Education

Inclusive education for all

The Government of India promulgated the Right to Education Act (RTE) 2009 to re-affirm its commitment to provide free and compulsory education to children up to the age of 14 years. In recent past, it has made tremendous efforts to draw children to school. As a result, the enrolment rate has gone up - in 2009, 8 million children were out of school which dropped down to 3 million in 2012.

However, a closer analysis presents a sordid picture of the state of primary education in the country. Evidence also suggests that learning outcomes of children are much lower. The quality of teacher training and their engagement is also an area of concern.

What is more, 77% of our schools do not comply with the norms (12th Five year Plan, Government of India) set under the RTE Act, and 40% of schools do not have separate toilets for girls, resulting in higher dropout rates among girls in higher classes. This directly impacts the quality of education in the country since primary education cannot be relied upon for growth. Dropout rates among scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, minorities and disabled people also continue to remain on the higher side.

Chilling facts In India, 16 million children are still out of school. Learning levels started dropping in many states since RTE came into effect, ASER, 2012. 2% of schools are not compliant with infrastructure parameters mentioned in the RTE. 40% of schools lack a functional common toilet while another 40% lack a separate toilet for girls. 40% of primary schools have a classroom pupil ratio higher than1:30, stipulated by RTE Act. 91% of teachers failed to clear the national Teacher Eligibility Test (TET). Less than 10% schools are RTE-compliant in terms of infrastructure and teacher availability.

CAF India’s interventions & experience

CAF India has extensive experience in implementing education initiatives. Around 60% of our projects pertain to education, spanning from infrastructure support, teacher training to promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and Information & Communication Technology (ICT) in the education system to increase learning outcome. Further, we are also working on including marginalised communities (street children, dropouts, children of migrant labourers, etc) into mainstream education.

CAF India also acknowledges that learning outcomes are not only the results of a good teaching faculty, but also depend on factors like sanitation and midday meals which create an enabling environment for students to attend school. In the past, CAF India has managed more than 20 education projects across 12 states - Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. We are taking precise, innovative measures like:

Outcome based learning	Innovative resources to enhance learning outcomes Re-aligning existing curriculum designs, understanding hard spots in the process of learning Integerate new learning, e.g STEM education
Quality teaching	Capacity building of teachers to improve the quality of teaching Participatory teaching techniques, assessment methodology and participatory class room management
Child Friendly Infrastructure	Provision of need-based infrastructure in schools (classrooms, smart classess, libraries, e-learning resources, playgrounds, etc.) Distribution of school bags, books or other needed items to students Provision of sanitation facilities (toilets, drinking water etc.)