---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Havovi Wadia <havoviw@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: [se-ed] QUERY: Status and Challenges of Educating Children in Urban Slums - Experiences; Examples. Reply by 24 February 2010
To: Education Community <se-ed@solutionexchange-un.net.in>
Just a few things I'd like to draw attention to:
1. In slums in Mumbai and Thane, almost invariably, schools are up to Class VII - most parents know they cannot afford to pay for their child to complete Class X in private schools and depend heavily on charity for this purpose. Many, knowing that this is a hurdle, refuse to enroll their children in the first place. There is an urgent need for us to complete the loop on primary education by ensuring that there are schools for children to go to.
2. The Bridge schemes in place currently do not have a cohesive or coherent syllabus, simply requiring teachers to cram into 2/3 years the syllabus from nursery to Class V, so that children can then be mainstreamed into municipal schools. As a result, most children are unable to keep up; many cannot be mainstreamed at the end of the bridge course. Teachers (in bridge schools) are handicapped by lack of training and very poor pay packages.
3. Under the SSA, coordinators are hired, to devote special attention to enrolment and retention. Their task is to work in communities around the school and address cases where education is being refused or cannot be accessed.
Perhaps a thorough understanding of the government schemes wrt education should be our first step towards understanding what role civil society needs to play to ensure children get a proper education.
Regards
From: Havovi Wadia <havoviw@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Mar 3, 2010 at 10:17 AM
Subject: Re: [se-ed] QUERY: Status and Challenges of Educating Children in Urban Slums - Experiences; Examples. Reply by 24 February 2010
To: Education Community <se-ed@solutionexchange-un.net.in>
Dear Friends,
My experience with issues related to education in urban slum pockets bears out some of what has been mentioned by others in their responses - that migrant populations particularly struggle to access education, that the system seems more comfortable with one time grants of books/desks etc rather than investing in a sustainable and accountable programme that imparts equal and quality education for all children.
Just a few things I'd like to draw attention to:
1. In slums in Mumbai and Thane, almost invariably, schools are up to Class VII - most parents know they cannot afford to pay for their child to complete Class X in private schools and depend heavily on charity for this purpose. Many, knowing that this is a hurdle, refuse to enroll their children in the first place. There is an urgent need for us to complete the loop on primary education by ensuring that there are schools for children to go to.
2. The Bridge schemes in place currently do not have a cohesive or coherent syllabus, simply requiring teachers to cram into 2/3 years the syllabus from nursery to Class V, so that children can then be mainstreamed into municipal schools. As a result, most children are unable to keep up; many cannot be mainstreamed at the end of the bridge course. Teachers (in bridge schools) are handicapped by lack of training and very poor pay packages.
3. Under the SSA, coordinators are hired, to devote special attention to enrolment and retention. Their task is to work in communities around the school and address cases where education is being refused or cannot be accessed.
Perhaps a thorough understanding of the government schemes wrt education should be our first step towards understanding what role civil society needs to play to ensure children get a proper education.
Regards
Havovi Wadia
CRY (Child Rights and You)
Thane, Mumbai
From: Amita Tandon [mailto:tandon_amita_01@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 4:46 PM
To: 'Education Community'
Subject: [se-ed] QUERY: Status and Challenges of Educating Children in UrbanSlums - Experiences; Examples. Reply by 24 February 2010
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010 4:46 PM
To: 'Education Community'
Subject: [se-ed] QUERY: Status and Challenges of Educating Children in UrbanSlums - Experiences; Examples. Reply by 24 February 2010
Moderator's Note: Dear Members, we are posting this query to understand the status and challenges in education of Urban deprived children. With the ever growing urban population and the emergence of urban slums in a more rapid manner than ever before, as a result of increasing migrant population, the challenges of offering the basic essential services have become huge. Education is, of course, one of the important essential service to be provided to all children irrespective of their place of residence. It is a major agenda for planners, policy makers, executors and larger civil society. This query is intended to add to the knowledge base required to plan for effective educational interventions for children living in urban slums.
Amongst you, quite a few members and their organizations are working towards this goal. We would like to hear from you. Do share with us your experiences of work in this field and the challenges you are faced with. Strategisation of the education of urban deprived children is bound to get the priority in the coming years as there is no escape to the fact that they exist in huge numbers around us.
We look forward to your active participation in response to this query. The last date of the current discussions on " replicating innovative experiences in India to implement RTE" has also been extended till 10th, therefore, till 10th both these queries will run simultaneously and we are sure, on both the issues our members' have a lot to offer.
Shubhangi
Dear Members,
I work with Katha, a nonprofit organization that works for education of children living in urban poverty. We run 96 schools in slum communities and work with the government to bring the joy of reading to more than 200,000 children and bring communities into safeguarding child interest's vis-à-vis quality education and preventing dropping out etc.
Today, we help bring positive change into the lives of children and their mothers, living in 72 slum and street communities across Delhi; and in the tribal villages of Arunachal Pradesh. As a result, 52,242 children have come into the fold of sustainable education through Katha Schools and 39,846 children have been weaned away from labor into quality education.
A 2008 sampling of salaries show 430 Katha alumni earned a total of Rs. 42 million (their family incomes were Rs. 600-800/month in 1990, according to a government survey).
Since last year, at the invitation of the Delhi Government, we have been working in a 100 schools, helping students gain reading skills for fun and for better grade level academic performance.
Over the last many years we have realized that sharing best practices will make the work of nonprofits and people in the voluntary sector better and more effective. Katha shares its own practices through capacity building workshops, thus avoiding too much time being spent on reinventing every single wheel that turns our commitment to children and communities and curriculum. But many questions do constantly come to mind:
Hence, I request members of the Education Community to share their thoughts and experiences on the following:
- What is the current scenario of education for urban disadvantaged children especially living in slums?
- What are the measures have been adopted by government to prevent children living in urban areas or who are disadvantaged from dropping out of school?
- What do you fee the role of civil society organizations (CSO) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should be in preventing children living in urban slums from dropping? Please also share any successful experiences from CSOs and NGOs.
Also, we are looking for evidence/documentation showing a clear co-relation between increased income of urban poor families and education of their children?
Your examples and experiences will help us in developing our strategies further in relation to sustainable education of urban slum children. It will also better understand the kind of work, which can be undertaken to ensure that children living in urban slums receive education that empowers them and gives them skills for future employment after they complete their studies in enter in labor market .
We thank you in advance for supporting our research and action on child education and urban poverty reduction.
Regards,
Amita Tandon
Katha
New Delhi
--
Ch.Santakar
Pujariput
Koraput-764020
Orissa
Mob:09437192553
e-mail:santakar@gmail.com
web:www.koraputonline.com
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