After giving a small question on subtraction to one of the kids, I asked him to do the same using wooden sticks. He took his time, and did it successfully :)
Nov 23, 2011
Incompetent Maths Teachers
In ITDA Sundipenta, Kotalcheru villagel, Atmakur mandal, I taught the Kgbv students how to do basic set theory. The maths teacher was incompetent (a common observation in tribal areas) so i had to intervene, but at the end of the class it was TOTALLY worth it!
Similiarly, one more incompetent teacher in a different mandal from the same ITDA
Similiarly, one more incompetent teacher in a different mandal from the same ITDA
Oct 30, 2011
The psychology of a govt. servant
From whatever little expereinces i have had in govt. system, many of my pre-conceived notions have changed-- if u give respect to a person, he will in turn respect u, if u care for him, he too will care for u and if u do him some favor, he will reciprocate at some level. But....none of this is true in case of a govt servant, specially the one equal or lower to a group 1 officer! Majority of them are in the system just to draw their salary at the end of every month! It doesnt matter to them what the vision of the programme (nregs, ssa,etc) is, neither r they interested in motivating their staff. Instead, they specialize in one thing and that is how to ATTEMPT to please their higher ups (attempt, cause intelligent officers know that it's a sham service they r doing!). Whenever i come across them, they will talk about their past achievements endlessly, for e.g "in 2003 when i was in district X, i suspended these many officials and i was very hardworking!" . The focus is on correcting grammatical mistakes, rather than a personal followup of the core issue! I tell myself, why the f&&k are we here now!!??, if they did or do their job sincerely there is no need for us in this system!
They are part of the system for so long that they r not ready to accept their mistakes but pointing mistakes or giving suggestions without going to the field! I have heard that after a certain age, the brain stops accepting change signals, in case of govt. officers every cent is true!
Then we can also talk about the attenders and drivers, u smile at them and the tea will stop coming, u sit with the driver in the front seat (to make him feel equal) and he will start giving excuses the next time u order him to take u out on an official visit!
But despite all these hurdles, i believe change is possible and in a rapid manner!
The reason for the above statement is because a few officers are willing to come and work even on sundays, officers who will listen to u even after office hours, who will go to the field based on ur field suggestions and work on it passionately and follow up at the same time, officers who will ensure that the vehicle is there even at 3 am in the night!
They are part of the system for so long that they r not ready to accept their mistakes but pointing mistakes or giving suggestions without going to the field! I have heard that after a certain age, the brain stops accepting change signals, in case of govt. officers every cent is true!
Then we can also talk about the attenders and drivers, u smile at them and the tea will stop coming, u sit with the driver in the front seat (to make him feel equal) and he will start giving excuses the next time u order him to take u out on an official visit!
But despite all these hurdles, i believe change is possible and in a rapid manner!
The reason for the above statement is because a few officers are willing to come and work even on sundays, officers who will listen to u even after office hours, who will go to the field based on ur field suggestions and work on it passionately and follow up at the same time, officers who will ensure that the vehicle is there even at 3 am in the night!
Oct 28, 2011
Issues and Suggestions / Solutions
These are our findings for the field visit along with probable suggestions / solutions to improve things on the ground, most of it has been approved and we will be sending letters in a couple of days after the review meeting on 29th October -- please click and add your comments....
ITDA Review
View more PowerPoint from Ashish Chandra
Oct 27, 2011
The Meeting
I will post the details of the internal meeting here....(02:32 am, 27th Oct )
As promised last night, here I am, updating the blog about what happened during the meeting. We met pri. sec around 5 pm in the evening and she asked us if we could come back and see her later as she had to go and meet the minister, we agreed. At the same time, I asked her if she could spare 20 mins of her time as each and every point of our report was important. She agreed!
When she came back, it was nearly 6:10 and we were ready to go point by point explaining the importance of each issue and how it was affecting the functioning of the ground staff. She listened to us patiently and agreed with a majority of our points and has asked to put them on file, as well as for further inputs during the review conference of Project Officers (SSA) on the 29th of this month. The best part about her that small issues like non payment of salaries (which according to us is a big issue) to contractual staff was well taken up by her and she was concerned as much as we were and this is why our respect for her has gone up by several notches.
In my next post, I will post the details of all the points which we raised and possible suggestions/solutions we proposed.
As promised last night, here I am, updating the blog about what happened during the meeting. We met pri. sec around 5 pm in the evening and she asked us if we could come back and see her later as she had to go and meet the minister, we agreed. At the same time, I asked her if she could spare 20 mins of her time as each and every point of our report was important. She agreed!
When she came back, it was nearly 6:10 and we were ready to go point by point explaining the importance of each issue and how it was affecting the functioning of the ground staff. She listened to us patiently and agreed with a majority of our points and has asked to put them on file, as well as for further inputs during the review conference of Project Officers (SSA) on the 29th of this month. The best part about her that small issues like non payment of salaries (which according to us is a big issue) to contractual staff was well taken up by her and she was concerned as much as we were and this is why our respect for her has gone up by several notches.
In my next post, I will post the details of all the points which we raised and possible suggestions/solutions we proposed.
Oct 20, 2011
(Rapid) Change is possible
When we were in Srikakulam district and were on our way to Vizianagaram, we came across this fishermen locality, where a temporary KGBV (Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya) was running. We noticed that the back wall was missing and I took the photo giving strict instructions to our Asst AMO to make a temporary bamboo construction so that children do not fall accidentally.
The construction work happened overnight and now there is a permanent wall, development can be fast, provided the state machinery is fast!
He showed the above newly constructed wall pic during the review meeting at Vizag today.
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| Srikakulam - KGBV, Ranastalam (constructed) |
He showed the above newly constructed wall pic during the review meeting at Vizag today.
Oct 17, 2011
Paderu Visit
After reviewing PO (RVM), Vizianagaram and briefing Collector we decided to go ahead with our field visit to Paderu. AMO (PMRC, Paderu), came to recieve us and later we came to know that he was first called to Vizag, then at a junction near Vizag-Vizi border and finally here, I do not approve of such things. He travelled for nearly 7 hours just to receive us.
We left for Paderu around 630 in the evening and came across dense forest all around. I would like to see the same area during morning time! It's amazingly beautiful with hills all around it. After a long time, I have come across a dense forest. We also came to know that nearly 50% of the habitations are naxal affected.
On the way towards the ITDA, we came across an Ashram school, what made me took notice was the lights and the classes which were going on during the night time! It was the first school I came across in the tribal area which was functioning in the night. I decided to stop the car and inspect for quality check (the video for the same will be uploaded once I am back to Hyderabad)
The quality of the education was bad as usual, and as expected the teacher blamed the students and I showed him how students can learn something new instantaneously, provided the method is right. This blame game has to stop now. We have to get results with whatever resources we have. Train, monitor, follow up, train, ....thats the funda!
We left for Paderu around 630 in the evening and came across dense forest all around. I would like to see the same area during morning time! It's amazingly beautiful with hills all around it. After a long time, I have come across a dense forest. We also came to know that nearly 50% of the habitations are naxal affected.
On the way towards the ITDA, we came across an Ashram school, what made me took notice was the lights and the classes which were going on during the night time! It was the first school I came across in the tribal area which was functioning in the night. I decided to stop the car and inspect for quality check (the video for the same will be uploaded once I am back to Hyderabad)
The quality of the education was bad as usual, and as expected the teacher blamed the students and I showed him how students can learn something new instantaneously, provided the method is right. This blame game has to stop now. We have to get results with whatever resources we have. Train, monitor, follow up, train, ....thats the funda!
Oct 15, 2011
Breakfast Time
I believe this place will be our breakfast joint for the next 2 days
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| Parvathipuram, Vizianagaram District, Andhra Pradesh |
Facebook Page - Tribal Education
As I will be mostly in the field updating things from my mobile, I have made a facebook page for the same - you can access my content by clicking Facebook - Tribal Education
Oct 13, 2011
Picturesque Tribal School
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| Start of the Journey |
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| The school can be seen from a distance |
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| Trekking towards the School |
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| With paddy fields all around |
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| A view from inside the school building |
Sep 28, 2011
The Field Visit
This video will serve as a base line for what I am going to embark upon. This is the present scenario of the kind of education we are imparting in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh, India.
The only way from here is up!
The only way from here is up!
Sep 26, 2011
Intro
I wait, I wait for the right time at times and the right time for this blog has come today. I have been writing off and on for several years now, but, with this blog i hope i will finish, or rather start, a new dimension about myself and the basic purpose of my existence.
This blog will be about things i like, things i am passionate about, things i want to change and
things i am actively pursuing to make a change in our present system.
I am presently working with a government organisation in the field of tribal education and I believe, given the kind of education I had, this is the right profile for me. I have never felt this young in a long time. My last two jobs were also with government organisations but I felt stagnated after a point of time. I hope this will not be the case this time as the team in the present set up comprises of some excellent minds.
As part of my orientation, I am presently on a field visit to Rampachodavaram and have done extensive field work during the last 2 days.
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I visited this area with a clean slate i.e. I did not go to the schools keeping in mind what kind of schools they are, I just stopped the vehicle everytime i came across a school in that area. To classify now, and visit schools according to the categories I have been assigned would defeat my basic purpose of looking at things objectively. I wanted to see all kinds of schools and my focus was primarily on the quality of education. I visited 10 schools in 3 days (including Sunday) and asked simple mathematical questions to the students and to my surprise, i found out that a majority of them were not able to solve basic subtraction or multiplication questions. In some schools, class 3rd students were able to solve the questions unclear to 6th class students. The focus was on rote learning and memorisation. There is no focus on process of solving.
As part of my orientation, I am presently on a field visit to Rampachodavaram and have done extensive field work during the last 2 days.
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I visited this area with a clean slate i.e. I did not go to the schools keeping in mind what kind of schools they are, I just stopped the vehicle everytime i came across a school in that area. To classify now, and visit schools according to the categories I have been assigned would defeat my basic purpose of looking at things objectively. I wanted to see all kinds of schools and my focus was primarily on the quality of education. I visited 10 schools in 3 days (including Sunday) and asked simple mathematical questions to the students and to my surprise, i found out that a majority of them were not able to solve basic subtraction or multiplication questions. In some schools, class 3rd students were able to solve the questions unclear to 6th class students. The focus was on rote learning and memorisation. There is no focus on process of solving.
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