REPORT FOR THE MONTH

OF

July 2016 –June 2017

Submitted by:

JOINT OPERATION FOR SOCIAL HELP (JOSH)

www.josh4india.org, josh4india@gmail.com

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Report for the Month of July 2016 to June 2017

During the month of July 2016 to June 2017 the following activities were

undertaken by Aheli Chowdhury and Saurabh Sharma as part of JOSH:

The focus of work of JOSH has been education, especially implementation of the

Right to Education Act and youth development, primarily young women. There

are three main core components of the work:

1. Capacity building of young girls by giving them employability skills

2. Improve governance government schools through strengthening

community based monitoring processes

3. Improving quality of delivery of education in school

1. Capacity Building of Young Women to enhance employability skills:

Under this programs young women and adolescent girls of the marginalized and

minority communities are trained in English speaking and Computer operations

to enhance their life skill and employability opportunity. In addition to that,

these girls are also exposed to ideas of gender, citizenship and governance to

help them in understanding themselves as gendered beings in their surrounding

society. These girls come from poor family and also have faced several kinds of

financial hardships, which have limited their access to life and career

opportunities.

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The main objective of this program is to help these young women acquired skills

that will help in improving their chances of getting jobs and become self

sufficient financially. Also to equip them with skills to help them to function

independently in their surroundings. The course has three main components:

-

-

English speaking

curriculum:

Through

years of

working

with youth, a 90

days curriculum

has been

developed.

This curriculum

targets to

teach

students

basic

English

language

and

conversational skills. This includes reading, writing, comprehension and

simple communication in English. The English curriculum has been

designed to help the students to read and write simple English. There is a

focus on grammar so that the students are able to get a clear sense of the

language rather than depend on rote learning. Emphasis is given on

conversation and communication skills. Students are encouraged to speak

Girls during Computer Class

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during group discussions and during workshops, which helps in giving

them confidence to speak in public.

- Computer operations: The computer operations course also follows a 90

days curriculum and includes, MS office with special focus on Microsoft

Excel. The course has component of teaching typing to all students. The

computer course starts by familiarizing girls to different parts of the

computer, basic understanding of hardware, and software. Students then

slowly progress to learn Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft

PowerPoint. The last part of the curriculum focuses on helping the

students learn and practice typing. Girls are encouraged to take regular

typing speed tests to track progress.

- Personality, life skills and job readiness workshops: Apart from regular

classes, weekly group discussions and activities were held to help

students open up to other issues beyond just their course curriculum.

This included understanding of basic ideas of gender, Right to Education

Act, Right to Information, requirements of a professional world and

others. Sometimes, girls would come on the weekend session to just talk

about themselves and their aspirations. Such open discussions were also

encouraged to help them explore their dreams and talk about themselves.

Thematic workshops are also held for them. These workshops which

include understanding gender and themselves, workshop on life skills,

workshop on job readiness.

o Gender workshop deals with concepts of gender roles and how

gender is socially constructed, ways in which these roles are build

and how they affect the way we see ourselves and the world

around us.

o Life skill workshop aims to work with the girls to give them

confidence that many work thought to be out of bound for them

are actually things that can be done simply. They are exposed to

simple and daily work like opening of bank accounts, or managing

their finance or writing their CV etc.

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o Job readiness workshop is a final workshop that aims to help the

students to prepare for a professional life. Mock interviews,

simulated group discussions are arranged.

2. Improve Governance of Government Schools through Strengthening

Community-based Monitoring Processes:

Under this component, there are several subcomponents. The subcomponents

are:

i. Capacity building and hand holding of School Management Committee

members

ii. School Inspection process

iii. Community mobilization around different campaigns

iv. Admission under children in public schools under the 25% quota for

Economically Weaker Section (EWS)

Group Discussion in progress

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2.i. Capacity building and hand holding of School Management Committee

members:

Under the Right to Education Act (RTE Act), the School Management Committee

(hereafter SMC), comprising of parents and teachers has been given significant

responsibilities. These include making of School Development Plan (SDP), having

a say in the budget spending and other administrative decisions of the school

functioning. However, in practice, it is far from attaining this standard. In Delhi,

the SMCs were formed after much effort and even after they have been formed in

schools, the members have been given no training or orientation. Given that the

parent members are not even aware of what they are suppose to do and their

responsibilities, in most schools SMCs’ functioning is tokenistic. In Trilokpuri,

JOSH has been working with parents members of 16 schools since 2010. Even

before Government of Delhi passed its rules to implement the RTE Act, JOSH had

started to orient community members on the different provisions of the law.

JOSH had also identified parents who had leadership quality and capacity build

them so that once the SMCs were constituted they could run for elections and

occupy these spaces in the respective schools. As of now, SMCs that are

constituted for three terms have completed one cycle and the second batch of

SMCs are now working.

JOSH has been working with SMC at three different levels.

• Identifying and orienting them to run for elections, which includes

facilitating the election process by helping parents to file nominations and

other such processes.

• Capacity building and training the elected SMC members on their roles

and responsibilities: Capacity building and workshops of SMC members

were done. The main focus was to help them understanding their roles,

responsibilities assigned to them by the RTE Act. They were also oriented

on how to make School Development Plans and the ways in which budget

and expenditure tracking can be done of the schools. Encouraged by the

training sessions, SMC members raised questions about expenditure

plans of school, which resulted in making the school processes more

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transparent and accountable. For instance, students’ desks in the GNCT

school of Mayur Vihar Phase-I (Janaki Devi and Prem Chand School) were

procured only after the SMC members consistently followed up on the

matter. When an SMC member initially lodged a complaint with the school

authorities for procurement of students’ desks, it was not acknowledged

in a correct way. Following this, with the assistance of project team, the

SMC member sent a written complaint to the Deputy Director of

Education, the Education Minister and also the local Member of

Legislative Assembly (MLA) about the unavailability of desk for students

in the said school. This led the Education Department set up an Enquiry

Committee to look into the matter and subsequently budget was allocated

and over 400 desks were procured for the school.

• Handholding and providing facilitation on regular basis to SMC members

to undertake their responsibilities in their respective schools. This is done

by holding regular meetings of SMC members, where they share the

problems faced by them in schools and ways in which solutions can be

sought. The sharing process helps to achieve two things; first, it allows the

members to find solution to problems faced collectively. Second, it allows

for crossing learning between schools. Many instance, when a particular

school does something good due to efforts made by the SMC members,

other members have used it as an opportunity to introduce it in their

schools.

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2.ii. School Inspection Process:

As part of JOSH we have been undertaking the process of school inspection vide

the order of the Central Information Commission since 2011. Since then,

members of JOSH, along with parents and SMC members visit schools to inspect

the records of different schools on the last working day of every month. The

main issues that were covered during the school inspection were: regularity of

holding SMC meetings, opening of bank account of students, which was made

mandatory for transfer of all kinds of cash benefits, delivery of text books,

distribution of scholarships, issues of cleanliness in and around the school to

combat spread of dengue and other mosquito bite related sickness. The school

inspection process allows for regular monitoring of schools by the community

over and above the SMC members. This forms the core of the community-based

monitoring process that JOSH has been trying to establish in the schools. It also

allows for regular follow up of specific issues of respective schools. Post school

inspection, there are community meeting held, which helps in sharing between

parents and community members about the problems faced and possible

solutions. These meetings also help to identify systemic issues across schools.

Capacity Building Training of School Management Committee Members

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For instance, during the school inspection process and the post inspection

meeting, problems regarding bank accounts emerged as a major point of concern

across all the schools. Since last year, the Department of Education made

accounts transfer of all cash benefits mandatory, which opened up several issues.

Most of the children did not have bank accounts. This would result in them been

deprived of scholarships. JOSH members along with parents and SMC members

made regular visits to Trilokpuri branches of both Punjab National Bank and

State Bank of India. The bank authorities initially refused to open accounts of

students who did not had the required papers. JOSH also approached the

Education department authorities to intervene in this matter. After much

persistence, the accounts of many students which were refused earlier were

opened and students received their scholarship.

Thus, the school inspection process is a linking process that connects to all the

other activities of the JOSH and the school. The school inspection process is used

to collect information for the school report card, to track delivery of textbooks,

track budget spending, to resolve grievances of parents and students, to track

and monitor quality of teaching and learning and to constantly handhold SMC

members and school authorities.

2.iii. Community mobilization around different campaigns

JOSH along with Campaign for Change (C4C) and other education organizations

in Delhi organized and run a campaign to ensure ‘text books’ for children in

government schools. This campaign demanded for books on time and of better

quality. In Delhi, text books, which are provided free of cost to children,

consistently reach the students mid session. The session starts in April and most

of the time students get their text books by October or November, by the time its

almost past mid session. Till then students are forced to by local guide books or

borrow from previous year students. This has been going on for long and

repeated raised by students and parents. JOSH has been raising this issue with

the school authorities, but since this is a more systemic problem, this year it was

decided that the issue will be raised through a mass scale campaign in order for

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the government to take notice and fix the issue by ensuring delivery of books on

time.

For the campaign, several meetings were done with different organizations

across Delhi to share with them the issues of the campaign. During these sharing

meetings it was also felt that with the present government coming to power, the

quality of books, including printing, has drastically deteriorated. Students

complained that books now have missing pages, print that is illegible, maps

missing, diagrams printed upside down etc.

The campaign had both online and offline component. A facebook page and a

twitter handle were created to promote the campaign on text books. As part of

the online component, several meetings were held in Seemapuri, Trilokpuri and

Holambi Kalan with the community to mobilize them around the issue. During

these meeting, children and parents shared about the problems faced by them

due to lack of books.

Following these community meetings, a large meeting in a form of a Jan Manch

(Peoples’ Forum). Jan Manch was in the form of SMC Charcha was organized. The

main idea of this meeting was to highlight the issue of delay and poor quality of

textbooks given to the students in schools of Delhi. The meeting was held at

Indian Social Institute, Lodhi Road Delhi. It had more than 200 SMC members

and community members from different parts of Delhi. There was

representation from more than 15 organizations. They shared their experiences

of children in their respective areas.

The program had three panel discussions. The first panel had discussion the

supply chain of textbooks, from its printing to distribution. This discussion was

followed by, elected members of the SMC of schools from different parts of Delhi

sharing their experiences on how textbooks always reach late and the problems

faced by children due to poor quality of printing. SMC members shared that

during the initial years the textbooks would always reach almost 7-8 month late.

The delay has persisted, with it has now become 5-6 months. The second issue

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that the SMC members raised is that after the present government has come to

power, the quality of textbooks has significantly deteriorated.

There were also presentation and sharing by children, who had got their books

to demonstrate the poor quality. The last panel had all the SMC members, heads

of different organizations and parents draw up a resolution to work towards

ensuring that children get textbooks on time and they are of good quality. All the

SMC members also resolved to go back to their respective schools and work

towards fulfilling of this resolution. At the end of the meeting, it was decided that

Jan Manch in Progress

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a group of people representing SMC members, parents and the grassroots

organization will meet the Minister of Education, Shri Manish Sisodia to get his

signature on the resolution. They group went to his office, but despite his

presence, the SMC members were turned away from the gate and were not

allowed to meet him. This meeting and the textbook campaign received

significant media coverage in main national dailies. The links to the news is given

below:

http://

indianexpress.com/article/education/no-textbooks-as-govt-mcd-schools-open-

4598367/

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/govt-schools-distribute-tattered-

textbooks-parents-unhappy/articleshow/58073820.cms

iv. Admission under Economically Weaker Section (EWS):

To facilitate admission under EWS category, which is 25% quota under the RTE

Act, camps were set up to create awareness and facilitate admission. Camps

were held during the month of December and January. During these camps, more

than 800 people were reached out to. This, year EWS admissions were done

SMC members and Parents in front of official residence of Shri Manish Sisodia, Minister of Education, Government of Delhi

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using online mode, which create several hurdles for the parents. JOSH facilitated

the process by helping parents with the different documents required. Then the

parents were all called to a office, where they were helped to fill out the online

form. JOSH facilitated filling up of 120 forms of which 8 children were given

admission.

Success Story:

Entry Gate got repaired and constructed in Kalyanpuri School No. 2:

In Kalyanpuri GNCT (Government of National Capital Territory) school, Block no.

2, the efforts of SMC members did wonders. The school for long, had one

entrance gate which was almost falling apart. This was posing a big threat to the

safety of the students and also led to immense commotion during the change of

shifts. One from which the girls, studying in the first shift exit and the second

from which the boys of the second shift enter the school. Parents had been

complaining to the school authorities for a long time, but to no avail. This time,

the SMC members took it upon themselves to undertake concrete actions. They

raised this issue with the school authorities. They, with some facilitation from

JOSH, wrote to the Education Department, to the Minister of Education and the

local MLA. Soon authorities started making visits to the school. The SMC

members made their representation in front of these authorities, which included

Community-reach out for EWS admission

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the PWD engineers. After some time, the work started. First the old gate was

repaired and then a second gate was built. Now the school, like the others, boasts

of having similar facilities and all this was possible because of active and

responsive SMC members.

Transfer of Principal from Kalyanpuri, School no. 1, Government of Delhi:

There was a growing complaint amongst the parents and SMC members that the

school Principal, Ms. Pammi Bhargava was non-cooperative and refused to listen

to anyone regarding any concern of the school. The SMC member complained the

she took all decisions of the school, including spending of budget and others on

her own without involving anyone. This was considered undemocratic and

against the provisions given under the RTE Act. The SMC members complained

to the Education Officer and to the Directorate of Education about the principal.

As a result of which she was transferred from this school. This incident proved to

be hugely empowering for the parents and SMC members as it gave them the

confidence that they could also raise up to face school authorities.

Construction and Fencing of Boundary Wall of Prem Chand, Mayur Vihar,

Phase I:

In Prem Chand, Mayur Vihar Phase I, a school under the Government of Delhi, the

SMC members and parents complained that the boundary wall of the school was

too low, which allowed the boys to jump over the wall. This was a constant

source of worry for the parents and many children have been injured in the past.

The school authorities agreed to take up this issue and write to the

administration for allocation of budget for the same. The wall has been built and

additional fencing has been done, to avoid any such incident.

Initiating Commerce and Science Course in School No. 27, Trilokpuri:

School no. 27 of Trilokpuri, is a Government of Delhi school, and has classes till

XII standard. For long the parents complained that their children were only

offered Arts courses, which limited their future prospects. This year, SMC

members of that school, wrote to the school authorities. A meeting was then

called to discuss this agenda, subsequent to which, SMC members wrote to the

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Directorate of Education, to the local MLA and to the Deputy Chief Minister, Shri.

Manish Sisodia. Representations were given to all these people. After which,

Directorate of Education has ordered to offer both Science and Commerce course

in school no. 27 as well as in all the other schools where only Arts course was

available earlier.

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