Primary Education: Brief History of National Policies- 1

This article discusses: 1) a brief overview of national policies in primary education, and 2) the challenges (obstacles) associated with such centralized national policies. For convenience, the article is divided into two blog posts.  

At the time of independence, India’s literacy-rate was close to 18%. Amid great external and internal socio-political conflicts, extremely limited resources and responsibility of a large population, the entire focus of national/provincial policymakers landed on raising literacy-rates. Governments across states built schools and one of the greatest mass-education systems started expanding. However, policymakers soon realized that mere building schools do not necessarily result into increase in enrollment-rates, and it is not easy to retain students into schools. Moreover, malnutrition in children was severe and widely prevalent. To address these multiple challenges, Kamraj’s government in Tamil Nadu implemented a midday meal scheme (1962-63) in which children were served meal at their schools for free. Enrollment rates increased while dropout-rates and malnutrition started decreasing. Gujarat and Kerala followed soon; and by early 90s twelve states had emulated this successful scheme. Later in 1995, Narsimhma Rao’s central government made it India-wide. After 1990, the economic liberalization helped generate more liquidity for school building. Rao’s government also launched District Primary Education Programme (DEPE) which had a prime objective of universalizing primary education. DEPE rolled out in several phases and was implemented in about one third of Indian districts. Later in 2001, Vajpayee’s government launched Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) which was basically a more comprehensive form of DEPE and was implemented throughout India. Access to within-village school with free meals resulted in increased enrollment from mere 22.3 million students in 1990 (Govinda, & Josephine, 2004) to more than 193 million in 2010-11 (Mehta, 2012). The basic education system, which consisted of around 200,000 schools in 1950, expanded to more than 1.1 million in 2010. As of 2011, India’s literacy rate was around 73% (which was 18% in 1947).

School buildings in neighborhood and free meals were great, but what about learning? Policymakers realized that pupil to teacher ratio (PTR) was skyrocketing (national average of 50.2 in 2000) because teacher recruitment lagged far behind the rapid infrastructural undertaking. Building a school was primarily perceived as onetime expense, and works great politically. Politicians could tell the voters – “we gave you this school!” However, teacher-recruitment was often perceived as a permanent burden on the state budget, and all state (and centre) governments were struggling with high fiscal deficits. To solve this, states started implementing the para-teacher policy (contract-teacher), where teachers are hired on contract bases and on meager salaries. At present, almost all state governments have adopted this policy; and direct teacher-recruitment has been abandoned. There are passionate (and valid) criticisms of this policy especially from educators and teacher unions, but this policy helped bring PTR down (national average of 30.15 in 2010) fairly cheaply.

Now there were school-buildings, teachers, and meals, but policymakers learnt that economic inequality gets translated into educational inequality. Those who can afford, send their kids to private schools. Because the quality of education in public schools is perceived to be of low levels, the percentage of students going to private schools is steadily rising (18.7% in 2006 to 28.3% in 2012 according to ASER Centre, 2012). Low performing government schools are likely to have students from lower socio-economic status and high performing elite schools often have all students from higher socio-economic background. In response, Manmohan Singh’s government introduced Right to Education Act in 2009 that guaranteed free public education to all children between ages 6 to 14 and mandated that even the private schools must have 25% of students from low socio-economic background.   

Moreover, there has been a wide-spread concern about the quality of education in the past couple of decades. Many large-scale studies have indicated poor learning outcomes of students across states. To address this concern, Modi-government recently introduced a sub-scheme of SSA called Padhe Bharat Badhe Bharat which is aimed at improving reading and mathematics outcomes. Sample based yearly educational assessment by SCERTs in their respective states and by NCERT on nationally representative sample as prescribed by this scheme seems doable. Standardized academic outcomes should help evaluate existing educational programmes and decide future course of policy-action. This may help compare average learning outcomes across years and across schools/blocks/districts. Scientific identification of top performing schools/blocks/districts could help unpack specific components of best practices which can be emulated in other similar social contexts. This scheme also underscores the role of block and cluster administrators and involves them in monitoring and implementation. However, it goes into micro issues and prescribes specific classroom processes that the teacher and school staff need to follow – that seems over ambitious and difficult to gauge. Nonetheless, it is too early to comment on the effectiveness of this scheme. 

  

Based on the above discussion, we can say:

·         Policymakers need well defined outcomes for evaluation of the existing policies. Measurable clear outcomes also provide future policy directions. As we saw in the discussion above how various policies were basically proposed solutions for prevalent critical problems for respective times.

·         We can also conclude that some of the school-education outcomes that are of interest to the policymakers are: 1) number of schools, 2) enrollment-rates, 3) dropout-rates, 4) malnutrition in children, 5) PTR, and 6) math and reading outcomes. In addition, there are numerous sub-indicators like student enrollment and dropout by their background (various socio-economic categories/ gender/ region/ standard), teachers’ educational level and background characteristics, school infrastructural indicators and so on – which the policymakers often use.

Note: The second part of this post is: Primary Education: Brief History of National Policies- 2

I welcome your comments/questions/rebuttals...

Teaching Future Physicists

What if you realize that some of your students have the potential for becoming great physicists? What if you know that if you nurture their interest in science and help them develop knowledge and skills, they will extend human knowledge in future? They may work with the finest of universities and research labs and come up with breakthroughs for the problems that we are facing today. What can you do as their physics teacher to help them succeed as physicists?

            To explore these questions it is important to understand the critical elements of scientific inquiry. The development of science relies heavily on the following:

Empirical experimentation

A critical first step here is developing hypothesis(es). Basically, based on the things that we know, the idea is to take a step forward and make an educated guess about the scientific phenomenon, and the relation between various study variables. To test this hypothesis, experiment is designed, data are collected, and results are reported. Replicability of the experiment is one of the most important elements of scientific inquiry. It means that the results should be consistent under the same experimental conditions, irrespective of who conducts the study. Therefore, scientific experiments need high-levels of methodological rigor and transparency. Finally, the inferences are put in context of the existing scientific literature and the entire work is shared with the scientific community for further scrutiny. 

Theoretical development

A theory is basically an attempt to make sense of the results of a set of well-tested hypotheses often related to a particular scientific phenomenon. Clear rationale, logic, and mathematical computations often serve as corner stones for theoretical development. One critical utility of theoretical work is its predictability. It explains and predicts how nature behaves in given physical conditions.

            It is important to note that both theoretical and empirical works may develop simultaneously and/or sequentially, and there is no particular order for scientific development. Though professional researchers often specialize in a particular approach (theoretical or experimental), both approaches are heavily interdependent. Theoretical development provides direction for experimental work, which in turn, validates (or rejects) theoretical work. Both approaches collectively advance scientific knowledge. 

            Now, the critical question for teachers:

·         What kind of teaching approach (or learning experiences) in physics classrooms could help nurture the required skills for empirical and theoretical developments of science?

Let’s say a teacher wants to employ this teaching approach for the chapter – Lights, Shadows, and Reflection (Class VI, CBSE). The class is divided into smaller groups (3-5 students/group).

Steps for scientific inquiry	How the teacher can organize the lesson
Experimental tools	Flashlight, balls of different radii (ping-pong ball, tennis ball, and football), cardboard with small hole, vernier calipers, 1 meter ruler
Experiment	·         Allow students to play with flashlight through cardboard and balls. See if any groups are coming up with any patterns (e.g., as the ball is closer to the flashlight, the shadow gets bigger) ·         Help students identify study parameters (e.g., radii of different balls, distance between balls, and between flashlight and balls) ·         Guide students to more specific inquiry: o   When you put a ping-pong ball between the cardboard and a tennis ball, what happens when the ping-pong ball is moved closer to (or away from) the cardboard? Follow this up with more precise hypothesis. ·         Establish experimental conditions: 1)      For five different distances between the ping-pong ball and the cardboard (e.g., 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 cm), ask students to observe the point at which the shadow of the ping-pong ball completely covers the tennis-ball. And note down the distances between the tennis ball and the cardboard, and the tennis ball and the ping-pong ball. 2)      Repeat the above experiment for the condition where the tennis ball is between the ping-pong ball and the cardboard. ·         Discuss the results. Let students explain why the second experimental setup becomes redundant. ·         Let students write the procedure in their own words.
Theoretical work	Students write a summary of their understanding of light and shadows, and relation between distances between spheres of different radii and light source. ·         Give students a formula: R1/L1 = R2/L2, where R1= radius of smaller ball L1= distance between smaller ball and cardboard R2= radius of bigger ball L2= distance between bigger ball and cardboard (Note: L2>L1). The above formula holds when the shadow of smaller ball completely overshadows the bigger ball. ·         Ask students to measure the radius of the tennis ball and the football. ·         For a given distance of the tennis ball (e.g., 20cm) from the cardboard, ask the student to predict the distance between the cardboard and the football.
Follow up experimentation	In this step, students empirically test their theoretical predictions.
Sharing and discussion	Once the students have empirically tested their theoretical predictions, all student-groups present their work with the rest of the class.

Clearly, the lesson presented above will not fit into a traditional 35min class and may demand a 2-3 hour laboratory session. In addition, students may need time for writing the entire exercise in their own words. My personal experience and observation suggests that we do not emphasize enough on scientific writing in our schools. Writing in science is very different from writing in languages/liberal arts. One needs to be concise and lucid. The objective is to present your work to scholars, and you would not like to waste their time with unnecessary words or complex and/or unclear language. In addition, there is absolutely zero tolerance for plagiarism in scholarly work. Therefore, it is highly desirable for the students to get training in writing their scientific work in original language with appropriate citations right from the beginning. 

In conclusion, it is high time we treat physics (and science in-general) as a way of thinking and learning through systematic inquiry. As per UNESCO’s Science Report 2010, one of the biggest challenges for India in the coming years will be to revolutionarily improve both quantity and quality of scientists and researchers to become an influential participant in the global knowledge economy. We can no longer afford to segregate the subject-content from the fundamental dimensions of scientific development if we want to nurture scientific minds. I hope the ideas and the example presented in this article help educators integrate theoretical and empirical components of inquiry in their physics classrooms.  

[Note: This piece is also published in the Teacher Plus magazine.]

I welcome your comments/questions/rebuttals...

India’s Daughter – Where the Indian Government has FAILED

Nirbhaya’s story demonstrates how a society can completely fail an individual at all levels – from the barbaric rapists to dehumanized bystanders, police and medical personnel – all within a couple of hours. But, it is also a story of how a society unites to reexamine and redefine social norms. Indian society has changed markedly over the past few years and youngsters are increasingly taking public stands against social problems. However, the government has not caught up with this rapid transformation.

Practice of banning peaceful expressions must go      

                                                   

Societies progress best through public debates. Books, movies, documentaries, public speeches and interactions make these exchanges of ideas possible. The social progress made in India has only been possible through these open exchanges of ideas. There was a time in the country when things like: travelling to a foreign land, widow not choosing to become a Sati after husband’s death, interaction between “untouchables” and other castes, or inter-religion/inter-caste/inter-regional marriage and widow marriage - made people uncomfortable and were considered sinful.

Today, Indians have completely abolished the first two and have developed robust legal systems to tackle the others. This progress has been possible because the previous generations critically examined these outdated and bigoted traditions.  A lot of fiery exchanges, debates, arguments and movements by numerous people have made the social transformation possible. Without this, India would have socially been stuck in the medieval era.

In fact, India’s inclusiveness, and willingness to recalibrate longstanding traditions have been key to its continued success as a civilization. This cultural flexibility has helped it adjust with dynamic socio-political scenarios, accept (not just tolerate) foreigners and their culture, and yet maintain unique identity. Of course, this trait is not exclusive to India. China, like India, has continuously readjusted to dynamic social norms as its social narrative encompasses eclectic influence of traditional Confucianism, Buddhist and Daoist ideas, communist ideology, and more recent economic liberalization. The Europeans have historically struggled more with social transitions, and succumbed to the cycles of violence. When they went to the other parts of the world, they fought with the natives – and so failed to digest the idea of peaceful coexistence and acceptance. Although since World War II Europe is more stable and peaceful, it continues to struggle with multiculturalism. Nonetheless, Europe’s prosperity and prominence in the current worldorder can certainly be attributed to its robust reexamination of social norms and ability to drop off the baggage of its historical conflicts.

It is also important to remember that the history of US is filled with some of the darkest chapters of humanity – from the genocide of Native Americans to slavery and segregation. However, through dynamic public debates, the modern American society has become a more just, equal, and free.

The one thing that history teaches us is that the best way of resolving conflicts is through dialogue and public debates. You can ban free expression, but the issues in question will persist, and the situation may even worsen over time. In most cases, when peaceful expression is denied, people become frustrated and resort to violence in order to vent. All this can be prevented if people are allowed to express themselves and be heard by those in power.

The Indian government needs to stop thinking like a paranoid autocratic regime and reflect the sentiments of its people. The new India is confident. It is comfortable with deep introspection and rectification without any feelings of national inferiority or resentment. Arguments on the higher rates of rape and violence against the women in the west, and being suspicious of the hidden agendas of the documentary maker and broadcaster do not help India. Regardless of who made the documentary, Nirbhaya’s story has shook up the conscience of the Indian society. The least the government could do is encourage the serious and necessary examination of how women are treated in India. In fact, being an Indian, I would be proud of my government if it had sponsored such documentaries and kept it publicly available for all adults. We need to raise the level of public debate in India. The government must join its people in taking on the social problems head-on.