The Lokshala

it’s 9:30 am, and a Shaishav staff member is flying down the streets of the Kumbarwada slum on their bike as I grab onto the seat behind them.

We were on our way to catch the second half of a Lokshala session.  Lokshala is an educational initiative by Shaishav meant to track the progress of non-school going children and integrate them back into the public school system.

There many theories about what affects access to quality education. I believe three aspects dictate the quality of education: money, time and willpower.

Money

Picture for representation only. Source: Pixabay

Money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy a good education, arguably the surest way to a good life. The Right to Education Act of 2010 was meant to equalize educational access.  However, public education infrastructure has not caught up to the number of children being enrolled, resulting in overcrowding and children being pushed out from lack of attention.

Indian parents often supplement their children’s education with after-school tuition. But with no method to compare the quality of private tutoring in slums, parents depend on hearsay and their financial constraints when choosing a school.

Although the RTE act has passed, Shaishav saw that public schools would need a lot more support before education was equalized for all children.  In the meantime, some intervention would be needed to curb the private tuition market in slums.

Thus, the idea of Lokshala, a community education centre which prepares children of all levels for reentry into formal education was born.

Other than a small fee, which is at most Rs 100 and meant as a symbolic investment from the parents as a commitment to their children’s education, financial barriers are removed at Lokshala.

For those who can’t pay, even the entry fee is waived.  Every child is given the most innovative educational methods possible, developed by the Shaishav team with past Fellows, NGOs and local educational stakeholders assisting as well.

Through the hard work of Shaishav’s facilitators and local community mobilizers, parents were slowly convinced that an education which cost less could, in fact, be of better quality and that the loss of their child’s wages would be worth it in the long run.

The Lokshala I am visiting is held in a room within a private home.  The medium sized space is adorned with colourful posters explaining the alphabet, pictures of Indian heroes and the crafts from past classes.

The utter joy of the children’s faces as they join the Lokshala teacher in a learning rhyme makes it hard to imagine an environment that could be the exact opposite.

Shaishav caseworkers recount children avoiding the bathroom for fear of losing their place in a crowded classroom or being subject to corporal punishment while attending private tuition within slums.

Time

Lokshala Session. Photo Credit: Adrian Fisk.

Time is an interesting concept. It can signify a child’s age or the amount of time they have in a day to devote to learning. In order to circumvent the problem of overcrowding, public schools hold four to five hour morning sessions for boys and a four hour afternoon sessions for girls, filling the 45-hour workweek required of teachers.

Lokshala supplements these lessons by holding morning sessions and afternoon sessions for children to attend before or after their formal educational classes.  This type of schedule also makes it flexible for children who are still unable to pursue a full-time education due to labour or familial pressures.

Watching how Lokshala utilizes this precious time is inspiring.

If we each had all the time in the world, we could learn concepts as equally as the next person. Shaishav recognises that how long each child takes to master a concept is unique to them, and a longer learning time does not mean the child is hopeless.

Children are split into groups according to their learning levels, not age, and patiently learn at the pace of their peers.  It is partly because Lokshala teachers are skilled at managing time and juggling several groups of students that children keep coming back.

The overwhelming sentiment was that the spirit of childhood should be incorporated into each lesson with games and songs.  That a child shouldn’t look back and see time spent learning as an experience that didn’t make that their childhood more joyful.

Willpower

Picture for representation only. Source: Pixabay

Growing up, I thought talent was the last aspect of the trio, not willpower.  I believed our performance would be maxed out by a certain amount of talent or IQ allotted to us at birth. Shaishav works against this notion, pushing its educational philosophy so that every child has a chance to have their ‘ah-ha!’ moment.

There is no such thing as ‘can’t’ at Lokshala, only why and how, fitting for a country known for its jugaad.

Lokshala teachers constantly consider why a child is at a certain achievement level and how to bring them to the next plateau.

The search for knowledge is not tied to our IQ because as long as we seek, we will try.  Lokshala teachers are filled with stories of students overcoming all odds to return to school, and proving talent needs willpower.

Students possess an amazing amount of willpower to begin with and Lokshala tries hard to keep the momentum going by creating as joyful and encouraging of an environment as possible.

The Perfect Balance

Picture for representation only. Source: Pixabay

So how do these factors influence each other and affect Lokshala children? Is there a perfect balance? Given the complex inner lives of the children, it is hard to pin down a definitive combination, so I tried to think of these concepts within the context of Lokshala.

There are heaps and heaps of willpower, stemming partially from the healthy learning environment and the natural enthusiasm of the children.

Money holds little influence as no child is turned down due to inability to pay.  The remaining scarce factor seems to be time.

Although no child in Lokshala is rushed, it is hard not wish for more time observing how they learn and imagining new ways of teaching them.  But then isn’t time is an elusive factor for students of all ages?

All in all, it feels like Lokshala is slowly finding a balance to preserve both quality and access.

As the Lokshala lesson wraps up, students press palms in the air with each other and exclaim “de talli”! which roughly translates to high five.

Not a single person leaves without this high spirited gesture with each child or adult present.

In this way, new friendships are created among newcomers while old friendships are further bonded. This simple, lovely gesture quickly makes feel me a part of the Shaishav family, much like it must have for the new children joining Shaishav. Big changes start with small gestures.  Over the next 10 months,  I look forward to seeing how Shaishav achieves its mission of being child right’s organization emphasizing a child participatory model.

References:
Dang, Hai-Anh and Rogers, F. Halsey, How to Interpret the Growing Phenomenon of Private Tutoring: Human Capital Deepening, Inequality Increasing, or Waste of Resources? (February 1, 2008). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series, Vol. , pp. – 2008. Available at SSRN

Jugaad means a creative solution to a complex or unyielding problem.  The equivalent of a “hack” or “macgyver” in English.

(Written by Subhashanmugavel)

Source: The Better India

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Incorporating Modern Ways To Solve Age-Old Problems - Vidya Rattan Sharma

This is the story of a remarkable man, Mr. Vidya Rattan Sharma, who started as a cook in a local NGO, and went on to create several innovative products in the area of cooking stoves, traditional medicine, organic farming and animal husbandry. His passion for finding solutions to centuries-old problems and determination to carry on his work even in the face of resistance or lack of resources is an inspiration to all.

Mr Vidya Rattan Sharma, a familiar name in Solan District of Himachal Pradesh, started his life journey as a cook. He worked with Sutra NGO, then Social Work Research Centre (SWRC), for 5 years while cooking meals for their employees in Rajasthan. His concern as well as love for making innovative cookstoves started from that time onwards. On finding out his passion for cookstoves, Sutra appointed him for the task of training local people to make Nadda Chulha that was innovated by the organization. Little did he know that it was the perfect start to his future!

Mr Vidya Rattan Sharma making a cookstove in a kitchen

Since 1991, his journey as a Founder Director of Society for Development and Environment Protection (DEEP) has been full of challenges. Most of the problems that he faced came because of his low education background and lack of funds. There came times when he remained the only employee of DEEP Santhan, still he kept going with all his energy and determination. The result, today, is a number of successful products and programs in cookstoves, organic farming, traditional medicine and animal husbandry. Many of his techniques and programs have been adopted by governments of multiple states.

His most cherished innovation is the Modern DEEP Chulha that helps the users to not only improve fuel efficiency by as much as 50% but also boil water for bathing and cleaning purposes with the help of tanks placed on the sides of its walls.

I came up with the final version of the Chulha in 1995. This innovation has helped people in my region to reduce smoke in their kitchens. Earlier there used to be a lot of health problems, especially with women and children, due to smoke. Now the breathing-related health complaints have come down. In addition, now women don’t have to heat up water separately every morning and carry the same to bathrooms for bathing. I set water pipelines in a manner that my people can now enjoy hot-water showers in their bathrooms only. I always wanted to come up with a modern solution to this problem as I believe we villagers have equal right to live our lives in fashionable ways.

explains Mr Sharma with a content look. In addition to this chulha, he has also worked in animal husbandry, traditional medicine and organic farming field. His course module for training village women for animal healthcare was adopted by Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh Governments. He also wrote 12 books on ‘Sutra for animal-keeping and healthcare’ during that time.

A lady using DEEP Chulha in her kitchen

In the last 21 years, DEEP Santhan has created laudable impact by working with more than 35,000 people in 180 villages of Solan and Shimla District of Himachal Pradesh. “We have installed more than 1000 chulhas in the last 17 years. We now wish to expand the reach of the product by training people across the country to manufacture it themselves. We believe in keeping our innovation as ‘Open Source’ so that maximum people can earn livelihood and benefit from the same. We are looking for funds to set up a training center here in Solan district.”

Mr Sharma with an elder in Old Age Home

Talking about the product demand, Mr Sharma says, “We are sure we can crack the market as our product attracts customers. In the past 17 years, people have come forward with their requirements and in some cases we guided them to make the product themselves as we lacked resources. Our chulha has been widely supported by ‘State Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Himachal Pradesh’ and numerous village Panchayats.”

As of now, Mr Sharma is working with HelpAge India to serve elder people in his area. He has formed 34 elders’ Self Help Groups (eSHG) and is constantly looking out for ways to improve their situation. “Our collaboration with HelpAge India dates back to 1996 when I wanted to create income generation opportunities for 60 local elders by making Charcoal, Dhoop and Agarbatti from Lantana. Since then, the organization kept supporting us and today we have reached a group of 710 Elders.”

Mr Sharma with the “Rising Personality of India” award

Mr Sharma is a keen observer who loves to find different ways to solve local problems. He has invented technologies for drying pulses without losing nutritional content in sunlight, growing mushrooms with more output in regions where climate is non-supportive and harvesting rainwater by constructing low cost and algae restraining concrete block tanks. He received the ‘Rising personalities of India’ award from Friendship Forum of India in 2002 for his outstanding innovations.

Students from development sector love to intern in his organization and learn from his vast knowledge and experience. Mr Sharma recently concluded an intensive three week training program for students from DA-IICT College in Gandhinagar. The training program helped students to understand the benefits of using traditional medicines, communicate the benefits of improved biomass cookstoves by public demonstration, work on the fields for the first time and understand the requirements of the villagers through on-field surveys.

Internship students being mentored by Mr Sharma

“We love to have such students with us who are ready to work on the field. We have been getting interns for a long time now. We would in fact welcome more universities to send their students to our organization. This also helps us to get fresh outlook on our activities”, he concluded.

Ashish Arora graduated from IIT Roorkee in 2009 and is building his career in Social Development field for last 3 years. His primary experiences include mobilizing villagers for team work, conducting training workshops for kids, formulating business plans for socially relevant technologies and connecting on-ground innovators to funding agencies. As of now, he is working with IIT Mandi to set up “Center of Innovative Technologies for Himalayan Region”.

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