Universal elementary education in India…. So what is the problem?

1. CHALLENGES OF AFFECTING POLICY & ACTION ON SCALE Experiences of Pratham & ASER in India November 2010:

2. Universal elementary education in India….So what is the problem? Out of school children are visible. Problem is recognized at local, national and international level. Consensus on goal. Action measured. Enrollment levels high – now well above 95%. India meeting national and MDG goals. So what is the problem? Pratham’s own experience: Children are not learning. Enrollment high, attendance variable, learning poor. But this problem is not visible & not recognized. No consensus on what to measure, how to measure or what to do. India is in a BIG STUCK. India also displays “ostrich” like behaviour on anything “beyond access”.

3. We love our children…But do we know them?? What is on the ground India is a big crowded country. We live in large families and go to school often in large classes. AT HOME Is there a problem? Teachers often overestimate what children in their class know (SchoolTELLS study) At macro/micro level schools and systems in India slow to recognize the learning lag problem (even in elite schools) What is the solution? Give more inputs to children and to system.. More of the same… Remember: No remedial strategy in place in Indian schools IN SCHOOL Is there a problem? Parents often overestimate what their children know. (Jaunpur study – JPAL). What is the solution? Give children more inputs…e.g. tuition Remember: 50% of school going children in rural India have mothers who are not literate. Parents understand schooling but not learning.

4. High level policy positions: What is in the clouds? • UNIVERSAL ENROLLMENT. • MDG goals refer to universal enrollment • India’s national goals (SSA) refer to universal enrollment, retention and reduction of social and gender gaps. All focus on enrollment and access. • In India, from school/village level to state & national level enrollment numbers are collected frequently, published and discussed. UNIVERSAL LEARNING?? • MDG goals - No definition or reference to children’s learning goals • National (SSA) goals are broad ….“education of satisfactory quality relevant for life”…. “learning enhancement” • In India, government measurements of learning levels come out every few years. State level estimates not current and not available for district level where planning can be done. Dissemination not widespread. Hard to understand. No thrust at macro level on learning issues

5. Now …. what shall we do ? • Pratham is a large scale organization in India working to achieve universal elementary education. But by 1999-2000 we could see that universalization must mean… EVERY CHILD IN SCHOOL AND LEARNING WELL. • We were working hard but we were frustrated: • We needed to • define the problem in a way that we could understand and tackle • respond to the urgency of the situation that only we seemed to feel • come up with fast, low cost do-able solutions on scale • demonstrate progress to ourselves • We could see that • parents support children who are “doing well” • teachers give attention to such children • children can huge confidence and self esteem • if “they do well” Cartoon by Pawan

6. Can children read? Ground level thinking • Two strategies emerged • How to teach children to read ? • How to engage people in understanding the problem ? Std 2 level “story” Std 1 level “para” Letters Words What can we do to understand the problem ? What can we do to provide solutions?

7. What was happening in India ? Macro policy context in India in 2005 • Enrollment in elementary schools well over 90% even in 2004-5. So now the focus could turn to what was going on inside schools. • New govt in power at federal level in 2004. Increase in social sector spending and focus on delivery of basic services. Passing of the “right to information” act. Lot of talk about “outlays to outcomes”. But no actual availability of annual data from any government department on outcomes. • Indian citizens began to pay a 2% education cess for elementary education. • Govt. planning and allocation architecture available for every district to plan for their needs. This needed to be strengthened. • Therefore a case could be made for citizens knowing about the status of elementary education.

8. Home grown solutions for India’s problems in basic education ….. Perhaps, there is no “magic bullet” in elementary education but there are promising approaches ….. Pratham model WHAT IS THE PROBLEM & WHAT IS CHANGING EVERY YEAR: Annual nationwide citizen’s participation in measurement of basic learning outcomes. ASER (Annual Status of Education Report). WHAT TO DO : Accelerated learning techniques with evidence of outcome on scale. CAMaLmethods & materials (Combined Activities for Maximized Learning). Reorganization/grouping in schools. Low cost & easy to do. See clip HOW TO DO : Ability to mobilize “village volunteers” across India to work with children. Ability to partner with governments & catalyze govt. resources and people. Improve delivery. READ INDIA campaign. People’s movement where govt joins in.

9. Annual Status of Education Report : ASER ASER 2005 - 2009 : A citizens view of schooling & learning • Done every year since 2005. 2% education cess. • Randomly selected 15,000 villages. Schools in villages visited too. • ~ 300,000 households and 700,000 children between 3 and 16 • District level estimates of reading, arithmetic (govt does not have any) • Children assessed at home : reading & math tasks • Schools observed for basics : teachers, rooms, textbooks, water etc ASER means impact • Operational aspects • Sampling design • Basic tools ..floor test • Simple fast analysis • “Digestible” findings • Organizational aspects • ~ 570+ districts participate (total =600). In each district, a local group for survey, dissemination and action • 25,000 volunteers participate each year • Approx 1000 USD per district

10. Reading Report Card : India (rural) Similar tables for tracking change over time for districts, schools, villages Percentage of children who can : We are waiting for India report card for 2010

11. Emerging strategies: Can citizens “push” government? ACROSS INDIA Identify the problem. Feel it. Understand/unpack the problem. Own the problem. Share the problem. Hunt for solution(s). Feel responsible for solution. Challenge yourself. Set do-able, measureable goals. Work hard. Experiment systematically. “Do it yourself” solution. Infect others on scale. Partner to design & implement. Measure impact/effectiveness. Assessments leading to ASER by Pratham Advocacy & awareness at govt/macro levels leading to allocations by govt for learning programs ON THE GROUND Actions at village, block, district, state levels leading to Pratham’sREAD INDIA campaign with village volunteers & schools in partnership with Pratham Independent state actions on improving learning just beginning PRATHAM GOVT

12. What is possible in India? Any examples?

13. Example 1: Every child in school ? Of all states in India, steepest decline in % out of school children in short time. Source: ASER 2005-2009 Annual independent measurement essential for tracking change.

14. Example 1: How did change happen? • Govt. action on inputs /resources • Education high priority for govt. • Allocations up from Rs 400 crores to Rs 4000 crores • 200,000 teachers recruited • 100,000 schools built • Textbooks, scholarships & special schemes implemented • Pratham intervention • 2006 pilot with govt. in 10,000 schools • 2007 onwards – full district implementation partnership in 7 districts, later 10 districts. • 2009 over 300 Pratham people working with govt. statewide in 37 dists.

15. Example 2: Chhatisgarh: Every child learning? Harder to do? 2006 & 2007 were no change in reading. Big change between 2007 & 2008 Some slide back in 2009.

16. Example from CH: How did it happen ….. The 2007-2008 school year was a landmark year for improving learning outcomes across the state. • Govt identified/quantified measureable goals in “quality” in terms of reading and math for each grade. • Training, materials, monitoring all organized around reaching measureable goals. • Strong leadership from state and aligned education machinery to chase same goals • Village volunteers in villages across the state were mobilized by Pratham • Govt. did not continue with learning priority with the previous intensity in 2008-2009 school year. Visible slippage in results. Spurred on by the ASER results of 2006 & 2007, state govt. focused on a targeted state wide program for improving reading and math. Pratham’s teams worked closely with state govt. in designing and implementing all aspects of the plan.

17. Example 3: Punjab schools What are the trends that are visible in one year’s time? Std 3 endline is much higher than Std 4 baseline. Intervention able to beat the “natural rate of growth.. 2 year lag is cut down to 1 year lag.. By end of Std 3 in 2009-10, 70% kids are at Std 2 level. If this pace is kept up, what will future years be like? Std 3 Source: Purrho Punjab data : Pratham & Govt of Punjab

18. Example from PN: What was done ….. • Govt identified/quantified measureable goals in “quality” in terms of reading and math for each grade. • Training, materials, monitoring all organized around reaching measureable goals. • Schools reorganized into “mahals” (groups) by ability/level for 2 hours a day. One teacher per “mahal”. Where shortage of teachers, Pratham mobilized volunteers. • Strong leadership from state and aligned education machinery to chase same goals. Govt teams support and monitor schools closely. 750 full time govt people to support 14,000 schools. Additional 750 additional Pratham people to support schools & children. Influenced by ASER results and by demonstrations in nearby Himachal Pradesh, state govt. focused on a targeted state wide program for improving basic reading and math. Pratham’s teams worked closely with state govt. in designing and implementing all aspects of the Purrho Punjab plan.

19. Learning Curves for India : Desired vsActual..How will we get there Big gaps between desired basic level (see red line) and current reading level. Despite big improvements in basic reading in one year several states, large gaps remain. Where does the country want to be by 2012 or 2015? What plans are being put in place? How will goals be achieved?

20. From Pratham’s experience: Lessons foractive citizens & sluggish governments Significant change in outcomes possible in short period of time. More of the same does not always work. Key elements must be different. But, is this change enough for real big jumps? People participate on very large scale if model is simple to execute. But, how far can people go in assisting change? Are they effectively demanding better supply? Governments partner on scale if model is easy to do. Government funds and people can be catalyzed. Evidence and demos helpful but not always the way doors open. But, how can the changes become systemic & durable? Measurement of progress is critical for evolution of programs and policies. Who will measure? Who will digest evidence? How does evidence become a natural input? Constant innovation on scale is needed to evolve durable solutions. WHO IS DOING THIS? To improve delivery systems and outcomes focused demand and effective supply needed.? WHOSE HAS THE INCENTIVES?

21. www.pratham.org & www.asercentre.org rukmini.banerji@pratham.org