Report on State Conference on Quality

Education in Jharkhand

Organized by JRTEF (Jharkhand Right to Education Forum), in association with CSOs, SMC and Teachers Union With the Support of RTE Forum and CSD Delhi and Abhivyakti Foundation, Giridih

23-Jun-17

10:00 am- 4:00 pm

A Conference on

Quality Education in Jharkhand in Association with CSOs, SMC and Teachers Union

Date: 23rd June 2017, Venue: Hotel BNR Chanakya

Time Topics/Theme Moderator/Speakers 10.00 to 10.30 am

Welcome and Inauguration A K Singh, Director, LEADS and Convener, JRTEF

Purpose of the Prog

10.30 to 12 Noon

Theme: 1: Quality Education and Required Strategies for Improvements in quality of school education in Jharkhand

1. Release of Fact Sheet

2. Presentation on AKVO FLOW a tool of monitoring school performance by Krishna Kant, Secretary Abhivyakti Foundation and Member, JRTEF

Moderator: Madhukar, Sr. Journalist and Advisor, LEADS Key Speaker

1. Prof. R. Sharan, VC, Vinova Bhave University

2. Ms. Aradhana Pattanayak, Principal Secretary, Deptt of HRD.

3. Prof. R. P. Singh, Ex VC, Kolhan University 4. Prof. Muchkund Dubey, Ex. Foreign

Secretary and Education Expert 5. Ms. Arati Kujur, Chairperson, JSCPCR 6. Mr. Ambarish Rai, National Convener, RTE

Forum 7. Mr. Bindhyanchal Pandey, Principal,

Netarhat Residential School.

12.00 to 1.30 pm

Theme 2: Teachers Association, SMC and Civil Society Perspectives on Quality Education in Jharkhand

Moderator: GVSR Prasad, Education Expert 1. Mr. Sanjay Kumar, State Coordinator, JRPSS 2. Mr. Kumar Katyayani, Pratham, Jharkhand 3. Mr. Binay Pattanayak, Education Specialist,

UNICEF 4. Mr. Balram Pandit, SMC Representative 5. Ms. Ranjana, Ex Member, JSCPCR 6. Mr. Anup Hore, Plan India, Jharkhand 7. Mr. R K Sahu, Retd, Teacher Head Master

(Honoured by Rashtrapati Award) 8. Mr. M. Hansda, State Head, Save the

Children

01.30 to 2.15 pm

Lunch Break

2.15 to 3 pm Group Work (Table wise): Suggestions and Recommendations for quality education in Jharkhand

Moderated by Shridhar, Solanki and Vikas Kumar LEADS.

3 pm to 3.30 pm

Group Work Presentation Ms. Nisha, LEADS

3.30 to 3.50 pm

Consolidation of Sessions Mr. Manas Das, Secretary, TRCSC

3.50 to 4 pm Vote of Thanks Mr. Sachhidananda, Member, JRTEF

The lighting of the lamp by Ms. Aradhana Pattanayak (Principle Secretary, Deptt of HRD) and

Mr. Ambarish Rai (National converner, RTE Forum)

Mr. A.K. Singh, (Director, LEADS) among the audience during the conference

INTRODUCTION ON STATE CONFERENCE ON QUALITY EDUCATION IN JHARKHAND

The State Conference on Quality Education in Jharkhand was organized by JRTEF (Jharkhand Right to

Education Forum) with the support of RTE Forum and CSD, Delhi and Abhivyakti Foundation on 23rd June 2017,

at Hotel BNR Chanakya from 10:00 am – 4:00 pm. This conference was facilitated by Mr. A.K. Singh, Director

LEADS and convenor, RTE Forum.

At the outset Mr. Singh articulated the major objectives of the state consultation as

1. To share and consolidate the suggestions and recommendation for improving quality education in the Govt

Schools of Jharkhand.

2. To share the AKVO Flow e-monitoring system and its findings in 1200 Govt Schools.

The conference started with a brief description about the Findings from the AKVO based Mobile survey given by Mr.

A.K. Singh, and later carried forward by Mr. Krishnakant.

A concise description about the AKVO Flow and its working was delivered by Mr. A.K. Singh. The initiative was

started in 2015 in the Bengabad of Girdih district. It is an online monitoring system that covers upto 1200 schools for

analysis. Information are now available at the fingertips, and it is paperless, real time data and also time saving. And

further presentation was handed over to Mr. Krishnakant, who walked us through the findings of AKVO Flow from the

project locations in the state of Jharkhand.

It was found in the baseline survey of period Jan-Feb‟16 that the total no. of schools surveyed is 1217, which is only

3.0% of the state,and total children enrolled are 118340 (3.5% of the state). The project locations are: Bengabad,

Girdih; Devipur, Deoghar; Torpa, Khunti; Jama, Dumka; Littipara, Pakur and Berhait, Sahibganj. Regarding the level

of schooling, it was found that Jama and Bengabad have

comparatively better performance in the no. of primary

schools, though Jama lags behind in the no. of schools with

primary, upper primary and secondary. Bengabad seems to

have the most no. of schools with primary, upper primary

and secondary, but that too, is meager in number. None of

the schools having all the three sections combined touch 50,

though there are almost over 150 schools. 5 out of 6

districts have primary and upper primary above 50, but is

comparatively still low in the no. of only primary schools.

Torpa lags behind with total no. of shools not even reaching

100. It was found that 79% of the schools were without

boundary walls, with highest being in Littipara (96%) and

lowest in Devipur (51.5%). 29.5% of the classrooms need

some or the other kind of reparing. Bengabad shows better condition with only 9.5%required, and with the worst

condition as 44% in Littipara. Out of 84 schools situated beside highways or district main roads, only 14 have speed

breakers and traffic signals. Regarding the local school management, it was found out that in 24% of the schools, there

has been no PTA meetings held in the last quarter of the survey. 48% of the schools need to upgrade the child

registration.

Out of the total enrollment (118340), 63% are girls, and 61.1% are boys. Of the total schools, there are only 4% of

schools that have registered more than 90% attendance. And 22 such schools have been reported that have zero

attendance. The overall PTR Ratio is 36.6:1. And 20.4% schools are single teacher schools. As per the block wise

PTR, Berhait has 48, and Jama has 31. Regarding the quality, only two-third schools use TLM. CCE formats are

missing in almost 17.3% schools. In the survey of the condition of the school libraries, it was found that there are only

167 schools with functional libraries. And only 53 schools have special library room in place. Devipur and Littipara

have the highest no. of schools with books not being available. Bengabad shows the best result with highest no. of

schools (111) with functional libraries. Bengabad again has the highest no. of schools for books with separate room

(16), and lowest in Torpa (2).

WASH has the following findings: It was found that 22.4% of schools require functional water source round the year.

14.9% schools do not have their own water source. 13 schools in Berhait and Littipara rely on Ponds for drinking

water. There is a need for soap for handwash in 34% of schools. There are 20 schools that are without toilets and

proper sanitation. 64.6% of toilets are functional, of which 48% of toilets were found to be unclean. It was also found

that almost 86.3% of upper primary and secondary schools need sanitary disposal facility for girls.

From the Mid-day Meal schemes, findings revealed that 87 schools do not have kitchen shed. And 66 schools are

using classroom as kitchen shed. In 34% schools Mid-day menu needs Public Display. There were around 29.7% of

schools where Mid-day meal was not regular on survey. Egg supplementation was also not regular in 27.8% schools.

School breakfast was functional. The diet diversity score at Mid-day meal was 4-7 out of 10 food groups which is

moderate to high.

The findings of CWSN show that the no. of schools with CWSN children enrolled is 436. There are around 35 schools

with Special educator or Counsellors. There are only 61 schools where the Disability kits have been distributed.

Disability pension have been distributed in 91 schools. And TLM have been made available for CWSN in 68 schools.

After the presentation, lighting of the lamp was headed by Prof. Muchkund Dubey (Ex Foreign Secretary and

Education Expert).The booklets on the Findings from AKVO based mobile survey was presented by Mr. Sanjay

Kumar (State Coordinator, JRPSS), which was then followed by a speech delivered by Mr. A.K. Singh, (Director,

LEADS) emphasizing on how to provide quality education, mostly in the government schools, and about the priorities

of the government. It was decided to hand over the suggestions and recommendations to the GoJ and its stakeholders.

Going in to the second round of discussion, The main speakers of the conference were Prof. Muchkund Dubey (Ex.

Foreign Secretary and Education Expert), Prof. R. Sharan (VC Vinova Bhave University), Ms. Aradhana Pattnayak

(Principal Secretary, Deptt of HRD), Mr. Ambarish Rai(National Converner, RTE Forum), Prof. R.P. Singh (Ex

VC, Kolhan University), Ms. Arti Kujur (Chairperson, JSCPCR), Mr. Bindhyachal Pandey (Principal, Netarhat

Residential School), Ms. Ranjana (Ex-member, JSCPCR) and many other people from such similar honorary posts.

To start with, the moderator of the first panel was Mr. Madhukar (Sr. Journalist, advisor of LEADS), and the panel

was headed by Ms. Aradhana Patnayak, (Principal Secretary, Deptt of HRD). The second panel‟s moderator was

Mr. GVSR Prasad, (Education Expert), and the panel was headed by Mr. R.K. Sahu (Teacher headmaster,

Honoured by Rashtrapati Award)

Here is an excerpt from the conference:

Ms. Aradhana Pattanayak, (Principal Secretary, Deptt of HRD):

She unfolded every area possible that is required for the quality education. It is

not only a few factors that play major roles, but a complete and balanced

interaction of all those factors is what determines how the whole scenario is

going to turn out. Her main focus on “Quality Education” has been on the

following few points that are further explained briefly:

Infrastructure

EEE (Extent, Equity and Excellence)

Process of education

Role of the government and the NGOs.

Ms. Pattnayak stated that the government schemes should be reached to every school. Boundary walls and proper

sanitation were the main focus within infrastructure, where she stated that there has been a major lead where toilets

have been set up in schools that have been devoid of proper sanitation since a long time. But she also mentioned that

though toilets have been set up, surveys suggest that 60% of these toilets are functional and the remaining 40% are

still dysfunctional. There have been committees set up to check the proper functioning and cleanliness of these toilets.

25% of the schools in the rural areas are alongside the main road, where there are no boundary walls around the

schools. With the help of local public support, a new concept of “green boundary” has also been adopted, where trees

are planted to make the boundaries that will also have a long term environmental benefit. She said that in the last two

years, desks and benches were made available to 90% of the schools. Electricity is to be made available, and at present

only 25,000 schools have internal wiring. She further added that though there are functional laboratories available in

the high schools, there are no different rooms allocated for labs. She assured that by 2020, laboratories would be

available in every school.

The next concept she focused on was EEE (Extent, Equity and Excellence), which basically explains that there should

be fair opportunity for achievement, schools within access, less number of dropout students and imparting of quality

education. She stressed on the fact that the children need to have access to primary and secondary schools within 1km,

though higher secondary schools are yet to be established. There are almost 280 high schools, and admissions in

intermediate are to start from July‟17. Regarding accessibility, she made sure that children from age group 6-14 years

should have complete access to schools. At present, there are 3 Kasturba Balika Vidyalaya, and 17 more, including the

intermediate section, are to be constructed by 2020. She mentioned that basically the dropout students who study there

have never been to the government schools. She felt proud to share that students from such schools are competing at

the national and international levels, giving examples that students from Bal Amrit have been to Japan and Georgia to

represent their respective schools at international levels. The government here has to play a very important role in

providing the facilities. Since the dropout rate of ST/SC students is comparatively high, Mukhyamantri Vidya Laxmi

Yojana is to be implemented by the government, so that the dropout rate can be curbed. She emphasized on the fact

that providing quality education is the greatest challenge in such government schools. She was adamant that the public

schools not be compared by the private schools, because among the students, there might not be any difference in the

thought process and intelligence, but in the social structure. She stated the harsh reality that there are 50 lac

government schools and only 11 lac private schools, and it‟s a matter of widespread concern that public schools exist

in such deplorable conditions. For a student who goes to a private school, there are teachers available at 3 different

levels: parents who can teach them at home, teachers at school and extra classes from tutors. So it might not come as a

surprise if a student of private school excels. The fact that is noticeable here: a student of public school is deprived of

such facilities. There is no awareness among the parents, most of them being illiterate, involve their children in the

household works. And even when some parents send their children to schools, they don‟t have enough to afford a

tuition teacher. So, ultimately the role of a teacher in such schools become of great importance, because now they‟re

three times more accountable for the future of the students. She said that full credit is to be given to the teacher if any

student flourishes outside the school on any level. The responsibility of the teachers increases many folds. But then

arises the fact that there are lack good teachers. Only 57,000 government teachers and 70,000 para teachers. 1:29 is the

ratio of teacher to students. There are still 10,000 teachers required. 18,000 recruitments of teachers are to be released

for elementary section. 513 teachers are to join the secondary section, and there are 1800 high schools that require

teachers. She pointed out that there is problem in rationalizing and lack in proper contribution in the primary

education.

Now, regarding the process of education, she stated a few facts like many students up to 5th

Std are not able to

comprehend even the simplest of things. She stressed on the importance of communication, asking the teachers to go

deep into the concept. And this requires proper teacher training. Unless teachers are sound and well informed, this is

going to remain a foggy road. The oldschool system needs to be shaken and new enthusiasm is to be brought into the

system, that builds a better foundation for the future of our children. She pointed out that there is a clear

implementation problem in the system. To correct the faults in the teaching methods, TLM (Teacher Learning

Material) is to be properly implemented. This is to be supervised by filed visits by the officials. The good use of TLM

is to bring out new production and innovation in the teaching methods. But the loophole in this is the kind of teachers

available. She sorted out the types as teachers as those who are actually hard working and put in their efforts, and

those who are not even accountable to their profession. She suggested that good quality teachers, who are really less in

numbers, should create a modulation assembly where the teachers themselves will be given the responsibility of

teaching other teachers. With proper change in the thought process and determination, the face of education will

change, even if not immediately, but definitely. She then emphasized that demonstration effect will be soon created,

and the DC, DEOs should provide them with such platforms. The apprenticeship should have classes on understanding

and motivation for teachers that will be carried forward to the students. There are also software like CCE, supported

by LIC, where complete details of students will be available, like the Aadhar card no., account no.(if they have one),

stipend fund, teacher‟s promotion, attendance, quality education assessment (where the complete process is tracked to

see whether the learning levels are improving, and if not, then it is intervened to know why not). Tabs are also being

provided for these for quarterly and monthly assessment and real time monitoring. The learning levels are to cracked,

and the entries of FA1, FA2, SA1, SA2, etc and their analysis are to be done, to find out where the students and the

teachers, both lack, and proper training is to be given accordingly. She also said that surveys in areas like West

Singhbhum show poor result as teachers also lack in the proper knowledge of their subjects, there is lack of proper

usage of TLM. Proper intervention is required to improve the working and quality of education. She also emphasized

on Learning by Doing method, where students are taught by actually involving them in the learning process and not

just letting them be the spectator.

She also threw light on the working of the government and the NGOs, stating that the SMCs are bringing out good

results in the case of dropouts. It also becomes the responsibility of the Mukhiya to supervise the students and teachers

in their respective areas. She stressed that new SMCs be created. In 650 Panchayats, there has been zero dropout cases

within one year. She emphasized not only on complete attendance but retention too. Now gradually, 90% of TMCs,

bal sansad and SMCs are being active, but there is still a lack of participation from the teachers and the students. She

cited examples where she compared the conditions of the Southern states, where the government schools are gradually

being converted to private schools, and this process has to stop. She talked about mass reachout and Adult Literacy

Centres, and said that it‟s the responsibility of each and every one to create a better vision for Education for these

children.

Mr. Ambarish Rai, (National Converner, RTE Forum)

He started off by providing a complete overview about the Education System

to the audience. It indeed was an eye opener, and paved ways to rectify the

faulty Education System and how to create a healthy and sound environment

for the children to thrive. There were three broad areas that he covered

during his speech, these being:

Present condition of the system

Objectives of Education

Management of the whole system

He pointed out the fact that there already exist laws and policies regarding the education rights, and the condition is

such that a majority of our society is still not able to benefit from them. The laws and policies will remain in a

dormant state unless it‟s the people who are active enough to use these instruments. Education is not some new

concept that needs any introduction, it is the affair of every single household. He stated that within the RTE Act

Indicator, the last 6-7 years has been an unending journey of trying to create awareness, create an effective pressure on

the government, and they are working in the whole country. Then he marked that the root of the problem is where the

students dependent on the government are exactly the students who are not able to succeed. This is a grave

paradoxical situation. He was assertive that no child should be devoid of education until 12th Std. And stating that

National average of education to be 70%, it becomes the major responsibility of the government to balance this ratio

such that 50% of both private and public schools contribute to this. But this is exactly where things take a sharp turn.

It has become a notion that Government Schools are schools for the poor and destitute people of the society. This

statement in itself reveals the pathetic situation of our society that quality education becomes a distant and far-fetched

dream. He further added that in the Western countries, the government schools are a priority. If a student is not able to

get through any Government school, it is then the parents decide to opt for a private school. But it‟s just the opposite

in India. When we can work on the infrastructure, then why not on the proper schooling? Despite laws and policies

passed by the High courts, there has been no absolute development in the public schools, rather the society also works

for strengthening the private schools. It is a situation of war in itself that laws passed by the governments are not

working for the upliftment of the public schools. He stated Kothari Sir‟s dream of Equality and no discrimination

among the schools, which seems to be wrecking.

He mentioned that the sole objective of education should not only be employment. It limits the scope of education. But

he rather emphasized on the broader aspect, that a greater horizon should be created that links the society in all

aspects, be it social, cultural or political. He talked about the loopholes in the professional courses, saying that it is the

basic right of every child to receive education until 18 years of age, but then the elementary levels are ridiculously

ignored. Primary education seems to be shown a way out of the professional courses, and the pre-primary section has

been handed over to the Anganwaadis. Now the question is, if the foundation is not strong enough, how are we going

to have a society based on quality education? He suggested that sustainable development is required and that the circle

of the working of policies and laws need to be extended.

He pointed out that there goes on a lot of clamoring for more allocation for education in the budget, presently only 6%

is allocated (3% for school education and remaining 3% for higher education). But the fact is, actual work needs to

come in the limelight. Even when a considerable amount of budget is allocated, there have not been any such

developments which substantiate the need for more budget allocation. Having said that, he added that quality

education is not possible unless inequality is removed from the education system. He also cited an example saying that

the school system in Bihar is coming forward to remove such inequalities. The success of laws and policies has been

in fractions. Equality is what he stressed upon, said that the need of the hour is to curb privatization of the education

system. He also shed light upon the fact that health is also being privatized. Coming back to the education, he stated

that almost 2 lac public schools were shut down, questioning where have the students gone? To which he himself

answered that low cost private schools are being provided and a complete migration of students is taking place. Even

the MNCs and Public Private Participation are contributing to the development of the private schools. He didn‟t take a

step back in pointing out the flaws of the schools, where he stated that almost 4000 schools in Andhra Pradesh have

been provided revenue, where the teachers are trained within 12 days in the private schools. He questioned if this kind

of training is really enough for quality education. He said that at least 2 years of rigorous training is required if we

really want to move a notch higher in the ladder of quality education. The public schools fall back to a greater extent

even when MHRD has 2-4 private foundations that work in the direction of imparting quality education, as public

schools are overlooked, and all everything falls in the court of private schools. He said that public schools provided

with quality education before the „80s, but post „80s, as privatization increased, the quality of the public schools have

degraded. Even if the budget for education is increased, can it ensure that the quality education will increase too? To

which he said that the school management committee has to bring everyone together. There has to be a social process,

else, with no education there will be no development. He said the census 2011 suggests that almost 8 crore students

never went to school. There were 7 lac dropouts. There was a huge dropout from primary to the secondary stage. He

laid emphasis on having a proper agenda to strengthen the schools, in which the role of the teachers is of a great

importance. If the teachers in public schools are allotted to work for the census, or pulse polio programs, the question

is when are they going to have enough time to teach the students? He stood strictly against privatization. There are

facilities needed in every areas, like food, electricity, water, sanitation, etc that will help in the quality education. But

the main role of government here becomes to not create a gap of inequality among schools. It should work towards

creating an ideal society where health, sanitation, education and every other

thing is looked after. He stated that the government has the potential to change

the face of the state overnight, then why not in the case of education? He ended

his speech stating that privatization should not corrode the society anymore than

it already has.

Prof. Muchkund Dubey (Ex Foreign Secretary and Education Expert):

The conference had an esteemed chance of witnessing a person as great as Prof. Muchkund Dubey give his invaluable

inputs on Quality Education in Jharkhand. He put forward his ideas under these few broad aspects:

Meaning of quality education

Purpose of education

Four pillars of education

Role of teachers

He threw light upon the fact that quality education is meaningless without quality. Without quality, there is no market

value of education, and consequently, difficulty in dealing day-to-day problems in life will arise. Now, what he

exactly meant by quality was the dignity and pride that comes along with education which makes it qualitative. He

stated that Supreme Court has passed a judgment saying that RTE (Right to Education) is equivalent to Right to Life.

There is a difference between just existing and living a quality life. He further added that to live is not to exist like

other animals on the earth. We are social animals, and need to live a life of dignity, humility and pride, which comes

only through quality education. And quality education is highly essential for such humane existence. He pointed out

the fact that this quality education is not to be provided based on the capacity of people to afford it, but because every

citizen is entitled to it. But now, the education system has become a business hub, where the actual intention of quality

education is losing its ground. Education is not only the capacity to comprehend, but also to criticize, contest and have

the ability to transform the concepts. Critical faculty is to be generated, where people have knowledge to differentiate

the right from the wrong, and acquire the power to change the wrong.

He said the only sole purpose of education is not to only comprehend things, but the creation of a nation based on a

shared mutual feeling that connects the people of the society. He cited examples of countries like America and

Europe, where schools are a medium for socialism, and it connects people from all the social classes. To connect the

boughs of hearts, it requires discipline and a common objective towards which the whole society together moves

forward. And he criticized that distance education can never fulfill this dream. He quoted a few articles like Art.16,

Art.19 and Art.21 for the citizenship principles and Right to life. He also stressed on the ethical values, where people

should abide by truth, honesty and loyalty. Establishment of the rules by the Democracy should be carried forward,

and the society should have its root in virtuousness.

He mentioned that UNESCO has passed a DELLOR commission on education stating its objectives and ends. He then

moved forward to explain the Four Pillars of Education, which are Learn to know, Learn to do, Learn to be, Learn

to live with others. He briefly explained that „to know‟ is to have the knowledge of all the subjects, „to do‟ is to have

skill development, „to be‟ is to acquire a position after the skill development, and „to live with others‟ is to learn to

empathize and live in harmony in the society. He also quoted the 35th poem of Geetanjali, “Kobo ajaane……Koreche

bhai”, with the English translation that goes as:

Where the mind is without fear and

the head is held high;

Where the knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been

broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the

depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its

arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the

dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by

thee into ever-widening thought

and action-

Into that heaven of freedom, my

Father, let my country awake.

He then mentioned that RTE act should be properly implemented, and that education needs to be publicized. He cited

the example where the “Grammar School” in England was the only school that was based on social class. And

empirical studies suggested that it was not as good as the schools in Norway or Sweden. He emphasized on educating

the society. He put forward the word of the Kothari Commission stating that there should be no social class barriers in

education. He then stated about the National Education Policy and the reports of Bihar‟s Common School System.

He laid great emphasis on the role of teachers, as he said teachers are answerable for educating the society. Even when

there are visible flaws in the system and lack of facilities, if teachers display punctuality, discipline and try and be a

role model for students, development can still be achieved. He also made a point to note that teachers are also exposed

to injustice. They are paid meager salary, and nobody asks them about their plight. Whereas he talked about his

Professor friend in Geneva, and stated the difference in the status of teachers outside India. And how the teachers

never retire from their profession, and they are treated with respect and utmost dignity. He said teachers require not

only salary, but proper social security, chances for experiment and innovations. He concluded his speech by laying

utmost importance punctuality, and on the fact that unless education is to be publicized and teachers are respected in

the society, development in quality education will be a difficult road.

Prof. R.P. Singh (Ex VC, Kolhan University):

Regarding the Quality Education in Jharkhand, his speech started off with a note

of regret. A regret so strong for the society that he quoted, “The wounds

worsened with increased medication”. Where he meant that despite the facilities,

laws and policies available, education system is still deteriorating in quality. With

this, he moved on to cover a few important aspects of education:

Comparison with the past experience

Role of the government and need of the hour

He quoted the Cobweb Model of Economics, where a supplier never learns from his past mistakes. If we never learn

from the past mistakes, we can never expect anything new to happen. This is exactly what he meant when he said that

decade of years of efforts, but still no development. Is it not the time to look over the strategy? And it‟s a matter of

high concern that we never had the time to think over it. He said almost 90% of the emphasis of the Monetary system

and the Central system has been on the infrastructure. The fact that is overlooked here is, quality can never be brought

into the system by just having proper infrastructure. There was no infrastructure whatsoever prior to 60 years, no

boundary walls, no toilets, then how was it that quality education was still maintained? To which he said that it

requires quality teachers to maintain quality education. Coming back to the present scenario, he said, the society has

deviated from its prime objective of providing quality education. There is a lack of priority in each household. People

don‟t know what is to be done first. Parents being illiterate can‟t decide for their children‟s future. There is a lack of

wise leaders in our country. Quality teachers are to be appointed. We have to keep the stakeholders in mind, and act

accordingly. Teachers have an enormous responsibility of shaping the future of the society, and impartiality is needed.

There is a need for highly devoted teachers. If 10,000 unfit teachers are recruited, future of 10 crore students will be at

stake. And the government should not leave any room open to sacrifice the future of 10 crore students only to benefit

10.000 unfit teachers.

He was adamant that we all need to contribute to the society, from wherever we are. He refreshed Prof. Pandey‟s point

on the Common school system, and saying that the society is under the web of discrimination. Even the hostels are

discriminated into ST/SC/OBCs. The need of the hour is to unite the country and not segregate it based on religion and

community. There has to a path of understanding. We demand more allocation in the budget, but forget that the

primary demand is of good quality teachers. We also have to deal with the law breakers and corruption in the society.

He threw light on the corruption prevailing in the society, where 1 lac fake Aadhar cards are registered on the mobile

app. Students who actually enrolled are 5 in GER, and 50 is feeded into the app. This shows the dull management of

the system, that requires rectification as soon as possible. Motivation is what is required, and the strict supervision of

the government. If one is convinced, the chain will be automatically carried forward. Unless there is an uprooting

revolution in the thought process, the inequality will continue increasing. Sooner or later, society will have to go

through this painful change, but once we‟re on the other side, the society will definitely be saved.

Ms. Arti Kujur (Chairperson, JSCPCR):

The basic aspects she covered in her speech were about:

Need for change

Role of Mukhiya, District Council

She started off her speech by posing a question to the audience, asking, what

is the kind of change we really want? She then said, unless there is self

efficiency, nothing will be possible. But unless quality education is not

provided, where is this self sufficiency going to come from? So we need to

change the process in which this society and the education system works.

There have been Child Cabinets set up, but the working is stagnant in most of it. There is absolutely no enrollment

from (0-6) year‟s age group. Public benefit is to be made available to everyone. She stated that the present situation

works one sided. Investment is done on infrastructure, schools are built. What was is its use when there is no student

present in the school? Even when the investment was constructive, the government could not pull anything

constructive out of it. There is a need for devoted teachers and mass motivation is required. The instruments of the

government are to be used strictly to assure that the assigned work is realistically been done, and not just on the

papers. Investment is needed to create quality teachers. The gap between the public and private school needs to be

curbed. The fundamental difference in the mentality is what creates disbalance and dissatisfaction in the society.

Quality of education is what we need to focus on. She also praised the teachers who are actually working and doing

their share. Zero dropouts are gradually being achieved. What Ms. Kujur focused on was not the enrollment of the

students, but their actual presence and retention. She stressed on education and knowledge being imparted to the

students.

She also mentioned that without the help of other factors, this dream of quality education is going to remain a dream.

We need to work at the root level to restore quality in education. We cannot achieve our objective by mere processions

and rally. The schools and the parents are to be made answerable. Without struggle, there can be no good results. So

we have to be ready to go through this phase of struggle to come out on the brighter side. We need to send better

proposals to the government, comparisons to be done for betterment, and finally, the society needs to create good

citizens for the better future of the children.

(Following this speech, while the mic was being handed over to Mr. Bindhyachal Pandey, Principal, Netarhat, the

moderator made it a point to let the audience know that there are public and private schools in Kanjaul, Orissa,

where there is supply of red water in the schools due to excessive mining. And this matter has not been looked into.

The role of the ACP,CR should be to bring out the ground reality and to exercise the power of the committee.

Infrastructure is also to be looked into for the quality education)

Mr. Bindhyachal Pandey (Principal, Netarhat Residential School):

He began by showing concern on how exactly the development of overall

personality takes place if the students are not curious enough and are craven

and shy? He speech emphasized on creating students who are not only

knowledgeable, but also curious and inquisitive. He asked departments like

the ICDS to come forward and lend a helping hand in creating a pyramid of

the elites. Ambitious programs are to be taken up if we really want to create

an educated society. He supported the ideologies of M.K. Gandhi. Education

requires a teacher on one end and a student on the other. So he questioned

where do infrastructure gets a place in this scenario? He didn‟t completely

deny the role of infrastructure, but kept its role as low key, as more focus

was on quality education and removing untouchability. He also suggested

that parroting of subjects is not his definition of quality education, but a complete understanding of all subjects and

having one‟s own keen interest in something productive. He stated that students in his schools are not only involved in

the academic subjects, but also in sports, music. Overall personality development is looked after. He stated an

important point that government can make students literate, but where do quality some from? Health is also to be

looked after along with education for overall quality development. There has to be judicial awareness, tracking of the

working of laws. Providing reassurance by the government is not going to do the job of quality education. What more

is required it t promote NGOs, SHGs, media to not only promote but actually contribute to mend the system.

He suggested a few ways, for example, a medical student can teach students at the intermediate levels, so that this kind

of a step could have some positive effect on the pattern of education. He said that we tried to inherit a whole lot of the

westernization after being independent, but we couldn‟t adopt their teaching methods. There has to be complete

understanding, awareness and transparency in the education system. He quoted Charles Darwin‟s theory of “Survival

of the fittest”. This is only possible when education is used as a proper instrument, unending effort in this direction is

required, only then the level of understanding will increase. Lastly he added that an affectionate environment for the

children is equally essential for quality education.

Prof. Ramesh Sharan (VC, Vinova Bhave University):

Having roughly discussed all the aspects of quality education, the

conference moved ahead into deeper matters that needed to be probed.

And Prof. Sharan did the honor of honestly throwing light on the real face

of the education system. It is a brutal truth that the education system has

been kept crippled for years now, despite all the camflauge of

development. Prof. Sharan broadly explained the following aspects:

Disparity in the society

Type of education

Essence of education and thought process

Impact of corruption

Need for change

He began his speech with the question: where have the teachers gone? He said Commissions, Laws and policies are

brought forward, but where do we find the teachers amidst all these? He recalled that all that his teacher possessed was

an umbrella that he brought with him while teaching, and taught devotedly. He pointed out the fact that not only the

society needs to be respected, but the teachers too. Teachers are not to be converted into laborers and workers, and

they need to be treated in a dignified manner. After all, they are the ones who teach the future leaders of the country.

Respect is utmost. But there exists deep roots of disparity within the society that doesn‟t see eye to eye with the fact

that everyone is entitled to education. Ours is the kind of society that has not let the women in the past to even read the

„Gayatri Mantra’. Breaking this chain of disparity is not so much of as easy job as it might seem to be. An educated

society, free from prejudices seems to be a utopia. If educated people are the ones to demand dowry, how can this

society be free from prejudices and hypocrisy? Our society was supposed to be a multi cultural society, but the level of

intolerance is increasing. He shared an incident where a friend and old classmate of his, who is an auto driver, had

come to congratulate him in person on being the VC, saying he was exhilarated that the boy who studied in his class

has become a Vice Chancellor. Prof. Sharan stated that we will never be able to see Krishna-Sudama in the present

scenario, as such is the level of disparity. The elite class enjoys the privilege over many things. There is disparity even

in the per head expenditure of a student of a public school and that of a student of a private school. What is the kind of

the society that is being formed? He raised a question that if the teachers are paid their wages from the infrastructure

allocation, then how will development exactly take place? The harsh truth is the underlying fact that despite all the

pomp and show, there has been a continuous process of deforming the education.

The kind of education he supports is the “Inclusive education” rather than making education a competition. He wants

education to be available to each and every child despite his social structure. Discrimination needs to be removed

immediately. The Directive Principle of the Fundamental Rights is trying to check into it and is moving in the right

direction. He said that RTE has limited rights, and monetary issues further put constraints over it. Our society itself is

unaware of the system that it should adopt for quality education.

He questioned the objective of education, asking what we exactly study for. Parents dream of sending their child to

IITs, IIMs, Medical, etc., but then what? What is the purpose? Innumerable students prepare for such exams for years,

and barely a percent of them are able to get through, and what about the rest? He raised a question on the working of

the faculty. And the middle class is the most hit by this rat race. He said that the performance of a child is also

dependent on his mother‟s education, so this area cannot be neglected either, which ultimately follows that if we want

an educated society, there is an urgent need to educate our girl child. He talked about the contrast that when a student

excels in archery, he is not provided the facilities, if a student is good at writing poems, he is forced to study. Do we

see the miserable condition? There is no willingness to go to the school, no enjoyment at the schools. There are baits

like biometrics and mid-day meals, required to bring students to the school. Why the need for such things? It is worth

to be pondered upon that there exist problems on some serious levels, and it‟s high time we rectify them.

And the society is lubricated with corruption, without which the society can‟t even think of taking a step ahead. He

revealed how the inspector on his round, if unable to catch hold of malfunctioning of the system, asks for his petrol

cost. It is a pathetic situation that honesty also has a price tag attached to it. The system need to be shaken. It seems to

have become a war for dignity and respect for teachers. Nobody wants to know the problems these teachers go

through. A mass revolution is required, which, again the elite class does not want.

For a country like India, which is home to hundreds of cultures, one cultural system will never work out for all. There

has been loss of cultural values. Our children recite all the English poems, but if asked to recite one folk song or poem,

they are unable to. We need to question the implementation. He also mentioned that there has been a different

language for the elite class in the past to create discrimination. This needs to break down. Our democracy requires

descent and dialogue, where people can contest for the right. He concluded his speech by saying that we should not let

English language overshadow the other languages. All languages deserve the same respect. He laid emphasis on

raising questions and challenging the assumptions. And believed that the work has to be done in the right direction.

(The first panel ended by 1:15 pm, following which the 2nd

panel started, and Mr. R.K. Sahu was the first speaker from

the panel)

Mr. Ram Krishna Sahu (Teacher Head Master, Honored by Rashtrapati award):

He started off by saying there has been too many a discussion, but no actual

work to substantiate it. He told a story about the scientist Thompson to give a

background to the audience that education of a student should be such that he

can challenge the concepts of his teacher and prove him wrong. He stressed on

the quality of education, that education is not about going through a few books

and earning a degree and a job, but its realm is much broader. He also laid

emphasis on the ideologies of Mahatma Gandhi, saying quality education

should impart punctuality, morality, ethics and other basic principles in a

student. Quoting that “Charity begins at home”, it is also the responsibility of

the parents to make sure that their children are not being devoid of quality

education. It is also the role of the teachers to create enthusiasm within their

students. He said that the MCQ pattern can be cross checked by the students

themselves, which will have a positive impact, and will also increase their determination. It is the job of the

government to provide all the facilities, and bring in quality teachers where there has been a shortage of teachers. And

ultimately, amidst all these, the role of the teacher has been given the utmost importance, as without teacher, the

learning process is incomplete.

Ms. Ranjana (Ex member, JSCPCR):

She basically focused more on:

Qualitative teaching

Quality determination

She laid more emphasis on the availability of quality teachers and complete

personality development. Quality education is a part of the RTE, and it is also

important that Moral education should be incorporated in the study curriculum.

There wasn‟t any such training for teachers in the past as much as it is available now, and even then, the result of the

training seems poor. She said that health is also equally important. A healthy mind is needed to retain all the

information. Regarding the quality, she said that teaching process should be such that even a dull student of a class

should be able to understand what a teacher is explaining. SHGs and NGOs also play important role in the long term.

But despite the active working of the NGOs and the SHGs, we lag behind our timeline of achievements. She focused

on teacher training, and that the thought process should be corrected. A child‟s need is to be focused on, and

accordingly evaluation is to be made. She said that there are campaigns like Sarwa Sheeksha Abhiyaan that look into

the awareness among parents too. Also, alternative models should be made ready so that it joins the students to the

mainstream.

Thereafter, she also mentioned that there has been a wide gap of quality even among the teachers. The evaluation

system of the RTE needs to be made better. A clearer understanding of CCE is required. Improper checking leads to

quality deterioration, which consequently leads to poor quality education, and hence poorly educated children. It

seems like the teacher training is done just for the namesake.CRP has been given the job for monitoring and checking,

but the work again is not visible. Objectives are not being fulfilled. We need to create a strong and qualitative cadre of

teachers. Rationalization and proper allocation of resources are required, and these need to be identified first. Self

introspection is also needed, and rigorous training is to be brought into process. There has to be willingness to study.

More emphasis is to be laid on quality rather than infrastructure. All the works are to properly reach out to the block

levels as well. She concluded her speech by asking the audience to come forward and share if there is any case of

negligence.

Mr. Balram Pandit (SMC Representative):

He covered up a few important aspects of education, starting from the

enrollment ratio to suggesting that mid day meal to be ceased completely.

He talked about how the efforts unfold. He provided us with the figures that

almost 100-105 children are said to be enrolled, but only 30-35 children are

actually present. It clearly shows the lack of willingness to go to school. When

the parents were counseled, the number of children reached to almost 90-95.

He said that we need to look into every area possible so that there will be no

hindrance in providing quality education to the children. There is a problem of

sanitation in the school, which also cannot be looked over. The foundation of

Primary education is to be strengthened. He stated with a rough figure, giving

example, that out of 15 boys and 8 girls that appear for the 10th boards, the boys are able to clear the exams, but most

of the girls are detained. It simply implies that we need to look into the correct direction in educating both the genders

with no discrimination.

He strongly supported that the Mid-day meal schemes should be completely ceased. He stated that there have been

reports that teachers are idly sitting, and moreover this scheme is not being implemented properly. There is more of

corruption than efforts made in implementation. He strictly stated if a centre is being provided the ration for children,

it should be based on the actual presence of children, because even the ration provided for food is not free from the

webs of corruption. The respective authorities should look into the cleanliness of children and their uniforms too. He

said that as it is there is lack of teachers, these mid day meal schemes take away more teachers, who are then not able

to teach because they‟re involved in works that are not theirs. This should be strictly looked into. The desks and

benches are also to be made available. Punctuality is also a factor that cannot be ignored for quality education. The

SMCs and the Children‟s Cabinet will have to work in unison in the right direction.

Mr. Kumar Katyayani (Pratham, Jharkhand):

His focus during the speech has basically been on the following few aspects:

Focus of quality education

Teachers‟ education

Management

He began by stating that quality education is being focused more on

infrastructure. Rather quality education should mean that there is a proper

learning education. There is a deviation from the basic agenda. We require

proper objectives and well defined agenda in education system that we can

commonly work for. He raised the main question about what is it that should be taught to the students. If we genuinely

try to look into the answer, we might get a proper structure of how actually the system should be working, but instead

the focus gets derailed and secondary things become more important.

His major focus was on the education of teachers, children and the monetary issues. He stressed on the fact that unless

there are well educated and well trained teachers available, there can be no proper framework of how the process of

educating children is going to unfold. He stated that almost 70 out of 100 students have not even studied until 10th std.

but he also stated that a campaign “Saksham Hain Hum” is looking into this matter, so that basic capacity building of

students can take a kick-start. There are BRP, CRP and Baseline assessment reports that reveal that almost 68%

students cannot even comprehend mathematical calculations of simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and

division. This is the ground reality that needs to be changed. The pattern of education is not in accordance with the

syllabus of the textbooks. There is a need for a processed guideline to be provided. Most of the students are not able to

clear their 10th and 12

th Boards. This is because the primary education has been looked over. We need to nib the

problem at its root. So we need to start with the primary education, and put our efforts in correcting the foundation of

primary education.

He said that above all the campaigns and efforts, proper management is required. The actual working of the system is

to be visible. Even when the teacher learning activities have been focused on, it has still not been so successful in

Jharkhand. So the teacher training centers are to be properly monitored. Quality, sensitivity and motivation are

required to be inculcated in these trainings. The scenario in the remote areas is such that only 30% school system

exists and rest 70% is not even available. He mentioned that 66 blocks were given to Pratham for the capacity

building where they have been able to bring out positive results. They are working towards the government

strengthening too. He suggested that rather than being dependent on mobile apps for monitoring, supporting managing

apps should be designed, where management can be looked over, and that can also help bring positive changes in the

results. He concluded his speech by saying that we all have to play our bit of role if we really and genuinely want

better future for our children, and especially kids out there in the rural regions. We have to be their supporter. And

only then this dream of quality education will be realized.

Mr. Sanjay Kr. Singh (State Coordinator, JRPSS):

He began his speech by putting forward an important statement that the quality of a

country depends on the quality of its citizens. And the quality of the citizens

depends on the quality of the students‟ education. And the quality of the students‟

education ultimately depends on the quality of the teachers. So if we really want our

country to be prosperous, there is a need to catch hold of all the problems at the

basic level and deal with them meticulously, and try and create a thriving

environment for quality education. Positive thinking is to be thrusted into the system

which is a real challenge. This change at the root level will automatically bring changes in the working of factors

responsible for quality education.

He said that data about the teachers should be made available. He stated that there were almost around 68,000

recruitments opened up for teachers, out of which 28,000 posts are still vacant. We are aware of the fact that the

quality of teachers in the urban areas is high and that of rural areas is low. And consequently, the children in the rural

areas are not being able to perform up to the mark, and lag behind in many aspects. It‟s not that we‟re not aware of the

miserable condition of the rural areas. So he suggested a way out, saying, teachers from the urban areas should go to

these areas through a forum and teach the rural teachers. He also stated that there is no willingness in the urban

teachers to go and work in the rural areas. This situation needs to change. There has to be willingness generated, and

that would be for the greater good of the society.

He adamantly stated that the Inspector Raj should come to a halt as soon as possible. The education system needs to

be freed from the clutches of corruption. Even when there are Children Cabinets working presently, the work has not

been registered to be up to the mark. Due to the procurement of the education system, we have been deviated from our

mainstream objective of education. Subject wise recruitment is also necessary. But the problem is the teaching works

do not actually go on. With the absence of students, even when teachers are available, it is of no use. And ultimately,

the schools remain vacant and stand useless. This needs to be changed. He suggested that with the help of Forums, the

single unit should be converted to double units. Rationalization is required. The department has to provide the proper

and complete syllabus. Date wise programs are to be done. Combined works are to be done that will at least witness

everyone‟s participation. And departmental motivation is required as an icing on top of the cake. He concluded by

saying that actual work has to be there to substantiate the objectives and purpose of Quality Education.

And with this, the 2nd

panel came to an end. And Mr. A.K. Singh, Director, LEADS, addressed the audience

and welcomed their suggestions and recommendations. The following were the few suggestions that came up:

1. There should be freedom of expression. A student should be as open with his teacher as he is with his friend.

So treatment as a friend is necessary.

2. The education environment is to be fearless and stress free. Work priority should be there. And there should

be „subject wise teachers‟ and not „students wise teachers‟

3. This suggestion followed from the table of the teachers, saying that they should be allowed to teach and not be

engaged in the cleaning of toilets, reporting of the Aadhaar cards.

4. Some schools in Khunti have working hours for teachers as 6:30 am – 9:00 pm, which negatively affects their

professional as well as personal lives. With such uncomfortable working hours, teachers questioned how will

they be able to incorporate quality education in the system? A teacher should not be solely blamed for the lack

of quality education. Teachers, students and the society have to go hand in hand.

5. There is no departmental support. There is a need of support from the higher authorities and not only from the

NGOs and the SMCs. Capacity building is to be focused on. Deprivation should not be there.

6. It was also recommended that the environment of education be considered too, as the environment also plays a

crucial role. There should be proper hostel facilities, subsidized stays. But it also came to the table that the

cycles, laptops and mobiles provided to the students are being misused, which should also be looked into

strictly. Clerks should be appointed. There should be one clerk for every 4-5 schools.

7. The students teacher ratio should be rationalized. And teachers should not be put to unimportant works.

8. The amount sanctioned for food should not be used elsewhere.

9. It was brought forward that in the CCE tests, the students are being promoted without proper evaluation. This

should be stopped. There should be proper planning and training of teachers, 3-4 months of rigorous training.

And lastly, the Vote of Thanks was delivered by Mr. Sacchidananda (Member, JRTEF). And the program was

finally wrapped up with a few motivational words of a teacher from the audience.