1, INTRODUCTION 2. HISTORY 3, DIGANTAR LANDMARKS, 4, DIGANTAR DONAR AND INVESTOR- 5, DIGANTAR PHILOSOPHY:- 6. SUMMARY OF DIGANTAR’S MAIN PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES: 7. THE ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMME (AEP) 1. COMPONENTS OF WORKING FUNCTION OF SCHOOL 2. LOCATION OF AEP SCHOOLS 3. SCHOOL PROFILE AND STRUCTURE OF SCHOOL 4. COORDINATED AEP SCHOOL STRUCTURE . ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES 6. OTHER ACTIVITIES IN SCHOOL IVITIES WITH TEACHERS 8. ACTIVITY WITH COMMUNITY 9. SUPPORT TO OTHER CONCURRENT PROGRAMS. 10, SUPPORT TO OTHER ORGANIZATIONS 11, ACHIEVEMENTS 12. CHALLENGES 8. THE ACADEMIC RESOURCE UNIT (TARU) 1. STRUCTURE 2. MAJOR ACTIVITIES 3. ACHIE" BMENTS 9, SHIKSHA VIMARSH 1. CIRCULATION & MEMBERSHIP 10. THE RESOURCE SUPPORT UNIT (TRSU) 1. CONSTITUI NTS OF TRSU 2. MAJOR WORK DONE BY VARIOUS SUB-UNITS OF TRSU: 3. WORKSHOPS PAGEPage |2 11. SHIKSHA SAMARTHAN PROJECT 1. AIMS 2. PROJECT OBJECTIVES 3. PROJEC STRUCTURE 4. PROJECT TEAM AND RESPONSIBILITIES 5. MAJOR ACTIVITIES 6. WORK IN CLUSTER TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC STRUCTURE 12. QUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAMME, BARAN 1. PROJECT OBJECTIVES 2. PROGRAM STRUCTURE MAJOR ACTIVITIES 4. WORKSHOP WORKING WITH PACE SETTER SCHOOL, 6. CHALLENGES 7. PROGRAMME ACHIEVEMENT 13. SANDARBH SHALA PROJECT 1, OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 2. MAJOR ACTIVITIES 3. WORKSHOP 4. PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS 14. BARLY LITERACY RESEARCH PROJECT (ELRP) 1. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT 2. RESEARCH QUESTION GUIDING THE PROJECT 3. OBJECTIVES OF THE RES :ARCH 4. MAJOR ACTIVITIES 15. LIST OF DIGANTAR PUBLICATIONS AND MATERIALS. 16. TALK WITH DIRECTOR, 17. MANAGEMENT. 18. CONCLUSION PAGE2Page |3 1. INTRODUCTION DIGANTAR SHIKSHA EVAM KHELDUD SAMITI is situated in Jagatpura (Complete address: Todi Ramjanipura, Kho Nagoriyan Road, Jagatpura, Jaipur- 302 025). This NGO runs school and various project for development of student or child that are deprived from schooling due to lack of money, ‘This Samiti contributes in development of children and teachers via installing following units of program- A. CORE PROGRAMS AND UNITs (1) Alternative Education Program (2) The Academic Resource Unit (TARU) (3) The Resource Support Unit (TRSU) (4) Shiksha Vimarsh: A bi-monthly for dialogue on education B. OTHER PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES. (1) Shiksha Samarthan Project, Phagi (2) Quality Education Programme, Baran (3) Sandarbh Shala Programme, Baran (4) Barly Literacy Research Project 2. HISTORY Digantar (full name — Digantar Shiksha evam Khelkud Samiti), started on 31st March, 1987, when it was registered under the Registration of Societies Act, Rajasthan, 1958. The organiza- tion’s origins can be traced to David Horsburgh's teaching at Neel Bagh, Rohit Dhankar (founder member and present Secretary of Digantar) and Reena Das (present Director of Digantar) participated as trainee in Horsburgh's training which provided impetus to the formation of Di- gantar. The Diganstar Samiti was started in 1978 with small batch and little number of faculty.In its nascent stages, the school comprised of only twenty to twenty five children. The teachers of this school had trained under the late Shri David Horsburgh at Neel bagh, Kolar District, who also guided the school in its initial years, The Sanskrit meaning of the word —Digantar is beyond the horizon or a —change in direction. As the name suggests, the motto of the organization was to usher in a new direction in the thought and perception of education, Through the school, an attempt was made to translate this vision of change into practice; hence the school became a vibrant centre for inculcating alternate values. Later on, this modest beginning began to attract the attention of other groups and individuals working in the field of elementary education, Because of a two-fold approach that included a constant search for a theoretically and practically sound meaning of education and its relationship with the society, as well as interaction with other groups working for education and social development, the con- cems of the group connected with Digantar School became both incisive and broad-based. PAGE 3Page la Thus, a more holistic vision of elementary education concomitant with the basic principles of the school was formulated. In 1986, the informal group of individuals that comprised Digantar felt that the school should move to the outskirts.As in Jaipur as the rural children and minorities who continued to be deprived of good, this institution is basically for these. This started with a moto to bring change in child's development as compared to other. And providing platform ofor ersonality development. This institution was registered in 1958s with an Act. Intially this started with some numbers of schools in Jagatpua and nearby areas. After 1986s this NGO came in force with various government programmes. The whole institution started with training of teachers, a journal Shiksha Vimarsh(bimonthly) which started in 1998s. This institution has worked with the printing of NCERT books via government aid. Main office is in JAIPUR, jagatpura. Now this is running various program for development of students with teachers.As fund regarding issues were always a reason for fluctuation for work management In 2012, Digantar ran Quality Educa- tion Programme. 3. DIGANTAR LANDMARKS © 1978-79 A School with the name of Digantar was started in Jaipur. Number of children: 7 in the beginning, quickly grew to about 20 and 2 teachers, © 1987-88 Digantar Shiksha Evam Khelkud Samiti got registered. Interaction with other voluntary groups; Crucial help in founding Bodh Shiksha Samiti = 1989-90 Shifted to rural area near Jaipur. New campus established, one school building and one teachers esidence constructed, funds provided by the President of Digantar. One School for approx. 50 Children. Project on elementary education sanctioned by MHRD. © 1992-93 ‘Two new schools opened in the village of Kho Nagorian. Number of children: approx. 300 Number of workers: approx. 19 Elementary Education Project (MHRD) continues. Intense interaction with Lok Jumbish at several levels. © 1996-97 Academie resource support to Sahaj Shiksha Karyakram (SSK) of LokJumbish in 3 blocks PAGE 4Page |5 Academic resource support to Alternative Schools Program of Rajiv Gandhi Prathmik Shiksha Mission (RGPSM) of Madhya Pradesh, © 1997-98 Elementary Education Project (MHRD) expanded to upper primary. Number of children in Digantar schools: approx. 500 = 1998-99 Publication of SHIKSHA VIMARSH begins. Academic resource support to ASP of RGPSM, MP comes to an end. Academic resource support of SSK continues — total 4 blocks. = 1999-00 Shiksha Vimarsh :Support to Lok Jumbish comes to an end = 2000-01 Training programme for GoI-UN joint programme “Janashala” personnels. New short term training programmes started. FCRA registration = 2001-02 Resource Enrichment Programme at National Level for DPEP, in collaboration with other agen- ci Evaluation of Pedagogical Interventions in Kerela under DPEP Phase I. Learning Domain Study of PLAN International Programmes. = 2002-03 Pehchan Project in Phagi was initiated in collaboration with UNICEF and KULP. Teacher Empowerment Programme initiated with financial support from WIPRO. © 2003-04 Study entitled ‘Modes of Schooling — A Comparative Study of Schools in Rural Rajasthan’ with financial support from CARE India began Collaboration with the social initiative group of ICIC PAGE 5Page |6 = 2005-06 1st Certificate Course in Foundations of Education began (August 2005-January 2006). = 2006-07 Shiksha Samarthan Pariyojna, Phagi sanctioned with financial assistance from WATIS. Quality Education Programme, Baran; a joint initiative of Government of Rajasthan, Digantar, Vidya Bhawan Society, and Social Initiative Group of ICICI Bank was launched. National Seminar on Quality of Education held at Jaipur-eminent educationists deliberated on crit- ical issues of quality in education © 2007-08 Sandarbh Shala Project, Baran sanctioned with financial assistance from Sir Dorabji Tata trust. Early Literacy Research Project was launched. © 2008-09 Work on the Hindi version of M.A. Education (Elementary) was started. This programme is a collaborative effort of 6 partners — HBCSE, Mumbai; VBS, Udaipur; Digantar, Jaipur; Eklavya, Bhopal; NIAS, Bangalore and TISS, Mumbai = 2009-10 V Certificate Course in Foundations of Education successfully conducted. ELRP project extended for 6 months. Shiksha Samarthan Pariyojna, Phagi extended for 12 months. Sandarbh Shala Project extended up to December 2010 © 2010-11 VI certificate Course for Foundation was conducted. QEP- Baran, Sandarbhshala & ELRP project concluded following completion of stipulated tenure, New partnership project flagged off between TARU & Ajim Premji Foundation in December 2011 PAG!Page |7 4. DIGANTAR DONAR AND INVESTOR- PerrPage [8 5. DIGANTAR PHILOSOPHY:- Digantar envisions a pluralistic, democratic society that safeguards justice, equity, freedom and human dignity of all its members. This cherished vision is achieved through holistic education that encourages freedom of the mind and provides the courage to act. As such, the education provided by Digantar is designed to develop rational autonomy, sensitivity, democratic and egalitarian val- ues, and promote dignity of labour and skills. The goal is to make every child a self-motivated and independent learner.Digantar believes that every child is capable of learning to live in society, defining goals for life, and finding ways to achieve their goals by taking appropriate action and being responsible for their actions. This, along with a respect for all life forms and an unconditional respect for all humans as equal partners, and commitment to keep any ongoing discourse impartial and rational, are perhaps the most important democratic values. 6. SUMMARY OF DIGANTAR’S MAIN PROGRAMMES AND ACTIVITIES: ee Supported Tear PECL rey PAGESxh Samaras ee Seodatsh aN ‘The Alternative Education Programme (AEP) is a flagship programme for Digantar. At present it comprises of three schools in a rural neighbourhood adjacent to Jaipur. This is the oldest programme of Digantar which epito- mizes the philosophy and values of the organization. The history of the Pro- gramme can be traced to the year 1978- 79, when in pursuit of an —alternative” to the current educational system, the ry To-stengthen and eee os eee penser ries by arving at a bere naples eevee es ai problem Eee eee Page lo Cee presses peared pee eve Ce ae first school named Digantar came up in the heart of Jaipur city. The name itself was a reflection of its value and philosophy. During its nm ent stages, the school consisted of 7 children and 2 teachers. The single school which laid the foundation of the programme has now grown into 3 schools with around 20 teachers and more than 500 children (according to PAGE 9Page 10 present statistics). It continues to work in the rural areas of Jaipur, as right from beginning its charter was to cater to the rural population. ‘The programme has undergone many structural and functional changes since its inception. Dur- ing the initial period, that is, year 1989- 90, it was a project on Elementary Education sanctioned by Ministry of Human Resource and Development. During the phase of collaboration, which continued up to 2002, the project was named Alternative Elementary Education Programme (AEEP). In the year 2003-04, collaboration took place between AEP and the social initiative group of ICICI Bank, The collaboration provided reasonable financial stability to the programme. Later in the year 2006, when the schools expanded to the secondary level, the project was renamed as Altemative Education Programme (AEP); the name/title is still con- tinuing. As mentioned earlier, the term —alternative’ encompasses the philosophy and approach which reflects values which are different from conventional organizations and established institutions. These schools are the learning environments where Digantar implements its —alternative’ concepts, developed through an enriching and enlightening journey of more than 30 years. These schools have perpetually provided space to practitioners to leam and simulta- neously enhance theoretical understanding which Digantar has inculcated in all these years. “Schools have a major role to play in ensuring that children are socialized into a culture of self reliance, resourcefulness , peace oriented values and health” Source: Chapter 3; Curricular Areas, School Stages and Assessment; NCF 200 7.1) COMPONENTS OF WORKING FUNCTION OF SCHOOL FOUR MAIN PILLER OF SCHOOL 1. childcen 2. Teacher 3. Curticulum 4. Community 7.1.1) CHILDREN- Children are not segmented into h nous classes Arbitrarily, Groups are formed in the classroom ased on children’s levels of learning; each groupconsists of 28-30 Stu- dents at elementary level and 15-20 at sec~ ‘ondary level Self-leaming and peer! group learning are the basie principles of classroom ‘organization Children learn in an atmosphere of freedom, openness and security marked by total absence of intimidation. Basic rules Iated to classroom diseipline Are defined by the children themselves in a democrat pro- PAGEPage|u cess following discussion with teacherCleaning and beautification of school isa collective responsibility of all mem- bers of schools, 7.1.1.1) STUDENT GENERAL INFORMATION: There are 210 students of 1 to 5 standards. These all students leam together. And basically there is no class stand- ard for them and surely no exam is conducted for them. But the students are selflearner. And there is 2 separate real standard classes are conducted for students of 9 /10# and 11/12, These students ae being examined by the Open bboard, conducted by NIOS. ‘The students up to 5* are being taken by other educational institute. Here in this school No classes are conducted for 6.7.89. 7.1.2) TEACHER Qualities and capabilities of Digantar teachers are consistent with its philosophy. Corollary to that principle the teacher should understand education and its relevance for a democratic society, She/he should believe in democratic and egalitarian value in her/his personal life and social concems. 7.1.3) CURRICULUM Child centric pedagogy has been core of Digantar’s curriculum since inception. The content has universal as well as strong local specific omponent. It is a conceptual map of human understanding with flexibly defined routes to be followed by individual leamers and a set of guiding principles regarding the pedagogy 7.1.4) COMMUNITY ‘The schools belong to the community and reflect its ethos and aspirations. A very close liaison is maintained with community 7.2) LOCATION OF AEP SCHOOLS Son 2000 sta Sehot -Ratwal PAGE7.2.1) DIGANTAR SCHOOL MAP AND LAYOUT Digantar school has a hall where the above seven sections with the cabin of principle and cabin of teacher staf! ‘come, The hall also covers the rooms for students of 10* and 12" classes (open board), und u movie section ‘The movie section is for students upto 5* standard where a good story film was showed. AL the time when we were there the movie was “Stuat Little”. Except this there is a good playing ground after the hall, TThe school have its student up to 210 and about 10 staff with principle, The structure of school, that impart the ere tivity, social activity and basic education in students, is clearly divided into 7 that are named as BADAL SECTION KOMAL SECTION KHUSHBU SECTION MAYUR SECTION KAMAL SECTION BARSAT SECTION MAYANK SECTION DIGANTAR VIDHYALYA LAYOUT ENTRANCE St> PARKING ZONE DIGANTAR VIDHYALYA, PLAYING GROUND PAGE 1a7.3) SCHOOL PROFILE AND STRUCTURE OF SCHOOL ae em “a boise eee \— sme 7 -— =e \a | wee ge | a Profile of Individual Schools Pa Groups Students Gis PAGESPage |i Enrollment of Boys and Girls in AEP Schools 2010 DATABASE on 7 om iow Pee se ae ee ft wwe ee [seme [awe a lol) a | oO a fao| aie [ae [sos | os [a2 [os |..2011 DATABASE 7.4) COORDINATED AEP SCHOOL STRUCTURE Co-ordination structure for the AEP programme 7.5) ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES 7.5.1) ACADEMIC SUPPORT MECHANISM PAGE14© [a5 ‘The students lea with cach other, the curriculum of teaching is managed in such a way that the tactic of learning by students is with a theme of “together School curriculum involves- © Moming assembly © Moming activity © Luncheon © Study classes ‘The Morning assembly involves prayers. And Moming activites involve poem, dancing, singing, playing instru- ‘Afier lunch the students go for study where they go through the books, and learn together. Academie support encompasses developing weekly and daily teaching plans, to recording and overseeing all «administrativeacademic on goings in schools. Sharing and planning meetings are an integral part of academic sup- port and monitoring, For the proper functioning of the project and schools 0 sharing meeting were held at primary, (05 common sharing and 5 for each subject at upper primary level with new sharing pattern, Coordinator meetings regular coordinator meetings were held with the teachers, academic and administrative coordinators every month, Two meeting were held exclusively with the director on academic issues where the whole team, including teachers and other team embers participated. Maha Sabhaa- two maha sabha meetings were held where all personnel related to AEP school participated. 7.52) SETTING LEARNING TARGETS ‘A new format came into place where teachers and other academic support members are planning their work on a weekly basis. Weekly formats are being filled up and revisited atthe end of the week, resulting in better planning, execution, and evaluation of work 7.5.3) A PROGRESS REPORT OF THE STUDENTS, ‘Single report was prepared twice a year. The report is a descriptive one aligning with the summary assessment that Digantar executes. The report includes details of student’s behaviour, personality, interests and academic perfor- ‘mance. The report preparation was finished on due time and was of the desired quality PAGESPage [16 17.5.4) ADMISSION IN NEW SESSION 80 children at primary level, 22 at Upper primary and 14 at secondary level were admitted in July 758) EXTERNAL EXAMINATION 5 children appeared in examination of class 10! and seven for class 12th, Three children have been registered in LOS ‘one for 12 and two for 10*.Resistration was made for twelve and nine children for secondary and Sr. secondary examination respectively 7.6) OTHER ACTIVITIES IN SCHOOL 7.6.1) ACTIVITIES WITH CHILDREN Health Check up Children prepared their own health cards as the practice of regular health checkups exists in sehools at an interval of six month; at this interval children's blood tests and eyesight check-up were carried out. The health cards contained all information related to their health, It was followed by analysis and report making. ‘which was further disseminated and shared with parents. The practice was carried out in an interval of six month (that is, twice a year forall schools, Exhibition , Fair, Celebration of Special Events, Outing ‘Throughout the year, different activities take place which provide children with muchneeded space for them to express themselves. Republic day celebration and exhibition, + Celcbrated jayantis of Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Devaarayan, + Celebrated Subbash Chandra Bose ayant. + Gandhi and Lal Bahadur Jayant Celebrated Swami Vivekanand Jayant + Ambedkar Jayant was celebrated in all Digantar Schools ‘= ‘Tho children extended their fall participation in the celebration and activities such as play, exhibition ‘and painting, = The instances related to Dr, Ambedkar's life were also presented in th celebration * Science fair took place on 28 February: tis fair was appreciated by ll who attended. + Five children and one teacher took par in literature festival organized by Virasat Foundation, + Joint activities took place withthe children of St, Cristopher school Children’s Day was celebrated ~ an exhibition and short drama were presented on Nharoo’s life and aal-divas. "= Art exhibition took place in Bandhyali school, ‘= Participated in Baal Kala Mahotsav (Art exhibition and perform a play at Maharan pratap ‘= sabhagaar) Organized by Bodh shiksha Samiti. = Joint activites with Saint Christopher school UK. PAGE 6"= Joint activities with children from Singapore and MGD school Jaipur: 7.6.2) PLANTATIONS Teachers and children of upper primary and secondary group took part in the activity of plantation at new site. 7.63) PLAC '§ VISITED BY CHILDREN ‘© Children of primary level visited Zoo ‘© Children of upper primary level visit Gath fort planetarium and Jai ‘© Children of secondary level visited Red fort, Taj, Fatchpur Sikri ‘© Children visited Kho adjacent area 7.6.4) BAL PANCHAYAT ‘Second Bal panchayat of this session has been formed following clections in all schools. Bal Panchayat isa practice that has been followed right from the inception of the schools, W's an attempt to reinforce children’s participation in formulation and execution of the rules and norms te be adopted in schools. Digantar strives to accomplish the goal of ensuring democracy at every level, Schools ate the places where an attempt is made to translate this value into implementation, The concept of Bal Panchayat derives off from this philosophy. 7.6.8) PUBLICATION ‘75th and 76 issue of children's monthly magazine Batooni has been published. I's amontbly magazine for the children where children write on multifarious topics of interest. It helps to develop children’s imagina- don, creative thinking, reading abilities and Children's Magazines on display Children are studying in Library ‘Teacher Training Workshop is going onsharing the ideas. It helps to boost confidence for creative writing Apart from Batooni children’s contributions were published in chakmak and Pahal too. 7.6.6) LIBRARY Alibrary has been setup in new Bandiyali School. This resource library has been of great help in boosting children and teachers to develop a reading habit to read books of eclectic variety. For teachers it has been useful to refer different materials for developing teaching leaming materials 7.7) ACTIVITIES WITH TEACHERS. 7.7.1) WORKSHOP AND TRAINING Workshop on basic premises of education Training was held for Digantar teachers dusing first quarter, and it ex- panded up to second quarter as well Topies like interaction and interrelationship of education, human being, and society, school and social structure were discussed in these workshops along with an additional issue ‘of school assessment, The training has helped to develop theoretical understanding on the issues. The work ahead ‘would be carried out as planned, PAGE xy7.7.2) WORKSHOP ON IMPROVING MATHEMATICS TEACHING ‘Since mathematics has remained intimidating for chil- dren, hence effort was made to mitigate this fear and ‘make mathematies a fun thing for children, A workshop was arranged where the efforts for improving mathematics teaching were initiated with the aim to help the children Teara the subject better and to enhance the understanding of the teachers on the subject matter. Following activities were conducted in the process. ‘© Clarifications in the available resource materials. ‘+ How to make the subject easy and interesting for the students ‘+ Preparation of lesson- plans, 7.7.3) SUMMER WORKSHOP FOR TEACHERS Following activities were carried out during the summer workshop in which both teachers and coordination committee was involved: Survey: The communities in the adjoining areas of Digantar run schools were surveyed. The objective of the survey was to assess the present educational status and to find oul the details of out of school children in the age group 5- 14. The survey has been completed and analysis as well as report writing is going on, ‘= Preparation of Soureebook- The NCERT text books from class 1- 5 were studied and source books were prepared. Similarly SCERT textbooks from class 6-8 were studied and source books were prepared. The preparation of TLM of both NCERT and SCERT is still remaining. A two day's teacher's workshop was held in July focused on QEP workshop (25-28th October) > QEP Meeting with ICEE on future course of ation ‘© Support for SSP-Phagi > SSP Phagi team workshop v SSP Phagi Stakeholders meet > SSP Proposal y Udaan ~ Material Development PAGE 2gPage las ‘SUPPORT FOR OTHER ORGANIZATION © DEd material for Chhattisgarh ‘Some of the senior fellow members were fully engaged in the planning and execution of DEd course of DIET Chattisgarh, From curriculum planning to material development, Support to Vikramshila \Vikramshila is a Calcutta based organization which has worked in the area of elementary education for a Tong time, 8.2.4) FOURTH QUARTER ° UPPORT FOR INTERNAL PROGRAMME, + VICERTIFICATE PROGRAMME IN FOUNDATIONS OF EDUCATION (FINAL WORKSHOP) Sessions were organised on following areas a. Teacher Education , Research and Assessment ¢. Issues in Education © COGITATION- A PROGRAMME FOR THE UNIVERSITY RESOURCE CENTRE (URC), AZIM PREMII FOUNDATION- During this quarter —Cogitation’ programme flagged off where TARU (Digantar) started to work for capac ity building of URC team of APF. Four ensembles were built up, namely, Idea of school team, Learning, Teacher Education, and Curriculum, + MEETING WITH RAJIV GANDHI FOUNDATION (RGF) Senior administrative personnel from TARU had a meeting with representative from RGF where discussion ‘was held on prospective partnership between TARU and RGF. Extensive discussion was held on the way ‘TARU works and its administrative/management structure. Discussion ended om a positive note where RGF representative expressed desire for further dialogue with TARU. ‘SUPPORT FOR OTHER ORGANIZATION © ORISSA WORKSHOP TARU team facilitated a workshop organized by ICEE for representatives fiom Orissa Education Dept in Digantar campus. Participants came from different govt, Departments like DIET, SCERT of Orissa Fducation Dept. 8.3) ACHIEVEMENTS Despite a funding crunch aad some staff attrition issues, the year was quite eventful for TARU as the unit facilitated a range of workshops and training sessions for internal programmes as well as other agencies. TARU has very es- sentially maintained its work ethos and objective for which the unit came into existence. With few takers for inten- sive, long-term, research-based work in the area of education TARU, has confronted fund crunch issue. Despite this hurdle, TARU has been able to do substantive work in different areas like curriculum building, teachers’ eapacity building, and policy level intervention, In commensurate with its ideal, TARU’s contribution has to be gauged in terms of its infTuence on greater policy and implementation level, which has been significant in the past year. PAGE asPage [26 9) SHIKSHA VIMARSH Shiksha Vimarsh started its journey in the year 1998, It was conceptualized as a response to ex- is ation (from March 2001 1g dearth in Hindi literary work in education. It is a bi-monthly publ ‘onwards it started to be published twice a month) that renders a much needed niche for having intense dialogue and interaction in Hindi, After the completion of more than a decade, this maga~ zine has been able to cater to specifically north and middle region (Hindi belt) of the country ‘This magazine has very con: educational theory, practice to rich debates pertaining to poli magazine owes its rich epochal journey to eminent scholars, practitioners and well wish- tently been able to pervade a range of rich topical areas from and implementation, The ing readers, It is because of the contributors and readers that this quest has been sustainable and enriching, In this financial year (2010-11), & issues were published 9.1) CIRCULATION & MEMBERSHIP ‘The status of circulation and membership for Shiska Vimarsh during this financial year is given below ‘+ Two special issues were published this year withthe ttle —Sociology of Education: Part 1 & LI° apart from six regular issues. This year 314 new members were is individual membership. Total membership has amongst them 241 are institutional members and rest SS aaa — = ee eee en ee Se re ea SL 2010 DATABASEPage lay 10) THE RESOURCE SUPPORT UNIT (TRSU) ‘The Resource Support Unit (TRSU) is the core support and administrative unit which extends a wide range of administrative support to all activities of Digantar. TRSU’s administration support envisages total logistic support, accounting, finance, purchase - supply and recruit- ‘ment/ appointment process of all workers. TRSU plays a pivotal role in ensuring effective execu- tion of the programmes and projects of Digantar by taking care of all administrative pre- requisites. The Unit also buttresses coordination among the various programmes and pro- jects which are running on and off Digantar campus. The unit's painstaking effort helps to con- solidate and attain the performance targets that all programmes are supposed to achieve. 10.1) CONSTITUENTS OF TRSU Constituents of TRSU ea) prone 10.2) MAJOR WORK DONE BY VARIOUS SUB-UNITS OF TRSU: © Reception ‘Maintaining all the records of the activities at reception. Meticulous data entry work pertaining to personal and official calls in hard and soft version. Overseeing work like photocopy, scan, fax and telephone, + STORE Purchasing and issuing materials related to fixed asset and stationary. CoPhysical verification of the infrastructural ingredient of the organization, CoPurchase and maintenance of new appliances for the organization. PAGE a7Page [28 ‘+ COMPUTER SECTION Computer data entry and updating sofl archive documents such as; organization's magavine, newsletter, address book, identity eards and reports Editing various correspondence and reports from different quarters of the organization + LIBRARY Two staff members are managing entire work of library. 541 new books were purchased in the yeer 2010-11 In total there are 19,977 books in the library out of which 11,856 are children’s books. Other work includes purchase and maintenance of books and Journals and annual physical verification of li- brary books, + ACCOUNTS Preparing and maintaining the accounts book: Ledger, Bank Book, Cash Book, Journal Book and ‘rial Balance Preparing financial and audit reports for different project and program, Dispensing salaries and documenting the necessary details (salary shect ete) related to it. Maintaining and dispensing expenses of various programmes and proj ets ofthe organization. + REPAIR AND MAINTAINANC! : OF CAMPUS Campus maintenance is done by mess, campus caretakers, watchman, gardeners and other supporting staff Providing regular meals (Breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner) to guests and trainees is done by mess staff Receiving guests and helping to make their stay comfortable, Cleaning and maintaining rooms and toilels on campus, Other outside work, such as train reservations, photocopy and works related to the market, 10.3) WORKSHOPS ‘Throughout the year workshops take place on Digantar main campus; apart from internal programmes, workshops “organized by other organizations also take place on campus. The TRSU unit is responsible for rendering all logistic and administrative support for these workshops. It is also supposed to oversee the arrangement of accommodation of the guests/participants of the workshops. Logistics and arrangements forthe following workshopsitrainings/quests were ensured ‘© QEP and Sandarbh Shala Baran, Module preparation workshop -1 ‘© Shiksha Samarthan Phagi- 1 2A ‘Teacher Training - 1+1 ‘© Gujarat SSA Teachers Training -1 ‘© Foundation Course - 04 © QEP Teacher's Trainin, PAGE 28Page lag © Orissa DIET workshop - 1 © Going to School - 1 © Nalanda, Ranchi -1 11) SHIKSHA SAMARTHAN PROJECT ‘The state of Rajasthan is one of the poorest states of the country. While harsh climate is one of the reasons for the tough livelihood condition that people conftont, there are other so- cial attributes which come in the way of development. The attributes are caste division, religion and class dimensions which create a complicated circumstance, which has led to sluggish pace of progress in areas like education, health and livelihood condition. The state has blatant polarisation of wealth amongst different classes. The feudal monarchy of the state still continues to persist and a sharp difference can be noticed in terms of access to wealth, Against that backdrop, the education scenario also presents a grim picture and like overall social circumstances, is characterized by polarity in terms of access and quality. Commensurate with the trend of rampant privatization of country’s education system, private schools are mushrooming all over, albeit with a poor educational ethos and approach. On the other hand, Govt. Schools are getting bogged down with growing malfunction in terms of quality, access, and retention. 11.1) AIMS ‘The aim of this project isto transform government schools, in $ years, into units that provide quality education. In essence, these schools would become the epitome of an —ideal’ school. where teachers arrive on time, ate ‘engaged in teaching with improved methods, have a positive and affectionate relationship with children, the gen- cral environment is positive and most importantly, children’s performance will attain an expected level. School would be a true instrument for transcending lives of children and community. 11.2) PROJECT OBJECTIVES ‘© Work for schoo! quality improvement ‘+ Work in four clusters to develop effective academic support structure = Work with ymmunity for effective involvement in school quality improvement ‘© Project Coverage: rt 11.3) PROJECT STRUCTURE, PAGE 2911.5) MAJOR ACTIVITIES + Assosament work inthe Government school + Discipline a Schoo! + Cleanliness and arrangements at school + Moming Assembly + Exhibitions + Monthly and Weekly Work Plans ‘© Discussion with teachers on Academic issue Page |30 PAGE 30Page [a 11.6) WORK IN CLUSTER TO DEVELOP EFFECTIVE ACADEMIC STRUCTURE + Gathering Information + Library + Preparing TLM 11.7) WORK WITH COMMUNITY Interaction and intervention were done with community on a regular basis. Community meetings took place fon issues related t0 school management, quality education, teachers output and so on. Regular community intervention took place in villages like Dhubaliya dhani kishorpura, hirapura, amarpura, and kangy. 118) WORKSHOP AND TRAINING Workshop 1 PAGE 3Workshop 4 “Tas Packed wortshop Sk Fae Inks moni SSO BOT ‘ola Number of ays - th wortshop espanded fori dys Participants - Govt. schoolteachers Teele ~ Tar embers ‘Yeee — Digan fie pur Workshop 5 "mse Feeiod— workshop took piace Inthe mont ot Sapfewahee OTD) ‘otal Number of ays - the workshop expunded for five days Partcipanss— rory-rinc Govt. schoolteachers Facilitator — Tans membre ‘Vere - Digan office Jaipur Workshop 6 “Time Fesiod— workshop ook place nthe month of Ociober, 2010 “otal Number of ays the workshop cxpundes for six days Participants forty nine Gort. schoolteachers Tacitator — Tart members Venue Magiotice Workshop 7 "Time Period — workshop took plac in the month of Decemer 2010) ‘Total Number of Days the workshop expundes fr thirteen ays Participants shikshx stmarthaks Prcitator — Tar members Vere — Pasi office Workshop 8 “Time Feriod— workshop fook place inthe moni of November 2010, ‘Total Number of Days the workshop wa held for one day "TARU members and representative from Wipro Applying Thousht Paciitatoe - Tar members Vere Phil fice Prstifpents — Shiksha sumnrthak: Govt. Teachers, Staksholdr community epncscntatives (garentsand SDMC member), Govt, stkcholders lie HED. CRC, Ressarse perso, Digartar— pela PAGE 32Page |33 11.9) CHALLENGES, © STAFF RETENTION ‘This year the project came across quite a challenge when in between the number of Shiksha Samarthak staff got dropped to 8. Understandably, this augmented the work pressure, Such fluctuation posed a challenge for meeting the programme plan, Notwithstanding best of effort by stafT members, in some cases ‘the programme fell behind in achieving the objective it set for itself. = DISCIPLINE, ‘Timely attendance of the teachers in school was a recurring issue last year. Even though the problem could be mitigated for quite @ number of teachers, but problem persisted for another group. When the issue was dis- ‘cussed with them it was found that they all come from Jaipur in the local bus. This was a hurdle which could not be ameliorated; for few teachers, nevertheless, Who were reported to have good political rapport, SSP staff members’ intervention could not bring much solution, + CLEANLINESS AND ARRANGEMENTS AT SCHOOL In some ofthe schools maintenance of cleanliness is stil an issue. The condition of toilets is pathetic in these schools; no doors, highly unclean and unihygienic condition are few of the common feature. 11.10) ACHIEVEMENTS ‘© Liaison with Communit + Advocacy with Govt official ‘+ Documentation and record maintenance ‘+ School environment improvement. 12) QUALITY EDUCATION PROGRAMME, BARAN The last two decades were a period of vociferous change when lots of policies, practice have come into place pertaining to access, retention of children in education system. Govt. as well as different civil society organizations have played pivotal role in ensuring access as well as quality education for sections of population who have —missed the bus’. As- pect of quality has taken centre stage in action and debate of late. Some of the aspirations were formalized with the advent of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, such as: all children should be in schools; all children should complete five years of primary schooling; elementary education is PAGE 33,Page |34 of satisfactory quality with emphasis on education for life and bridge all gender and social cate- gory gaps. The programme has delineated quality issues and envisages improved pedagogy and learning environment, Access, enrolment, retention, and quality have emerged as the key concerns not only for all major programmes under SSA in Rajasthan, but also in other parts of India as well. ‘The Quality Education Programme, Baran was conceptualized and initiated in September 2006 to address the issue of quality education in government schools of Baran district, The programme concluded in the month of January , 2011 after finishing a five year tenure successfully. ‘This programme was a collaborative initiative of Government of Rajasthan, Digantar, Vidya Bhawan Society and the Social Initiative group of ICICI Bank. The programme aims to support the ef forts being made for the universalization of elementary education in Baran district through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, 12.1) PROJECT OBJECTIVES ‘© Strengthening the DIET and working with the SSA to provide adequate academic support to the government school teachers in the whole district. ‘© Strengthening the BRCs and CRCs for sustainable academic support and supervision. ‘© Supporting selected CRCs to develop Pacesetter’ schools. Objectives ary See ‘THREE FOLD OBIECTIVE- PAGE 34Page |35 12.2) PROGRAM STRUCTURE er ra Cred Prey Cd LER bry PAGE35[36 12.3) MAJOR ACTIVITIES © Teacher Training Camp ‘+ Preparation of Training Package ‘+ Preparation of Data Base 12.4) WORKSHOP, ‘+ MTs (Master Trainers) selection and Workshop © Extended QIU Workshop 12.5) WORKING WITH PACE SETTER SCHOOL ‘The regular activites of providing assistance to the pace setter schools such as teaching, helping teechers to prepare the plans, and interaction with the community was carried out till 20th April. During this period, assessment formats for 18 pace setter schools were prepared and worked out with the children. Henceforth the trainings, eam was engaged in 12.6) CHALLENGES ‘Some of the predicaments confronted while implementing the programme includeinadequate number of resource persons, BRCFs and CRCFs. Transfer of Govt officials and different staff members of Govt functionaries also posed difficulty forthe programme since this meant building rapport with them all over again 12.7) PROGRAMME ACHIEVEMENT Review Meeting with Different Stakeholders- Funding parter agency ICI the month of August 2011. They also observed the activities in two teachers’ training camps, A review meeting of the programme was organised with the resource persons (MTs), teachers and block education officers. Project coor- dinator as well as members from RSA also participated in the meeting team visited 3 schools and interacted with the community members in these schools in 13) SANDARBH SHALA PROJECT Notwithstanding different Govt schemes and policy a large section of tribal population is still reel- ing under abject poverty, illiteracy and coupled with that comes ignominy. No amount of inter- vention has been able to transform the life of the poorest of the poor tribal populations. This distress has led to such marginalization that mainstream society has become oblivious of their plight. As census reflects, states with large number of tribals like Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh have low tribal literacy rates. As many as 174 districts (out of 418 districts in the country in 1991) have ST literacy rate well below the national average of 29.6%, Baran district is one of them. As far as education is concerned, a majority of Scheduled Tribe (ST) children who enrol in class I drop out within a few years of entering school. The official dropout rate of tribal children from school in 1988-89, was as high as 78 per cent between classes I and VIII. It’s an alarming rate of drop out of school children. PAGE 36Page |37 13.1) OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ‘© To develop an appropriate and efficacious learning package (theory and practice both) for educating tribal children by arriving at a better and workable understanding of the key issues and problems through ongoing action research in areas such as language, teacher attitude, school organization, curriculum and pedagogy. ‘+ Adopting 40 government schools where intervention would be geared towards pedagogic improvement based on Digantar's innovative educational practices and leaning of Resource Schools mentioned above, enriched and validated by action research. 13.2) MAJOR ACTIVITIES ‘© Working with Sandarbhshala School ‘© Working with Government School '* Academic Intervention in Sandarbh Shala & Government School > WORK BOOK ACTIVITY- Work book development work got a boom right from the beginning ofthe year. These workbooks were field tested for assessing children’s level: especially the newly admitted ones (although pre- viously enrolled children we work on this). e also made to + COMMUNITY INTERV NTION » spMc > Community Meeting > Mother Daughter Meet > Regular Home visi > Activity Centre 13.3) WORKSHOP. ‘© Workshop with government teacher ‘+ Workshop for package preparation ‘+ Package Sharing and Capacity Building Workshop 13.4) PROJECT ACHIEVEMENTS ‘© Data Base Development = Leaming. PAGE 37Page [38 + Positive Outcome for Govt school Intervention + Academic Output: Pace of learning of children has increased considerably ‘+ Disciplinarian Output * Community school relationship 14) EARLY LITERACY RESEARCH PROJECT (ELRP) By dominant understanding, language is touted to be a tool of communication. it would perhaps not be an exaggeration if we depict language is synonymous with whole human identity, as it shapes our thought processes and our understanding of the surrounding environment, Language learning is accelerated, instrumented by the socio cultural surrounding. It is a complex process where the child has to leam literacy skill through a planned, conscious process. Formal instruction is definitely an essential prerequisite for the child to grasp skills like reading and writing. A lot of actors are embedded in the learning of this skill; namely proper interesting instruction, print rich environment, access to print materials, and last but not the least a very positive outlook of teacher/facilitator towards the learner and her/his linguistic background. All the factors get far more crucial when the learner hails from a rural or semi-urban underprivi- leged socio economic background, where a conducive environment that enables the child to grasp literary skills is absent, Inaccessibility to print material, illiterate or semi literate parents, gap between home language and school language, all these factors impede a child’s ability to pick up reading and writing skills 14.1) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT This was a qualitative research project which aimed to study Hindi Teaching in Indian government primary schools. The project aimed to research, through a case study of Rajasthan, how pedagogical practices in literacy are shaped by- + Teachers" underlying theories of early year’s literacy teaching and learning; © Their constructs of leamers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds; ‘© The influences of other factors such as school size, head teacher views and so on. 14.2) RESEARCH QUESTION GUIDING THE PROJECT ‘Teacher's role becomes very crucial in an environment where he/she i the sole bearer ofthe knowledge which is to be delivered in the classrooms, and the children have rarest of possibility to find support to confirm that knowledge outside of school 14.3) OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH. © To document early years literacy and language learning practices in Standard 1, 2 and 5 of select primary schools, thus providing a detailed mapping of classroom language practices that do not so far exist. + To identify, in order to understand factors that guide their classroom practices: PAGE 38Page [39 > Teachers’ perceptions of textbooks and supporting material, > Teachers’ own theories of language teachinglearing, > Teachers’ perceptions ofthe role of formal education in the life and future prospects of children in these classrooms. > To draw out from the empirical and theoretical work the implications for developing more effective classroom practices, including the dissemination of —good practices’; > To organize for relevant stakeholders a workshop that draws on research findings to identify steps necessary to impact teacher education, textbook writing, ete 14.4) MAJOR ACTIVITIES ‘PROJECT EXTENSION ‘The project span was originally 2008 to March 2010, The project was extended till June 2010 for some perti- ‘nent reasons, The programmatic intervention concluded within stipulated time: nevertheless, due to some pre- requisites related to reporting process the project wound up in January 2011, ‘FINAL REPORT SUBMISSION ‘The final report submitted by ELRP team members in the month of June was not very satisfactory since it did not meet the project objective that was delineated in the proposal. Consequently, some fol- Jow up activities scheduled for the July-September quarter related to sharing information with government twachers and dissemination had to be postponed > WAY TO LOOK FORWARD “The learning emanated from the project is being consolidated into conceptualising and writing of project Proposal with similar objective which can bring in new dimension to such kind of venture for transcending lives of marginalized population relegated into oblivion by mainstream society 15) LIST OF DIGANTAR PUBLICATIONS AND MATERIALS. A. PUBLICATIONS + Package for Primary SchoolsAarambhik Gutividhiyan © Hastkarya, ‘+ Matra Card Set, Sabd Card Set, Chitra Card Set. © Hindi - Pothi 1-4 + Hindi - Bhasha Vikas Shrinkhala 1-12, Shiksha ki Pustak Bhasha ‘© Mathematics ~ Ganit Bodh 1-15. ‘© Bovironmental Studies — Apne Aas Paas 1-5; Hum Sab; Tab, Ab aur Aage: Jangal Ki Sabha. ‘© Shiksha Vimarsh— A Bimonthly Magazine. ‘© Shiksha aur Samajh, by Rohit Dhankar, Aadhar Prakashan, Panchkula, Haryana, PAGE 39Page |40 ‘© Loktantra, Shiksha aur Viveksheelta, Ed, by Rohit Daankar, Aadbar Prakashan, Panchkula, © Haryana, ‘© Shiksha ke Sandarbh aur Vikalp, Ed. By Rohit Dhankar and Rajaram Bhadu, Aadhar + Prakashan, Panchkula, Haryana, B. TRAINING MATERIAL/PROGRAMME ‘© Prathmik Shikshak Prashikshan ki Rooprekha, Shiksha aur Samgjh, ‘© Shikshakram — Pratham Praroop. ‘+ Patyavekshak Prashikshan Sandharbh Sandarshika (Praroop). ‘© Shikshak Prashikshan Sandarbh Sandarshika (Praroop). ‘+ Theoretical Basis of Altemative Elementary Education, Language Teaching at Digantar. ‘+ Report of the Workshop on Theory and Practice in Education, December, 2003, * Pehchanshala Mahila Shikshak Prashikshan, December 2002. ‘© Samudaayik Sehyog Karyakram, A Report of Community Support in Pelchan, ‘© Rajkiya Prathmik Vidyalaya Shikshak Sahyog Karyakram - A Report of Academic Support to Primary Schools. ‘© Pehchanshala Shaikshik Star Aaklan evam Vishleshan - A Report of Assessment and Analysis of Academie Levels of Girls in Pebchanshalas ‘© Theory & Practice in Primary Education- 2008. ‘© Vikas Kram evam Gatividiya- For the children of 0-5 years © Shikshakarm- Kala, ‘+ Pustkelaya Abhivyakti Kshamts Vikas Karyashala - A Report. C. REPORTS OF RESEARCH STUDIES. ‘© Activity Based Teaching in Kerala and its Achievements ~ A Study of Pedagogical interventions in DPEP For the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India ‘© Creating Possibilities ~ A Study of Balika Shivirs for URMUL Seemant Samiti, Bajju ‘+ Not Much fo Choose Between—A Look at the Quality of Schools in Rural Rajasthan, A Study Commissioned by CARE, India and Digantar. ‘© Primary Education in the Tonk District of Rajasthan- A Report from Digantar. PAGE go.Page |a ‘A Base Paper on Educational Change in Last Decade in Rajasthan. 16) TALK WITH DIRECTOR TALK ABOUT HISTORY: Anokhi pvt Ltd, -They needed school for ther children, they went all across india, and once Reena Dutta met hhim and ask him to start Digantar foundation for all and for their children, thus the inital fund support came. InC scheme they had their land where school was started for 10yts.The school take only deprived children.No books in schoo! is used only worksheet is used. Hard work through teachers is done through various resources of training type. ‘Afier 10 yrs, they realised that ther is need of more education in villages where backward classes are living, ‘The Digantar take progects adn forwarded through ministry of Human Development and they started funding it Demand of land grown up when more student came, Thus soon interest towards the education of deprived student rose up, But boys than girls gave much priority, o: en challange of bringing girls to education is still existing in front of Institution, Conporate bussiness world give support upto 1-2% of their revenue under SCR (social corporate responsibil itites.) In list of Donstor ICICI, Ratan Tata ltd, ete, come. With time the Digantar is facing Finanical erises and under this situation teachers are working half of their prescribed salary. ‘They also told the real sense of NAME DIGANTAR= Dik (direction)+Antar(change) hhange in direction #TALKs OF FUND Projects works upto Iyrs. currently Digantar is working and managing fund itself, not by any support under SCR. 31March 2014 - Ajim Premji FOUNDATION funded. 17) MANAGEMENT 3-4 meeting is done by board of executive members. Currently REENA DAS is Head of Management. #MEMBER OF SHIKSHA VIMARSH JOURNAL- 1. Mr. VishawmbarPage la 2. Mr. Yogendra 3. Mr. Kuldeep 4, Ms Vandana 18) CONCLUSION ‘The Digantar Shiksha Evam Khelkud Samiti is a very hard working NGO that is going for chil- dren and people of area who are still deprive in the 21th century. As the financial problem which isa general problem to all Institute, here in the same manner is a barrier to this NGO to achieve its goal. The activity, curriculum, project planning with team work, collaboration of teachers, and interest of children towards education is a base for Digantar's stillness. REFERENCES: © www.digantar.org © Annual report of Digantar 2010-11 © Annual report of Digantar 2011-12 + Annual report of Digantar 2012-13 © Annual report of Digantar 2013-14 © www.facebook.com/digantarvidhyaly Notes prepared while visit. PAGE 4a