?
To fill the lacuna in the elementary education system, many new schools have mushroomed all over the
country. Though access increased, unfortunately the quality of these hamlet schools with mostly one or
two teachers managing 3 to 4 classes leaves a lot to be desired. Fund scarcity accentuates the problem.
The poor fund flow from the government and Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (SSA) is stretched so much that after
meeting teacher salaries, there would not be any funds left even for routine maintenance and upkeep,
leave alone vital development activities. Such proliferation of schools has markedly eroded the efficiency
and accountability of the government machinery.
What has been done?
Educationists have been trying to lure students back to schools by introducing some unique programmes.
Over the past few decades, the government has formulated and implemented several schemes to improve
the state of education in the country. Aided by the New National Policy of Education (1986) and the
Programme of Action (1992), (which aimed at improving access, reducing dropout rate and improving
learning achievements for all children between 6-14 years of age), a host of initiatives have made an
impact on the level of literacy in India. Some of them are:
• Operation Blackboard (1986);
• Non-formal Education Scheme (1986);
• The Shiksha Karmi Project (1987);
• Mahila Samakya (1989);
• LokJumbish (1992);
• The District Primary Education Programme (1994);
• The Mid-Day Meal scheme (1995); and
• The Sarva Siksha Abhiyan (2001), aimed at completion of eight years of schooling by all children
between 6 and 14 years by 2010.
The National Policy on Education (1986) committed to achieve the goal of universal elementary
education by 1995. India, as a signatory to the World Declaration on Basic Education, made in Jomtein,
Thailand, more than a decade and half ago, agreed to achieve the target by the year 20001. Yet, the goal
has remained elusive, despite the fact that there is a primary school within 1 kilometre for children in
95% of the villages.
Data2 reveals that:
• 35 million out of 192 million children between 6 and14 years are “out of school” and of those
enrolled, 15 million are habitual absentees;
• Dropout rates are staggering, and only 31% complete schooling up to grade 10;
• Amongst those who actually attend class, learning levels are deplorable. Seven million out of 19
million children in Grade V cannot read and write – this does not even constitute literacy, let
alone education; and
• Today India’s literacy rate is 65% versus the global average of 80%.
The biggest boost to the education drive in the county came in 1997 when the Government of India
introduced 83rd Constitutional Amendment Bill in Parliament making education a fundamental right for
children between 6 and 14 years of age. Lending further support to the movement, the Supreme Court
insisted that States provide hot meals in schools.
1 Education for All: Is the World on Track? EFA Global Monitoring Report 2002, UNESCO Publishing, Paris, 2002; pp
310
2 Address of Mr. Azim Premji at the Inauguration of the “National Conference on Enhancing Learning in Elementary
School” Organised by Ministry of Human Resources Development and Azim Premji Foundation, Bangalore, July 23-25,
2004
Rural India is struggling not just with high dropout rates but also with absentee educators. The problem
of indifferent, reluctant and often absentee teachers is more acute in rural areas than in urban India,
especially so in the high schools. Studies reveal that these gaps in school education cannot be bridged
without addressing the issue of schooling holistically. To do so, the focus has to include hard
infrastructure facilities (classrooms, toilets, safe drinking water, playground, boundary wall, separate
rooms for library and laboratories, etc), soft infrastructure facilities (Teaching /Learning Materials,
Teacher Training, Technology-aided Tools, Extra Curricular Courses, Sports and Games, etc.) and
collaboration at various levels for school improvement.
Can government alone solve this problem?
Given the enormity of the task and intensity and extent of the problem, it is difficult for the government
to solve this problem on its own. The need of the hour is to create a platform to address the issue of
education and facilitate participation from diverse parties such as NGOs, local community and corporate
bodies. To achieve the goals set by SSA, the government of India has introduced a 2% cess on all Central
taxes.
2. About Byrraju Foundation
Byrraju Foundation was set up in July 2001 in memory of Shri Byrraju Satyanarayana Raju, a successful
agriculturist turned entrepreneur, who believed that the development of villages is vital for the progress
of India. One of the foremost not-for –profit organisations in the country, Byrraju Foundation is
committed to transforming the quality of life of the rural underprivileged. The Foundation seeks to build
progressive and self-reliant rural communities, adopting a holistic approach. Today we have our presence
in 200 adopted villages in the six districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Ranga
Reddy and Visakhapatnam, impacting 1.2 million people directly and another 1.8 million in neighbouring
villages.
The Foundation’s mission is to create a world class platform for sustainable and holistic rural
transformation. The core values governing the mission are community involvement and making things
happen by applying knowledge. The aim is to transform people’s lives by extending them basic services
like Healthcare, Sanitation, safe drinking water, Primary Education, Adult Literacy and training in
Livelihood skills for both men and women. The use of technology and constant innovation are our chief
differentiators.
While we deliver services through a physical presence in each of our villages, we believe that rural
transformation can be sustained only if the transformation process is disaggregated and the processes are
institutionalised. These robust processes innovatively combine global best practices, effective
management systems and state-of-the-art technology. The processes are ultimately owned, managed and
led by the rural communities themselves.
The Foundation has embraced Six Sigma as the tool for designing new processes and making
breakthrough improvements in the existing processes. Information and Communication Technology
along with coalition with national and international facilitating agencies is being harnessed to generate
desirable and enduring changes in all facets of rural life in the shortest possible time.
Healthcare Programme
Healthcare is brought to the doorstep of the Rural Community through our Village Health Centres present
in each of our adopted villages. These health centres provide comprehensive healthcare. In situations
that cannot be handled at the village level, we ensure that medical facilities are made accessible to our
beneficiaries through our network of alliances. Following are the programme highlights:
o 200 well-equipped, primary healthcare centres
o Over 6.5 million patient visits till date
o 72 Doctors and 200 Health Workers
o 20 basic drugs to meet 80% of the requirements
o Cost of treating Hypertension brought down to Rs. 25/- per month / person
o Cost of Diabetes testing brought down to Rs. 15/- per test
o Epilepsy awareness and treatment completed in 44 villages of West Godavari district
o Affordable eye care to 100% of the population
o 100% school health check up completed
o Door- to- door survey to detect hypertension and diabetes completed
o Joint research with George Institute of International Health, Sydney, for low-cost solutions
for cardio vascular diseases
o Tele-medicine through Wi-Fi technology
o Mobile Dental Services
o Lead NGO for HIV-AIDS Awareness Programmes in West Godavari district
GramIT
In its efforts to generate more wealth in villages and create non-migratory livelihoods for unemployed
youth, the Foundation has launched a rural BPO - ‘GramIT’. GramIT is an initiative that seeks to engage
educated rural youth in the new economy by providing Business Process Outsourcing services from the
village. Selected unemployed youth are provided, free of cost, rigorous training in:
o Written and spoken English
o Computer skills
o General Awareness
o Post-training, the youth are engaged in GramIT centres that are the back office of
multi national corporations, Indian corporate houses, governments and other
institutions.
Each centre has a 50-seat facility and employs 100 people in two shifts. Presently, there are 4 centres and
400 team members.
Drinking Water
The Drinking Water programme aims at providing safe drinking water to 100% of the population in
adopted villages. This is a sustainable, low cost community-driven model that integrates technology and
community participation for providing WHO / BIS standard drinking water.
Highlights:
o 60 plants providing access to over 850,000 people
o 1000 to 2000 litres per hour capacity water purification plants
o Affordable – 12.5/litre (1 cent a gallon) towards maintenance of plant
o Uninterrupted supply and continuous quality monitoring
o Recipient of ‘Best Water NGO-Water Quality’ award instituted by Water Digest and
UNESCO
Education and Adult Literacy
Our education initiatives aim at providing easy access to high quality education for underprivileged rural
children. The approach to this is to improve:
o The hard infrastructure – class rooms, computer labs, libraries and laboratories, toilets and
playgrounds
o Soft infrastructure – teaching content, teacher training, teaching/learning materials, etc.
o Collaboration – more effective parent-teacher association and school–community
interaction.
We seek to convert rural (Government) schools into Model Schools so that they are on par with the best-
run city schools in terms of infrastructure and performance. We develop a School Improvement Plan
(SIP) for each school and monitor their progress through a tool called Model School Composite Index
(MSCI). Presently there are 302 model schools and 108 IBM KidSmart centres in the six districts.
Achievements:
o 1 Secondary and 1 primary/upper primary schools in each village have been taken into the
Foundation’s ambit – 302 in all.
o 1,51,000 School Children benefited (1.51 lakh)
o 108 KidSmart centres – computer-based early learning activities
o Model school programme – collaborative approach
o ~ 1000 youth trained in Spoken English
o ~100 High Schools and 20,000 Students of Class VI to X benefiting from VirtuaLab
Programme
o Computer training imparted to nearly 500 teachers
Our Adult literacy programme aims at facilitating total literacy as per UNESCO norms in each of the
adopted villages. Apart from imparting literacy skills, this programme provides continuing education and
also trains neo literates in appropriate livelihood skills.
Highlights:
o 170 villages covered
o 52,500 literacy conversions made so far under the Adult Literacy Programme
o 150 villages converted to 100% literate
o 24 Continuing Literacy Centres
o Neo-literate libraries in 24 Continuing Literacy Centres
o Use of Literacy Software
o Livelihoods Skills to neo literates
Sanitation & Waste Management
The sanitation programme aims to usher in provision of a self-owned, manageable sanitation facility to
every family in the below poverty line (BPL) Category. Provision of services such as waste removal
along with properly constructed sanitation facilities ensures that the minimum necessities to have a clean
environment are provided.
Highlights:
o 82,000 Individual Sanitary Latrines (ISL) constructed
o 98% usage of ISLs ensured by organising continuous awareness programmes
o 194 villages are provided with waste removal systems
o 189 Vermiculture units are established to treat organic waste
Livelihoods
The objective of these programmes is to bring people who fall in the BPL category to the ‘DPL’ (Desired
Prosperity Level). In monetary terms, this would mean an income of Rs.5000 for a family of four. This
would involve identifying markets for goods and services that have the potential to provide adequate
income to the rural poor and facilitating supply and market linkages so that the skilled labour can start
earning income as soon as possible. The training itself is imparted through partnering with appropriate
agencies and the income generation is either through self-employment, wage employment or an increase
in productivity.
Project Ashwini
The objective of Project Ashwini is to provide a virtual platform for the villagers to interact with experts
from various multi-disciplines like health, education, agriculture and other service sectors apart from an
attempt to create virtual market places across the adopted villages.
Highlights:
o 50 Ashwini Centres in operation
o State-of-the-art Wi-Fi technology
o Tele-medicine, Spoken English, School Education, Virtual Leadership, Agriculture
Extension Programme, and Community Meetings
Community Involvement
The vision is to ensure that all processes are owned, managed and led by the community.
Highlights:
o Gram Vikasa Samithi for each village
o 9 members with 9 alternates (Vikasa Preraks) & 180 Vikasa Sadhaks
o 1 member responsible for each initiative
o They are nominated not elected
o Over 12,000 Community Change Agents (volunteers)
o Harnessed over one million hours of volunteering till date
o Community Involvement Index
o Grama Vikasa Soochika
o Village Vikasa Sadassu & Chiatanya Yatra
o Socio-cultural activities
Visioning for self-reliance
The Foundation believes that ‘one shoe does not fit all’. Every village is therefore encouraged to develop
its own vision for self-reliance.
Highlights:
o Helps determine priorities as Seen by the community
o To get what the village needs
o System-driven and metric-oriented approach
o Clear identification of roles, responsibilities and dependencies
o Full and scientific estimation of effort and costs
Team Foundation
o Professionals drawn from the corporate world, development sector and academia
o Ex IIT Directors to ex CEOs
o Medical excellence to technological brilliance
o Age 23 to 62
o 350 strong
o Committed and creative
3. About the binder
This process binder is a comprehensive document. It allows addition and deletion of information and
reports dynamically. It provides a record of the steps initiated and the development phases in the rural
education programmes of:
• Non-Government Organisations;
• Government departments;
• Agencies;
• Individuals;
• Societies/Associations;
• Corporate Social Responsibility Groups; and
• Village Communities.
The information herein contains firsthand experience gained from the educational initiatives taken by
Byrraju Foundation in its adopted villages.
The education initiative undertaken by the Foundation covers 200 villages spread across six districts of
Andhra Pradesh. The Foundation has adopted a primary and a secondary school in each village.
This binder will help its readers either to set up or initiate an education programme. It will equip them to
fill lacuna in the educative process, if any.
Conventions used in the binder
The binder will explain every feature of a programme, including the steps leading up to it, and follow-up
reports where available. It uses simple English and a simple structure so that its universality will aid
comprehension and subsequent application. All abbreviations are listed in <2.0> below and will be
expanded on first use; except where they happen to be brand names or are used commonly.
Abbreviations, concepts and definitions
Abbreviations:
AP – Andhra Pradesh SEC – School Education Committee
BFI – Bridges to the Future Initiative SIP – School Improvement Plans
CAL – Computer Aided Learning SSA – Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan
CEC/s – Continuing Education Centre/s TLM – Teaching Learning Material
DEO – District Education Officer YEU – Young Explorer Unit
DPEP – District Primary Education
Programme
GVS – Grama Vikasa Samithi
HM – Head Master
ILI – International Literacy Institute
MEO – Mandal Education Officer
MoU – Memorandum of Understanding
MSCI – Model School Composite Index
NLM – National Literacy Mission
PTA – Parent Teachers Association
SCID – Stanford Centre for International
Development
Concepts and definitions
Education module: The module aims to bring about a perceptible and permanent improvement in the
quality of education imparted by the primary and secondary education systems in rural areas.
Model Schools: Byrraju Foundation’s adopted Government schools are called ‘Model Schools’.
Model School Composite Index (MSCI) (Annexure I): Model School Composite Index (MSCI) is a
tool to measure the status of a Model School on various parameters on a 1000-point score.
School Improvement Plan (SIP): A document prepared for each Model School in consultation with the
school authorities - Head Master, teachers and community members. The document is used to elucidate
targets for developing hard and soft infrastructure. It addresses school-specific improvement plans,
focusing on all the vital ingredients of Model School development.
CAL – Computer-Aided Learning: Computer-Aided Learning as the name suggests is an educational
environment where a computer-based programme, or an application as they are commonly known, is
used to assist or aid the teacher or student in learning a particular subject.
Grama Vikasa Samithi (GVS): An apolitical village-based organisation constituted by Foundation,
GVS consists of 9 members representing all sections of the community that assumes full responsibility
for the all round development of the village. A representative of the Foundation will act as an ex-officio
member of the GVS.
District Primary Education Programme (DPEP): In 1993, the District Primary Education Programme
(DPEP) was conceived during a consultative process between the Government of India, national
institutions and international aid organisations. DPEP was designed to universalise primary education,
improve school efficiency and effectiveness, and address the special needs of girls and rural populations.
DPEP created a system in which local village community members, parents and staff supported schools.
(Source: http://www1.worldbank.org/education/globaleducationreform/pdf/indiaf.pdf)
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA): The Government of India launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in
2001, in an effort to universalise elementary education by transferring the ownership of school system to
the community. It is a response to the demand for quality basic education all over the country. The SSA
Programme is also an attempt to provide children an opportunity to improve human capabilities, through
provision of community-owned quality education in a mission mode.
Please refer to http://ssa.nic.in/ssaframework/ssaframe.asp for more details.
Primary School: Schools running classes 1st to 5
th are classified as primary schools.
Upper Primary School: Schools running classes 1st to 7
th are classified as upper primary schools.
High School: Schools running Classes 6th to 10
th are classified as secondary or high schools.
4. The Byrraju Foundation Model – A Model for Under-Privileged Children’s
Education
Byrraju Foundation has been actively working towards improving the quality of education being imparted
in rural areas. The Foundation’s education module has already been implemented in 200 villages. To
begin with, the Foundation adopts two schools in the adopted village (one primary and one secondary)
and works towards improving their infrastructure as well as academic standards
This is done by substantially augmenting the existing primary and secondary school infrastructure so that
there is an established platform to begin work on. These modules and initiatives are implemented in
collaboration with the Government of Andhra Pradesh, the village community and a host of other alliance
partners. The Foundation supports and develops rural government schools to become ‘model schools’
that are on par with urban schools.
About the Module
Vision: Ensure easy access to high quality education for underprivileged rural children.
Objective: The objective behind the initiatives under this module is to ensure that the infrastructure and
the academic standards of the schools in rural areas are on par with well-run schools in large cities of the
country within a short period of time.
Strategy - The Model School Concept
The Model School Programme has been conceptualised keeping in view the Foundation’s vision of
‘ensuring easy access to high quality education’.
Under its School Education Programme, the Foundation facilitates creation of “Model Schools” in all its
adopted villages. This is achieved through a collaborative framework in which the Foundation actively
collaborates with the government, the village community and other alliance partners.
As part of the ‘Model School Programme’, the Foundation adopts rural government schools and supports
them in all respects over a period of two to three years, until they are transformed into Model Schools as
per the Model School Framework.
The adoption of schools is done in phases. For example, in the first phase, the Foundation adopted 120
schools from the adopted villages, based on community response. The other schools were adopted in
subsequent phases.
5. Model School Framework
The framework provides an ideal that the Foundation’s model schools can work towards. It focuses on
the importance of hard and soft infrastructure as well as collaboration to achieve quality improvement.
The Foundation feels that at the end of its intervention with the schools, these schools should be able to
score at least 80% on the Model School Index. (Please refer to Annexure II for a sample of the
scoring)
Model School Framework
Model School Framework
Component 2: Component 2: Component 2: Component 2: Soft InfrastructureSoft InfrastructureSoft InfrastructureSoft Infrastructure (Teaching/ Learning/Extra-
curricular facilitation)
• Teaching -learning material
• School Library
• Maths /Science Lab Equipment
• Computer Lab
• CD content for teachers and students
• Audio-visual equipment (TV/Radio/DVD)
• Teacher training
• 1:40 Student-Teacher Ratio
• One teacher for every class
• Temporary teachers / Vidya volunteers
• Uniform
• Sports/ Arts/ Cultural activities
• Extra curricular courses
• School health programme / Nutrient support
Component 1: Component 1: Component 1: Component 1: Hard Infrastructure facilitiesHard Infrastructure facilitiesHard Infrastructure facilitiesHard Infrastructure facilities
• One classroom for each standard/class
• Separate rooms for Computer Lab, Science Lab, Library and
Staff room
• Toilet facilities with water connection
• Safe drinking water / Pipe connection
• Electrification/Continuous Power Supply
• Garbage Disposal
• Mid-day meal shed (for primary / upper primary schools)
• School furniture
• Tree Plantation / Green and Clean
• Playground / sports equipment
• Boundary wall
• Cycle shed
Component Component Component Component 3: 3: 3: 3: Collaborations
• Ongoing partnership with government
• Active involvement of Teachers / MEOs / DEOs, PTA, SEC,
Gram Vikas Samithi (GVS)
• Regular community support to school in terms of resources
• Alliances with like minded NGOs/Educational
Agencies/Donor Agencies, etc.
• City-Village School Partnership
• Sharing and Adoption of Best Practices
• Develop the school as a community learning centre
Quality ImprovementQuality ImprovementQuality ImprovementQuality Improvement
Objective:Objective:Objective:Objective:
• Easy access to high quality educationhigh quality educationhigh quality educationhigh quality education for
underprivileged rural children
OutcomesOutcomesOutcomesOutcomes
• Increase in enrolment ( > 5 % each year )
• Less than 2% drop out rates
• >90% pass at 7th class and 10th class board
exam with >50 % students getting > 70 %
marks
• Highly motivated teachers and students (
< 10 % absenteeism )
• >80% scores in Hard Infrastructure/ Soft
Infrastructure/ Collaboration indices
6. Quick Start Guide (For Model School Development)
Steps in Model School Development
Step 1: Adoption of village
Initiatives under the education module are put into action only when the Foundation
adopts a particular village. The adoption process takes place when the village qualifies on
certain pre-determined parameters set by the Foundation.
Step 2: Selection of schools to be developed as Model Schools
Criteria for Selection:
• Largest government schools: The Foundation selects schools based on the strength of
their student population. Government aided schools are not considered for adoption.
• Community support and participation: Community support is an important factor in
the selection of the school to be developed.
• Support of Teachers / HM / School Education Committee
• Support of Mandal and District government education officials
Step 3: School Improvement Plan (SIP) Preparation (Please refer to Annexure III
for SIP Format)
Adoption of VillageAdoption of VillageAdoption of VillageAdoption of Village Selection of Schools Selection of Schools Selection of Schools Selection of Schools
to be dto be dto be dto be developed as eveloped as eveloped as eveloped as
Model SchoolsModel SchoolsModel SchoolsModel Schools
School Improvement School Improvement School Improvement School Improvement
Plans pPlans pPlans pPlans preparationreparationreparationreparation
MoU with Govt. for MoU with Govt. for MoU with Govt. for MoU with Govt. for
Partnership / Partnership / Partnership / Partnership /
Implementation / Implementation / Implementation / Implementation /
ResourcesResourcesResourcesResources
StaffingStaffingStaffingStaffing Tying up with oTying up with oTying up with oTying up with other ther ther ther
Alliance PartnersAlliance PartnersAlliance PartnersAlliance Partners
Activating Donor Activating Donor Activating Donor Activating Donor
MoMoMoModule for mdule for mdule for mdule for meeting eeting eeting eeting
rrrresource esource esource esource ggggapapapap
Project Project Project Project
Implementation / Implementation / Implementation / Implementation /
EvaluationEvaluationEvaluationEvaluation
Achieving Self Achieving Self Achieving Self Achieving Self
SufficiencySufficiencySufficiencySufficiency
Replicating the Model Replicating the Model Replicating the Model Replicating the Model
and and and and sssscaling caling caling caling uuuupppp
• Current status database
• Gap identification vis-à-vis Model School Framework
• Need prioritisation by school authorities
• Resource commitment
• Preparation of implementation schedule with assigned responsibility
• Formalising the collaborative SIP document
• Organising workshop of community / school officials / government education
officials / Byrraju Foundation. (Please refer to Annexure IV for details)
Step 4: MoU with Government for partnership / implementation / resources
• Meeting with District Education Officer / SSA Head at district level
• Draft of MoU
• Signing pact with District Collector
(Please refer to Annexure V for sample MoU)
Step 5: Staffing
The Foundation does not directly involve itself in hiring any of the teachers or working
staff in the schools. It does however recruit co-ordinators who enable it to carry out
different initiatives.
• Model school co-ordinators: The Foundation recruits district-wise model school
coordinators. Each model school coordinator reports to the district project manager.
They each monitor around 30 schools. These schools can be spread over different
districts.
• Recruit: Recruitment of co-ordinators is based on district-wise requirement.
• Performance Appraisal: The Foundation appraises the coordinators’ performance
once every year.
Step 6: Tying up with other alliance partners
The Foundation enters into MoUs with like-minded alliance partners to leverage
resources like learning materials, processes, money and technology for the Model
Schools. (Please refer to Annexure VI for sample MoU with IBM)
Step 7: Activating donor module for meeting resource gap
The Foundation first identifies a list of supplies that will be needed at the schools. Once
an estimate is drawn up, resources from the Foundation and the government are pooled
together. In case of a gap, donors are approached to try and procure additional funding.
Step 8: Project implementation and evaluation
SIP Execution and Monitoring
• Specific Programmes
• Review Mechanism
• Steering Committee
• District / Mandal level Committee
• School committee / Grama Vikas Samithi
• Report formats
• Metrics Collection and Analysis
• Escalation procedures
(Please refer to the KidSmart Binder for more details)
Step 9: Achieving self-sufficiency (Fully owned and managed by school / village
community)
The Foundation hopes to establish a model that can be replicated and updated from time
to time. To ensure that the improvement process is continuous and sustainable, the
Foundation hopes to eventually hand over the initiatives and programmes to the
respective school authorities.
Step 10: Replicating the model and scaling up
The Model School framework is replicated in each new village adopted by the
Foundation. The programmes and initiatives are upgraded periodically to sustain interest
and incorporate new skills.
7. Programme coverage
By December 2008, a total of 302 schools in 200 villages in West Godavari, East
Godavari, Krishna, Guntur, Ranga Reddy and Visakhapatnam Districts were developed
as Model Schools.
• This Programme directly benefits over 68,000 students and 1600 teachers.
7.1 Alliance partnership
Byrraju Foundation has entered into several alliance partnerships for the Model School
Programme. The focus of these partnerships is to pool best practices in areas such as:
• Teacher training;
• Teaching/learning content;
• Computer aided education;
• Innovative use of technology;
• Creative methodologies;
• Quality improvement assessment;
• Early childhood education programme; and
• Programmes for children with special needs.
While Alliance Partners can contribute in different ways, here are some examples of what
is already being done:
1. Government of AP: Lends special support to Model Schools, especially in terms
of infrastructure and cost sharing for initiatives like the CAL programme, IBM
KidSmart programme, VirtuaLab, among others;
2. Azim Premji Foundation : The Azim Premji Foundation provides CD-based
content and facilitates Teacher Training;
3. IBM India Pvt. Ltd: Provides specially designed hardware for young children,
learning software, training, etc.;
4. Microsoft: Contributes towards teacher training and also supplies some of the
software;
5. Centre for Environment Education (CEE): Conducts environment awareness
programmes;
6. UNICEF: Contributes content and processes developed for children-friendly
schools initiative;
7. American India Foundation: Contributes technology-based Digital Equaliser
Programme along with material for teacher training;
8. Stanford Centre for International Development (SCID): Conducts a joint
research study on ‘Effectiveness of Technology Intervention in Model Schools;
9. Pratham: Helps students develop reading skills through Learn 2 Read
Programme;
10. International Literacy Institute: Provides content in the local language;
11. Play for Peace: Organises games for team building; and
12. Village communities: Provide regular, on-going support and supervision at the
village level.
7.2 Initiatives
7.2.a. Computer-Aided Learning
The Foundation created "Computer Aided Leaning" (CAL) to provide a platform where
the grass root application of computer technologies for learning and development
purposes could be tested.
The project focuses on ‘widening the knowledge horizons of both children and teachers
by improving the learning and teaching systems through effective use of technology’.
Objectives: The primary objectives behind the CAL programme are:
� Educational development of children;
� Training and improving teaching capacities of teachers in using technology; and
� Building institutional capacities of schools benefiting the community as a whole.
Target schools: This is the first initiative under the Model School umbrella programme.
However, community has to come forward to enrol their village schools under this
programme by contributing 25% of programme audio visual equipment cost. With a
matching grant of 25% from the Foundation and 50% from the Government, the
programme becomes operational in selected schools. So far the Foundation covered all
the targeted schools in all the adopted villages in three phases.
7.2.b. IBM KidSmart Programme
IBM KidSmart Programme is one of the technology-based learning interventions under
‘Model School Programme’. . In partnership with IBM India Ltd and with special support
from the government and village communities, the Foundation launched this
Programme in the academic year 2004 – 05 in rural Andhra Pradesh.
The ‘IBM KidSmart’ is the only programme in India aimed at introducing technology at
the pre and primary school level in government schools. It is designed to help children (in
the age group 3 - 9 yrs) in disadvantaged sections of rural society to get a head-start on
their academic development. Each of the KidSmart Centres is equipped with 6-8 Young
Explorer Units that include specially designed and children-friendly IBM computers and
furniture along with a printer and a two-hour back-up inverter.
The Programme software called Edmark is designed to help children understand basic
concepts in language, mathematics and science. The focus is on developing reading skills
among children.
So far, the Foundation has set up 108 KidSmart Learning Centres in 108 Primary schools
spread across six districts of East Godavari, West Godavari, Guntur, Krishna, Ranga
Reddy and Visakhapatnam. Each of the 108 KidSmart Programme schools imparts
training to nearly 400 - 500 students and also caters to the needs of children from
neighbouring schools, and pre-school centres. A total of 30,000 children have benefited
through this Programme.
7. 2.c. Environment Education
The Foundation, in collaboration with The Centre for Environmental Education (CEE)
and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), started the Environmental Education in Schools of
Andhra Pradesh (EESAP) programme in December 2005. The programme has been
implemented in 23 Model Upper Primary Schools of the adopted villages in West
Godavari and covered 24 schools in East Godavari as on 2008-09.
The roles of the 3 partners are as follows:
Centre for Environment Education (CEE)
� Conduct teacher training programme
� Provide funding for the required materials to conduct activities and events at
school level and to prepare posters and manuals.
� Participate in workshops
� Evaluate the project once in every 3 months
Byrraju Foundation
� Facilitate teacher training programme involving Govt. officials
� Extend logistic support in terms of teacher training material, as well as master
trainer.
� Regular Monitoring and ongoing support to schools
� Report to CEE
SSA
� Provide Travel Allowance, Dearness Allowance for teachers during training
programme
� Involve in every activity with Byrraju Foundation
� Depute one District Resource Person for programme monitoring
� Conduct workshops
Phase 1 of the CEE was implemented in December 2005.
7. 2.d. Spoken English Programme
Recognising that English has emerged as the primary mode of communication across the
globe, the Foundation launched a ‘Spoken English Programme’. The programme aims at
improving the students’ English language skills. The programme is being implemented in
some of the high schools adopted by the Foundation.
The programme is primarily aimed at the 8th and 9
th standard students in 70 high schools
as on 2008-09 (38 high schools from West Godavari and 32 high schools from East
Godavari). The course is spread over 3 months and constitutes about 75-hours of
learning. The aim is to improve the spoken English language skill of enrolled students.
Dedicated teachers take classes for this course after school hours.
Programme objectives: To nurture students’ ability to speak English by improving their
vocabulary, grammar, listening skills and diction; in the process, boost their confidence
levels.
Target schools: The programme is extended to schools that have clearly evinced interest
in the programme and subsequently have come forward to partner with the Foundation in
running this programme.
Strategy: The programme is implemented on a ‘First come, First serve’ basis.
In the first phase of the programme, a total of 35 high schools were targeted – 20 high
schools out of the total 41 in West Godavari and 15 high schools out of 23 in East
Godavari. A nominal registration fee of Rs.30 (for all 3 months) is charged from the
students. A maximum of 30 students from each school are enrolled into the course.
Nature of the programme: The programme lays emphasis on four specific aspects:
Listening, comprehension, reading and most importantly speaking. The Foundation
coordinators monitor the programme and teachers evaluate the students’ progress on the
basis of their performance in module wise weekly tests. They also maintain a weekly
progress sheet of each student.
Students, who successfully complete the course and clear the tests, are given a certificate
at the end of the course.
(Please refer to Annexure VII for more details)
7. 2.e. VirtuaLab
This unique project hopes to introduce a new concept in learning through the virtual
medium. Virtual education here refers to instruction in an environment where there is
physical distance between the teacher and the learner. The effort is to provide the
underprivileged students in rural parts of Andhra Pradesh access to high quality scientific
content infrastructure and knowledge database, located in Hyderabad, through satellite /
telecommunication channels.
The Foundation has set up a state of the art observatory equipped with:
• A 14 inch Celestron telescope;
• A Digital SLR Camera;
• Astrovid – a small video camera capable of capturing short videos;
• Two electronic microscopes capable of taking high resolution images; and
• Avid – Editing software for storage, retrieval and editing.
Objective
This ambitious project is aimed at stimulating scientific temper in young minds and
encouraging them to analyse the basic concepts of science and think beyond their
curriculum. The following are the objectives of the initiative:
• Stimulate the interest of students towards general science;
• Encourage students to explore and experiment with basic materials existing in
their environment and understand the underlying scientific principles;
• Encourage teachers to enrich their teaching methods by involving
experimentation;
• Kindle the analytical thinking and inquisitiveness of an average student towards
science subjects;
• Appreciate general science for its empiricism - observation, experimentation and
analysis;
• Help students overcome the general apprehension they have towards science
subjects;
• Encourage students to take up higher studies especially in the field of science.
Project Components:
High-end Infrastructure (Parent Site): Infrastructural materials like telescope and
microscopes that can be used to capture images for transmission through the virtual
medium are already in place. Natural resources in the form of plants/ shrubs are available
in abundance at the parent site which can be captured as still images using the Nikon
Digital (Single Lens Reflex) camera.
Science Kits: All the schools adopted by the Foundation have been given one science kit
each to enable them carryout experiments. One astronomy kit, which includes equipment
like a Microscope, Telescope along with a Lab manual and experiment protocols in
Telugu, is also given. The closed user groups of the schools are provided with a Digital
Camera and a Mobile phone for asking queries. Teachers will be trained to use the
science kits and demonstrate experiments in the classroom. Students can also use the kit
under the supervision of their teachers.
Content writing: Experiment protocols are being collected from different sources by
identifying several alliance partners involved in similar endeavour. Topics in the state
science curriculum are being enriched in content using simple power point presentations
that become part of a CD supplied to all the schools. Content is also being developed and
made into easy to understand animations, which also become a part of the kits supplied.
Science Clubs: Enthusiastic students from these schools become members of a club
under the guidance of their science teachers. These clubs will be instrumental in
organising quiz competitions, working on innovative science models and setting up their
own science knowledge centres.
Mobile Science Van: A state of the art mobile science van facility consisting of science
exhibits and a few science experiment kits, which are normally not available in schools,
will visit rural schools on a periodic basis accompanied by an expert facilitator. The
Equipment will include a mobile planetarium; state of the art science exhibits,
multimedia shows and science experiment kits.
Though still in a nascent stage, the VirtuaLab concept promises not just to supplement
existing resources with more content, but also improve the content with several easy to
understand images, stimulating questions and exciting experiments; making the learning
of science fun.
7. 2.f. Teacher training programme
Teacher training is an inbuilt initiative under various Model School interventions. The
nature of training programme, its duration, target, coverage and logistics vary from
intervention to intervention. The same is articulated here for the reader.
Teacher Training under CAL Programme (Annexure VIII): As most of the teachers
working in rural schools are first generation learners, their exposure to computer and its
utility in teaching and learning process is very limited. Therefore, to build the
competencies of the teachers on computer-aided learning programme, the Foundation
organises a one-day teacher training programme at the school location for all the teachers
working in the school. The focus of the training programme is, how to:
• set-up computers properly;
• engage children in groups;
• provide opportunity to all children;
• prepare class-wise time table;
• maintain programme;
• monitor registers; and
• Catalogue the CD content and testing.
This training programme is followed up with regular onsite support by the Model School
coordinators and technicians. All the Model Schools (primary / upper primary / high
schools) receive this programme and a total of 1,600 teachers have been trained so far.
Teacher Training under IBM KidSmart Programme: This is a specially designed
programme for young children between the ages of 3 and 8 years to introduce basic
language, maths and science concepts through a variety of corner activities. The training
is planned for primary school teachers taking classes 1 – 3, teachers of Anganwadi
Centres or Early Childhood Education Centres who engage pre-primary sections and
teachers of neighbouring primary schools located within a kilometre’s radius. The
Foundation organises a 6-day training programme for teachers in two phases every year.
This is followed by on site support and regular skill transfer meetings.
Teacher Training under Spoken English Programme: The programme targets High
School teachers. The Foundation runs the spoken English programme for students of
classes 8th and 9
th through these teachers. As this is a time- bound programme spanning
four months, intensive in nature and the capacities of the teachers are limited, the
Foundation has designed fortnightly training sessions. The teachers are identified based
on his/her competency, commitment, availability before or after school hours and attend
the training programme on a regular basis at a centralised location. During the training
sessions, the previous fortnight programme is reviewed and inputs for coming fortnight
are provided. In addition to this, regular onsite support is ensured at school location. The
Foundation’s master trainer facilitates this training programme.
Teacher Training under Environment Awareness Programme: As this programme is
targeted at the upper primary grades of 6th and 7
th. , science teachers who engage these
classes are trained on various environmental issues by taking local examples and using
local resources. Based on their exposure during training, the teachers sensitise students on
environmental issues and prepare various models with the active involvement of students
and exhibit the same for the benefit of other students of the school and the general village
public. The Resource Persons from Centre for Environment Education facilitate this
training programme.
Teacher Training under VirtuaLab Programme: Under this innovative Science Education
programme, the Foundation runs specialised science programmes in the subjects of
Astronomy, Physics, Biology and Chemistry using low-cost and innovative science
materials. The Foundation uses both virtual and direct media, both for engaging children
in Science exploration and building the capacities of the teachers in using a variety of
materials supplied to the schools and to carry out experiments. The Foundation has
appointed subject experts to facilitate this training programme and provides onsite
support by visiting the school sites.
8. Resource pool
The resources for the Foundation’s education module come from several sources. The
resource pool is activated depending on the kind of initiative, which the Foundation is
promoting, at a given point in time. The Foundation can tap into the following sources, to
fulfil the resource commitment:
• The Government through the SSA programme;
• The village community;
• Alliance partners;
• External donors; and
• Foundation’s resources.
The percentage of contribution from these sources varies depending on the kind of
resource needed. In some cases, the entire funding for a particular initiative could come
from just one source; example an external donor or the government. In another instance,
the government can choose to fund almost the entire cost of the particular initiative. In
other cases, where this is not possible, resources can be mobilised from the listed
resource pool.
Example:
1) The following resources/materials often do not qualify for government funding under
the SSA:
• Advanced teacher training material or resources;
• CDs and multi-media content;
• Extra- curricular courses in schools;
• School health;
• Sports/ Quiz/ Painting competitions; and
• Other special programmes.
Here, the Foundation, with the help of external donors and alliance partners, raises the
entire cost.
2) For specific needs like Audio-visual equipment, Classroom furniture and Case to case
projects, the Foundation can fund up to 50% or share the costs with government or
community.
A detailed sample of some of the resources needed and how funds have been leveraged
for them can be seen in Annexure IX
9. Events
The Foundation also conducts several activities like sports and games to bring the village
community together. Some of the prominent events that the Foundation organises are:
• Sports and Games Initiative;
• Quiz Competition; and
• Painting Competition.
9.1 Co-curricular / Extra curricular activities
9.1.a Sports and games
In line with various efforts under the Model School Programme, the Foundation
organises games and sports events at the Model School level in collaboration with School
Authorities and Village Community. The idea is to promote holistic development of
children and recognise and encourage their talent in sports and games. By closely
working with school authorities, the Foundation identifies games and sports, both at the
individual and group category, as well as at primary / upper primary / high school level.
The school authorities, in collaboration with village community, conduct the programme
in November and December every year. While organising the events, they adhere to the
following guidelines:
• School authorities and Foundation GVS Members organise the sports events
jointly
• Organise only appropriate games / sports events based on the strength of the
school children and availability of ground, sports materials and guidance of
PE Teacher
• The School HM / GVS member has to submit details about the winners,
runners and prizes to the Foundation District Office
• Respective School Head Master collects Certificates and Prizes in person at
the Foundation’s District office within 10 days after submission of winner /
runner details
• The collected certificates and prizes will be given away to the winners on the
School Annual Day; or a Function would be convened specially for this
purpose, jointly by GVS Members and the School Authorities
• The Foundation sponsors prizes and certificates for winners and runners
worth Rs. 2,500/- per school
9.1.b Quiz programme
Quiz is another co-curricular activity the Foundation organises annually to kindle
students’ interest in studies and make them participate in competitions. The programme is
built around the following themes:
� Science: Science: Science: Science: Scientists, discoveries and inventions, symbols and formulae,
principles and definitions, science in daily life, etc.
� Maths: Maths: Maths: Maths: Mathematicians, verbal Mathematics, puzzles, shapes, measurement,
areas and volumes
� GeGeGeGeneral Knowledge: neral Knowledge: neral Knowledge: neral Knowledge: Who is who, capitals of states and countries, longest,
largest, smallest, etc.
� English: English: English: English: Simple grammar, word building, poets, etc.
FourFourFourFour----level quiz level quiz level quiz level quiz –––– At the school level, cluster level, district level and at inter-district
level. All the levels will have four rounds of quiz covering all the four themes
Teams:
At the school level, four teams comprising 4 participants each compete with one another.
Each team will have a representative each from 8th and 9th grades and two from the 10th
grade. The winner team qualifies to attend the next level competition at the cluster level
where 5 to 6 teams representing 5 to 6 schools compete. Subsequently, the best teams
participate at the cluster, the district and the inter-district levels based on their
performance at each level.
Programme Duration: The entire quiz competition at four levels gets completed in a
month. The Foundation organises the event invariably in November.
Prizes and Certification: Apart from issuing certificates, the Foundation sponsors prizes
for the winners and runners.
By engaging the school Head Masters and Teachers actively, the Foundation ensures
smooth conduct of the entire programme. It provides clear guidelines, questions and
answers in sealed covers and schedules the dates for each level of the competition.
9.1.c 9.1.c 9.1.c 9.1.c Painting competitionPainting competitionPainting competitionPainting competition
Along with sports and games and quiz programme, the Foundation also organises
painting competitions every year on any specific theme. It provides painting materials
like drawing charts, sketch pens, colours and guidelines to follow.
The programme is organised at three levels – school level, district level and state level.
School teachers are made responsible for organising the competition at school level. At
this level five teams, each team consisting of five students, take part in the competition.
Each school selects and sends the best two paintings made by their five teams to the
district level competition. Here, all the paintings received from various schools are
exhibited. At the district level, the Foundation engages experts to select five best
paintings from each district to be exhibited at the state level for the benefit of a wider
audience. On Children’s Day (November 14), the Foundation exhibits these paintings and
makes arrangements for the painters’ visit to the State Capital.
10. School health
School health is another area of intervention under the Model School programme. The
idea is to: “provide comprehensive annual medical examination to 100% school
children”.
The Foundation observes every Thursday as ‘School Health Day’. A doctor associated
with the Foundation’s health module at the village visits the Model School along with
health workers. He examines each child using a structured format covering 35
parameters. Children requiring medical attention are identified for follow-up. They are
given appropriate treatment and are referred for secondary care. Parents and teachers are
counselled on imparting good habits to children. The health worker, who accompanies
the doctor, assists the doctor, consolidates follow-up cases, interacts with parents/teachers
and follows up referral and treatment.
Additionally, eye and dental check-up camps with specialists are conducted annually for
all school children.
The achievements so far…
� 60,965 (100%) school children in the adopted villages have undergone an
annual health check
� 100% screening for eye and dental care
� 4,899 spectacles issued; amounting to a 100% follow-up
Through this programme, the Foundation covers all the school-going children, both
attending Model and non-model schools, in the villages. A total of 700 school
children are benefiting through this programme.
11. Conclusion
The Foundation has had a deep impact on the educational system in its adopted villages.
The schools that have been associated with the Foundation have shown a marked
improvement in their rankings.
In the academic year 2005- 2006, eleven of the Foundation’s adopted secondary schools
achieved 100% results in 10th Grade Exams. Bhimavaram is one of the eleven schools
which have been achieving 100% results for the last three years in 7th and 10
th grades.
This year all children got through the grades with first class marks.
Results of I-Bhimavaram ZP High School
Year Class Pass Percentage
2005-2006 7th class 100%
10th class 100%
2004-2005 7th class 100%
10th class 100%
2003-2004 7th class 100%
10th class 100%
2002-2003 7th class 100%
10th class 87 %
Annexure X shows how these schools fared on the MSCI.
The areas in which the Foundation has made a discernable contribution are:
■ Funding: The Foundation has been able to generate funding for different
initiatives under the education module;
■ Fund mobilisation: Through its efforts, the Foundation could mobilise funds
from different sections of society and put them to use in the adopted villages;
■ Project management: The Foundation has set standards for project
implementation and management in the adopted villages.
■ Implementation facilitation: The work that the Foundation has been doing has
enabled it to establish a framework for implementation of programmes that other
organisations might want to implement in the village;
■ Alliance partners’ network: The Foundation has been able to mobilise funds
and learning material for various schools from its alliance partners;
■ Relationship management: Through various coordinators and GVS members,
the Foundation has set an example of how relationships can be forged and
managed to further the cause of rural transformation;
■ Teacher training facilitation: The process of continuous improvement of
teachers, established by the Foundation, will create a sustainable platform for its
work to continue, even after it disassociates itself from active involvement in the
adopted villages;
■ Independent assessment and evaluation: The Foundation has enabled the
villages to take a step back and take a studied look at the prevalent education
system. The need for assessment and evaluation ensures that the initiatives are
constantly updated and scaled up depending on their practical applicability;
■ Synergy creation: Progress is often hampered in the field of education if there is
no synergy in the vision shared by key elements - such as school authorities,
community members and parents. The Foundation has helped create a forum
where the key elements can come together and form a single cohesive vision to
improve the quality of education in the adopted villages.
■ School improvement plans: Measuring the facilities available in schools based
on the Model School Components (Hard infrastructure facilities, soft
infrastructure facilities and collaboration from the villagers);
■ New content supply and up-gradation: The teaching material in schools has
been upgraded to include more current topics. New material has been provided to
ensure that the children are interested what is being taught and are challenged to
learn something new;
■ Building strong linkages between the school and community: The Foundation
has helped establish a process where the community can actively participate and
monitor the children’s education and learn from them at the same time too;
■ Research: The Foundation has emphasised the need for research to keep track of
the progress made by schools and also to enable them to incorporate changes and
upgrade the same;
■ Participation in State and District level Task Forces: The Foundation has been
able to involve the state and district level task forces too in its drive to improve
the quality of education in the adopted villages; and
■ Advocacy role: The Foundation and its representatives are easily accessible and
lend their support for any kind of advice needed in the field of education.
12. FAQs
1) What is a Model School?
• Schools adopted by the Byrraju Foundation are ideally termed as Model Schools.
At the end of the intervention, these schools should be able to score 80 % on the
Model School Composite Index (MSCI). This index is a tool to measure the status
of a Model School on various parameters on a 1000-point score.
2) What are the steps involved in Model School Development?
• The Foundation adopts two schools in every adopted village (one primary and one
secondary) and works towards improving their infrastructure as well as academic
standards of the children and schools.
3) What is the criterion for selection of schools for the Model School programme?
• The schools are selected based on the strength of their student population. Schools
with highest student strength are preferred. Government-aided schools are not
considered by the Foundation
• Community support and participation
• Support of teachers and the school education committee
• Support of Mandal and District government education officials
4) Who are the alliance partners for the education module?
• Government of AP
• Azim Premji Foundation
• IBM India Pvt Ltd
• Microsoft
• Centre for Environment Education
• UNICEF
• American India Foundation
• Stanford Centre for International Development (SCID)
• Pratham
• Programme International Literacy Institute
• Play for Peace
• Community
5) What is teacher training and how does your organisation facilitate that?
• Teacher training programme creates an opportunity for teachers to upgrade their
skills with new teaching methodologies and technological initiatives. The
Foundation, along with the alliance partners, facilitates the training programme.
6) What are School Improvement Plans (SIPs) (Annexure XI)?
A document prepared for each Model School in consultation with the school authorities -
Head Master, teachers and community members. The document is used to elucidate
targets for developing hard and soft infrastructure. It addresses school-specific
improvement plans, focusing on all the vital ingredients of Model School development.
7) What are the challenges the Foundation encounters while carrying out its initiatives?
Technology related challenges:
� Power connection and power availability;
� Finding the right ICT model;
� Teacher training vis-à-vis change management;
� Integrating with regular school working patterns;
� Assessment and evaluation;
� Connectivity problems;
� Power / phone / cable charges; and
� Post warranty costs of hardware/software.
People Related Challenges
� Limited participation from parents;
� Apathy of the general public; and
� Resistance from teachers.
Government Related Challenges
� Delay in approvals and sanctions; and
� Limited exposure to technology-based interventions.
8) What is the impact of your programmes?
• The Foundation has had a deep impact on the educational system in its adopted
villages. The schools that have been associated with the Foundation have shown a
marked improvement in their rankings. The Foundation has also been able to
channel the funds and resources from various alliance partners and donors for the
cause of education.
9) How do you assess the impact?
• The Foundation has developed a metric system called the Model School
Composite Index. This is a tool that helps measure the impact on several
parameters based on a 1000-point score.