Community-based Community-based Education at Education at Rishi ValleyRishi Valley

Full Economic Citizenship

Roundtable on Innovations in Education

RISHI VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (RIVER)

KRISHNAMURTI FOUNDATION INDIA

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Why is the system failing?Why is the system failing?

• Centralised curriculum

• Frustrated teacher

• Uninteresting classrooms

• Community losing faith

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Child in the driver’s seatChild in the driver’s seat

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Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures

Community involvement - A school free of fear

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Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures

Community involvement - A school free of fear

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Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures

Community involvement - A school free of fear

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Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures

Community involvement - A school free of fear

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Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures

Community involvement - A school free of fear

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Learning LadderLearning Ladder

• Sense of achievement

• Self paced learning

• Self driven learner

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Space and time managementSpace and time management

• Most rural schools –multigrade by default

• RIVER model – multigrade / multilevel by design

• dynamic grouping

• Grade, gender and ability – not the criteria

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Community OwnershipCommunity Ownership

• Community curriculum– Mothers’ stories– Traditional folk arts

• Mothers’ committees– Monitoring children’s

progress

– Organising mid-day meals

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Enriching village commonsEnriching village commons

• Barren wastelands converted into green public spaces

• Used variously for herbal gardens, water harvesting, solar energy

• Provides for fuel and fodder needs

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Cost effective modelCost effective model

• Design– single-room, single-teacher

• Teaching - learning materials– “School-in-a-box”

• Cost of building and establishment – Rs.1,50,000

• Cost of running – Rs.15,000

per month

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16 to thousands of schools16 to thousands of schools

HOWHOW??

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The first challengeThe first challenge

Problem

• Backward region

• Mainstreaming girl child labourers

Strategy

• Creating resource group

• Setting up 200 learning centres

Achievement

• 96.8% of the girls achieved minimum levels of learning

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Challenges in the formal sectorChallenges in the formal sector

Problem

• Cynicism of teachers

• Apathy of bureaucracy

• Resistance from the textbook lobby

Strategies

• Designer’s workshops

• Setting up 36 model schools

• On-the-job support

Achievement

• Scaling up in phases – 36 to 280 to 10’000 schools

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Reaching out to remote Reaching out to remote socio-linguistic minoritiessocio-linguistic minorities

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Regions in India practicing theRegions in India practicing the RIVER model RIVER model

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Reaching other developing countriesReaching other developing countries

• RIVER- Ethiopia Collaboration

• Several potential partnerships-Peru, Pakistan,China

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Replicating strategy Replicating strategy moving in partnershipsmoving in partnerships

• “Trans-creation” of materials

• Setting up model schools

• Scaling up in phases

• Putting in place decentralised support structures

• Transparent evaluation mechanisms

• Creating a critical mass of stakeholders

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Capacity buildingCapacity building

• Range of training programmes

• Hands-on training

• On-the-job support and monitoring

• Comprehensive training materials – teachers’ manuals, trainers’ modules, training films

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Global Development Network awardGlobal Development Network award“Most innovate development project ”“Most innovate development project ”

• GDN criteria– Creativity/innovativeness

– Social impact

– Cost performance

– Replicability

– Capacity building

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VISIONVISION

• Building regional resource groups

• Consolidate research base through action research

• Linkage with Universities-Metz, Regensburg, Harvard & London

• Creating a network of networks

24InnovationInnovation

• Putting the child in the driver’s seat

• Involving teacher and community in creating local-specific curriculum

• Designing dynamic space and time management for schools

• Making school as a community resource centre

RecapRecap

25Social impactSocial impact

• Joyful learning leading to negligible dropout rates

• Significant decrease in child labour in the region

• Enrichment of village commons

• Improvement in quality of life of the community

RecapRecap

26Cost performanceCost performance

• Sustainable design

– single room, single teacher

• Teaching learning material– comprehensive package for the whole school

• Rs.1,50,000 to set up a school

• Rs.15,000 a month to run the school

RecapRecap

27Capacity buildingCapacity building

• Experiential training

• On-the-job support and monitoring

• Comprehensive training materials

RecapRecap

28ReplicabilityReplicability

• From partnership to ownership

• “Trans-creation” of materials

• Setting up model schools

• Scaling up in phases

• Creating a critical mass

RecapRecap

29VisionVision

• Joyful childhood - creative teachers - strong networks

• Preserve the self-sustaining, self-replicating, self-evolving nature of the RIVER model

RecapRecap

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Thank you for your attentionThank you for your attention