[Reader-list] Ekal Vidyalaya - A people's movement

[Pawan Durani]

Does it ? Pls share ...

On Mon, Apr 19, 2010 at 2:28 PM, Kshmendra Kaul <kshmendra2005 at yahoo.com>wrote:

> Dear Pawan
>
> Howsoever sincere, well thought out and brilliant the effort might be, if
> it is rooted in stressing upon the precepts of or inspiration from just one
> religion then it is doomed to not gaining universal acceptance but instead
> creating suspicions and resentment.
>
> Education should have nothing to do with religion, whicever religion it
> might be.
>
> Kshmendra
>
> --- On *Mon, 4/19/10, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>* wrote:
>
>
> From: Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>
> Subject: [Reader-list] Ekal Vidyalaya - A people's movement
> To: "reader-list" <reader-list at sarai.net>
> Date: Monday, April 19, 2010, 2:16 PM
>
> Came across this noble mission ; the work seems amazing . More and
> more concepts like these are needed to help the tribals and the rural
> people where education hasn't reached yet.
>
>
> *****************************************************************************************************************************************************
> http://ekalindia.org/
>
> Vision
>
> To banish illiteracy from the face of tribal India by providing free,
> non-formal education through a People-Movement.
>
>
> Mission
>
> Literate India
> While it is making giant advances in software, space, and nuclear
> power, India is paradoxically still struggling with questions of basic
> literacy for a large segment of its population. Upon independence,
> India's literacy rate was a staggering 11 percent. Since then, we have
> made tremendous advances in educating our people. Still, more than six
> decades after independence, 65.4% India is still illiterate. Even
> worse off is the position of tribal India, which has a literacy rate
> below 30 percent.
>
> The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from
> rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement
> of over 26,719 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers, 22
> field organizations (scattered in 22 Indian states), and 8 support
> agencies as on January 2009. With this tremendous human force, the
> Ekal Vidyalaya movement strives to create a network of non-formal
> schools that will educate and empower children in rural and tribal
> India.
>
> The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable trust that initiates,
> supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as
> Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of
> numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now
> become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the
> country.
>
> The Paradox
> While Indians have succeeded in flexing their intellectual prowess and
> in establishing entrepreneurship throughout the world, over a third of
> India's population is illiterate. Tribal villagers who live in remote
> areas away from major cities are the worst affected. Often unreachable
> by road and untouched by electricity, the tribal population is often
> neglected by agencies of development. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation,
> therefore, has focused its primary education programs on tribals and
> other underprivileged communities in rural India.
>
> Beyond Literacy
> Ekal Vidyalaya goes beyond mere literacy. Apart from its goal of
> achieving the national standards of Minimum Level of Learning (MLL)
> for its students, Ekal Vidyalaya also seeks to empower the village
> community for its own self-development. Ekal Vidyalaya solicits
> complete involvement of the local community and aims at making the
> school self-reliant in a period of five to seven years.
>
> The donors, supporters and workers of Ekal Vidyalaya are motivated by
> a commitment to educate our illiterate brothers and sisters. Their
> unflinching dedication to serve their motherland is the key to our
> success.
>
> History
>
> Although the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation was registered as charitable
> trust in 1999, the concept has been in practice and refined over
> decades.
>
> Foundation Laid by Vivekananda
> In 1986, inspired by the efforts of the early Vivekananda workers, a
> group of young educationists began work with the primitive tribes in
> the dense forests of Jharkhand. Notable amongst them were Late Dr.
> Rakesh Popli (a USA-returned nuclear scientist) and his wife Rama
> Popli (a child education expert). They refined the concept of the
> 'one-teacher school' amongst the tribes of Gumla (125 km away from
> Ranchi (Jharkhand), Chhatisgarh. Two years later, Shri Madan Lalji
> Agarwal established similar schools in 60 villages near Dhanbad.
>
> Impact of the Jharkhand experiment
> By 1995-1996 there were 1200 schools being run in Jharkhand.
> Jharkhand's experiment with the one-teacher,en emiment industrialist
> one-school non formal education concept was extraordinary. Overall
> literacy rates in Jharkand doubled; the literacy rate soared from
> approximately 30 to 60 percent, with youth literacy surpassing those
> numbers. Furthermore, during the same time frame, health workers
> noticed a sharp decline in diseases caused by non-hygienic practices,
> witchcraft, and alcoholism. Inspired by the success of the Jharkand
> experiment, organizations around the country adopted the concept. Many
> organizations including Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and Friends of Tribal
> Society (FTS) have been the frontrunners in propagating this cause and
> have brought education to the doorsteps of many forgotten children.
>
> Spreading of the Movement
> In last decade, organizations from all over the country have joined
> the Ekal Vidyalaya movement. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India
> serves as the umbrella organization for various NGOs that run
> one-teacher schools in their respective areas.
>
> In the year 2000-2001, EVFI became established in New Delhi. From
> December of 2001, a CEO was appointed to look after the trust's
> activities. In January of 2001, the EVFI international fundraising arm
> was begun. One month later, the FCRA granted this arm the right to
> receive foreign contributions.
>
> The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India and America are working
> earnestly, hand-in-hand, to help raise the funds necessary to build
> 100,000 non-formal schools across the tribal belt by the year 2011.
>
> The Concept: A People's Movement
>
> Participation at All Levels
> At every level, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement seeks the participation of
> local people. Ekal Vidyalaya involves the village folk in the creation
> of the school, the selection of the teacher, and the adaptation of the
> curriculum and schedule. Ekal also recruits local people to coordinate
> training and other project-related issues at every level - the
> subcluster (10 school unit), cluster (30 school unit), subarea (90
> school unit) and area (270 school unit). The involvement at every
> level is based on a commitment to education and an eagerness to help
> advance their own community. The sense of community drives the
> movement even at the national and global level. We urge you to join
> the movement because this is your India - this is your community.
>
> Villagers' Own School
> The village plays a significant role in the Ekal Vidyalaya process.
> First, villagers are surveyed to gauge their interest in non-formal
> education. Where there is sufficient interest, villagers are
> encouraged to form a committee to oversee the school. The committee
> nominates two potential teachers. With Ekal Vidyalaya Team and the
> selected teacher, the village committee helps determine the location
> and timings. The committee is also responsible for generating interest
> in the educational process and in addressing any issues that may arise
> during the school year.
>
> Second, villagers contribute to the Ekal Vidyalaya in kind. From the
> beginning, Ekal Vidyalaya encourages village involvement and prepares
> them to be wholly self-sufficient in 5 to 7 years. (See self-reliance
> chart) Though initially, the villager's financial contributions are
> often meager, their contribution has a tremendous effect on their
> involvement and on the long-term sustainability of the Ekal Vidyalaya.
>
> The Best Guarantee
> The best guarantee of Ekal Vidyalaya's success is the involvement and
> participation of the villagers. Before it selects a village, Empowered
> Committee ensures that the village has sufficient interest in the
> process. The Ekal Vidyalaya belongs to the village; thus, village
> involvement is important to the Ekal Vidyalaya's development. In
> addition, a group of dedicated full-time workers help maintain the
> schools' regularity and consistency in the level of education.
> Furthermore, prominent urban families serve as 'caretaker families.'
> They regularly visit the schools and interact with the villagers.
> Community involvement and participation thus proves to guarantee in
> Ekal Vidyalaya's success.
>
> Why An Ekal School
>
> On the Children's Terms
> For many rural and tribal children, a formal education is unattractive
> because: (a) they must travel great distances to attend school; (b)
> school hours interfere with the children's family responsibilities;
> (c) the children do not have the funds for uniforms and books; (d)
> neither the teachers nor the curriculum give due consideration to
> their needs and life experience. Though the government has implemented
> many schemes to educate rural and tribal children, their literacy rate
> remains staggeringly low.
>
> In contrast, Ekal Vidyalaya has designed a non-formal education
> program customized to meet the needs of rural and tribal children.
> First, the children are taught in their native language (and then in
> either the state or national language). Second, Ekal Vidyalaya classes
> are scheduled to meet the needs of the village children and are often
> adapted depending on the season and harvest schedule. Third, the
> school curriculum is tailored to teach the children basic literacy and
> life skills to help them develop self-confidence and succeed in rural
> occupations or pursue a higher education if they choose.
>
> One of the strengths of Ekal Vidyalaya's non-formal education program
> is that it can be run on the children's terms. The Ekal Vidyalaya
> takes into consideration their schedule, their experience, their
> needs, their dreams. These children are the future. . . that is why it
> is important to take education to their doorstep and ignite their
> minds.
>
> Friendly Teacher, Local Curriculum
> Conventional subjects such as history, geography, science, and
> literature have little value in the lives of many rural and tribal
> children. They struggle to make ends meet in an agrarian economy.
> Often, they speak a local dialect far removed from the state or
> national language. To kindle an interest in education and to give due
> deference to their local customs and traditions, Ekal Vidyalaya
> commences with instruction in the local dialect. In addition, the Ekal
> Vidyalaya teacher is a friendly face familiar with the village
> children, traditions and customs. The teacher generally plays the role
> of an elder brother or sister. He or she plays, sings, educates, and
> empowers his or her children through non-formal education. The influx
> of new ideas filtered through familiar channels helps make learning
> dynamic and fun.
>
> Emphasis on Quality
> For Ekal Vidyalaya, education is more than book learning. Education is
> the assimilation of life-building, man-making, character-building
> ideas. To instill those principles requires skills and dedication.
> Ekal Vidyalaya takes great care in selecting and training its teachers
> to provide the best quality education possible.
>
> Ekal Vidyalaya recruits teachers from local villages based on
> nominations from the village committee. Teachers must have the
> leadership inclination and be generally as knowledgeable as at least
> an eighth grader and a service mentality. Ekal Vidyalaya interviews
> each candidate to evaluate his or her interest and dedication to the
> community. Once selected, Ekal Vidyalaya indoctrinates the teachers
> with Ekal's unique holistic approach to education. Teachers undergo
> vigorous training to qualify them to run Ekal Vidyalaya schools. (See
> Teacher's Preparation). Also, supervisors and trainers regularly visit
> the schools to help enhance the quality of teaching. Lastly,
> supervised annual exams provide further reassurance that the school
> meets quality standards.
>
> The Concept: Swami Vivekananda on EV
>
>
> Education
>
> Culture
>
> Poor masses
>
> Resources
>
> India
>
> Life Mission
> A. Education
>
> Q. 1- What is non-formal education?
>
> Well then, my plans are, therefore, to reach these masses of India.
> Suppose you start schools all over India for the poor, still you
> cannot educate them. How can you? The boy of four years would better
> go to the plough or to work, than to your school. He cannot go to your
> school. It is impossible. Self - preservation is the first instinct.
> But if the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed can come to
> the mountain. Why should not education go from door to door, say I. If
> a ploughman's boy cannot come to education, why not meet him at the
> plough, at the factory, just wherever he is? Go along with him, like
> his shadow. But there are these hundreds and thousands of monks,
> educating the people on the spiritual plane; why not let these men do
> the same work on the intellectual plane? Why should they not talk to
> the masses a little about history -- about many things? The ears are
> the best educators. The best principles in our lives were those which
> we heard from our mothers through our ears. Books came much later.
> Book - learning is nothing. Through the ears we get the best formative
> principles. Then, as they get more and more interested, they may come
> to your books too. First, let it roll on and on -- that is my idea. (
> volume 8 page 88 & 89...my life and my mission)
>
> Q. 2- What is the relevance of non-formal schools?
>
> The great difficulty in the way of educating the poor is this.
> Supposing even your Highness opens a free school in every village,
> still it would do no good, for the poor India is such, that the poor
> boys would rather go to help their fathers in the fields, or otherwise
> try to make a living, than come to the school. Now if the mountain
> does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the
> poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him. Volume 4
> [ Page : 363] OUR DUTY TO THE MASSES
>
> Q. 3- What should be the syllabus of Ekal Vidyalaya?
>
> Those of you who have read Herbert Spencer remember what he calls the
> "monastery system" of education that was tried in Europe and which in
> some parts proved a success; that is, there is one schoolmaster, whom
> the village keeps. These primary schools are very rudimentary, because
> our methods are so simple. Each boy brings a little mat; and his
> paper, to begin with, is palm leaves. Palm leaves first, paper is too
> costly. Each boy spreads his little mat and sits upon it, brings out
> his inkstand and his books and begins to write. A little arithmetic,
> some Sanskrit grammar, a little of language and accounts -- these are
> taught in the primary school volume 8 (page : women of India )
>
> Q. 4- What is the role of a teacher in Ekal Vidyalaya?
>
> My idea of education is personal contact with the teacher -- gurugriha
> - vasa. Without the personal life of a teacher there would be no
> education. Take your Universities. What have they done during the
> fifty years of their existence? They have not produced one original
> man. They are merely an examining body Volume 5 [ Page : 224 ] THE
> MISSIONARY WORK OF THE FIRST HINDU SANNYASIN TO THE WEST AND HIS PLAN
> OF REGENERATION OF INDIA
>
> Q. 5- What should be the format of education to these poor people?
>
> Suppose some disinterested Sannyasins, bent on doing good to others,
> go from village to village, disseminating education and seeking in
> various ways to better the condition of all down to the Chandala,
> through oral teaching, and by means of maps, cameras, globes, and such
> other accessories - can't that bring forth good in time? All these
> plans I cannot write out in this short letter. The long and the short
> of it is - if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go
> to the mountain. The poor are too poor to come to schools and
> Pathashalas, and they will gain nothing by reading poetry and all that
> sort of thing. We, as a nation, have lost our individuality, and that
> is the cause of all mischief in India. We have to give back to the
> nation its lost individuality and raise the masses. The Hindu, the
> Mohammedan, the Christian, all have trampled them underfoot. Again the
> force to raise them must come from inside, that is, from the orthodox
> Hindus. In every country the evils exist not with, but against,
> religion. Religion therefore is not to blame, but men. Volume 6 [ Page
> : 255 ] LETTERS
>
> Q. 6- What do you mean by empowerment through education?
>
> Education, education, and education alone! Travelling through many
> cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of
> even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our
> own poor people, and I used to shed tears. What made the difference?
> Education was the answer I got. Through education comes faith in one's
> own Self, and through faith in one's own Self the inherent Brahman is
> waking up in them, while the Brahman in us is gradually becoming
> dormant. Volume 4 [ Page : 482 ] THE EDUCATION THAT INDIA NEEDS
>
> Q. 7- What is the defect of present education system?
>
> I studied hard for twelve years and became a graduate of Calcutta
> University; now I can scarcely make $5.00 a month in my country. Would
> you believe it? It is actually a fact. So these educational
> institutions of foreigners are simply to get a lot of useful,
> practical slaves for a little money -- to turn out a host of clerks,
> postmasters, telegraph operators, and so on. (volume 8 women of India)
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