A Report on the Eureka Project

EVERY CHILD CAN

'An Analysis on Student Proficiency in Class 3-5'

Submitted By: Aravinth Muruganandam Department Number: 09-BU-066 Contact Number: +91 996211 42 15 Date: 29th November, 2011

Department Of Outreach, Loyola College, Chennai.

Acknowledgments "I would like to thank my professor in-charge, Prof. E. Anand, for the valuable advice and support he has given me in the writing of this report. I would also like to thank the Aid India Project Manager, Mr. Sathish Kumar and Mr.Thamu for their encouragement, training and guidance. Thanks also to my team members, Nanda Kumar and Fahd Khaleel for their immaculate job and support. My deepest thanks go to the Department of Outreach, Loyola College, Chennai and Aid India for giving me such a wonderful opportunity to experience what are the current status of education in India and the wonderful lifestyle of the people in the villages."

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Summary / Abstract: This study was to: Eureka Child Foundation It was requested by: Aid India (Mr. Sathish Kmar) It was requested on (date): 29th November, 2011 The investigation was done by: Muruganandam Aravinth (Nanda Kumar and Fahd Khaleel) The main findings were that: Most of the students (from 3-5th Class) in the Pallaiyapaliyam and Banavaram Refugee camp were not able to read a simple paragraph (in Tamil) and do the basic Subtraction sum given to them. It was concluded that the parents / the community leader will give the letter written and given by us to the headmaster with the details of the childrens performance on behalf of the parents and the community members. The recommendations are that this study could be made a part of the Outreach activity as a must to do. This is the real outreach programme which gives the students great experiences.

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Contents Page Section Page Number

1. Introduction.............................................................................4 a) Background b) Objectives 2. Happenings......................................................................6 a) 23rd November, 2011 b) 26th November, 2011 c) 27th November, 2011 3. Conclusions............................................................................16 4. Solution..................................................................................16 5. Appendices.............................................................................17 a) Appendix 1 b) Appendix 2 6. Bibliography............................................................................19

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1. Introduction a) Background This report has been written because there is a big gap in the education system followed in the Government Schools and some Private Schools in the rural part of India. To overcome this problem a study on the students proficiency is required. An all India survey is being conducted by several organizations with the help of Pratham(1) to form the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) ASER Centre works towards providing the answers to a key question: Are social sector programs leading to desired outcomes? In other words, is public expenditure effectively leading towards stated goals? While internal evaluation and self-regulation by the government are clearly important for program implementation, independent assessment by citizens is critical to ensure transparency and accountability. In the social sectors regulation and monitoring at the central level is neither possible nor sufficient. Metrics and mechanisms have to be generated to see if the allocated resources are adequate, whether they are being applied well and how outlays are translating into outcomes. Given constraints of time and resources, the architecture of the mechanism must be simple; the design - scientific; results generated must be rapid, locally useful and allow aggregation to district and state levels as needed. Currently, independent, timely data on outcomes, especially at the district level are not available. In addition, outside of urban India there is an enormous shortage of people able to design, implement, and understand the nuts and bolts of assessment. ASER Centre was established to fill these critical gaps in a variety of ways.

(1)

Pratham is the largest non-governmental organization working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India. http://www.pratham.org/

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b) Objectives In line with international and national goals, India aims to ensure that all children in the 6 to 14 age group attend school regularly and receive useful and relevant education. All citizens of India pay an education cess of 2% to provide the additional finances needed to achieve these goals. Therefore, citizens should know whether these enormous outlays are leading to the desired outcomes. Every year since 2005, Pratham has facilitated an innovative exercise for India: that of implementing the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER). This enormous annual task engages citizens to reach over 700,000 children nationwide. * Within the span of hundred days, the survey reaches every rural district in the country: over 570 districts, 15,000 villages, 3,00,000 households and 7,00,000 children. * 25,000 volunteers from NGOs, citizens' groups, government and educational institutions, and corporate entities donate 4 days of their time In order to achieve this mammoth task. * In each rural district in the country, ASER is carried out by a local organization or institution. In many Indian languages "ASER" means "impact". ASER has demonstrated that it is possible to use simple, reliable and scientific methods of sampling and assessment on scale for high impact at low cost. It has also been an excellent example for building nationwide local participation by involving ordinary citizens in understanding the current situation in elementary education. Its significance in setting the quality agenda in education is widely acknowledged in government and policy circles both in India and internationally.

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2. Happenings 23rd November, 2011 Prof. E. Anand informed us that there is an outreach event coming up on the 26th & 27th of November and that we have to stay in Arakkonam for two days and help the NGO in conducting surveys in the surrounding villages. 26th November, 2011 0700hrs: Twenty students from various different departments of Loyola College gathered in the Chennai Central railway station. 0710hrs: Met Mr. Sathish Kumar from Aid India who was escorting us from Chennai to the field area. He introduced himself to everyone and spoke to us generally. All the students were not sure about what they were going to do and what is waiting for them.

0715hrs: Departure time of the train Brindavan Express (Chennai Bangalore) but the train was delayed by 30 minutes. All of us were waiting for the train eagerly and getting to know each other. 0745hrs: Train departed from Chennai central. It was a silent travel in the unreserved compartment. First time experience for me in the unreserved compartment and was not bad as how every one described it
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0900hrs: Reached the Arakkonam station after travelling for 1 hour and 15 minutes, where another student from Loyola joined us. We moved out of the station and got into a share auto towards the bus stand. 0910hrs: Mr. Sathish Kumar got all the students breakfast in a hotel near the bus stand. After having breakfast we walked toward the bus stand. 0930hrs: Departed Arakkonam bus stop AMBT to Banavaram / Sholingur terminus It was a private bus and was crowded. I had to travel in the footboard throughout the journey, which was a joyful experience. 1030hrs: Reached Sholingur terminus, where we met another Project Head of Eureka, who helped us get share autos towards the final destination. All of us got into three different share autos from there to Banavaram School.

I sat at the backside of the share auto, with two more people. That was an amazing ride.
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1130hrs: Reached Banavaram Royal Nursery & Primary School premises. The school training room, which was next to the school, was allotted for our stay.

1200hrs: We sat down for a briefing session. Mr. Sathish Kumar briefed all the students about Aid India, the purpose of our visit and the work for the two days. He explained everyone about the Every Child Can campaign and spoke to us about the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) facilitated by PRATHAM. He also split us all into 6 different groups and told us about the 12 villages that we have to cover. Every team was appointed a group head. Further training was given regarding how we have to conduct the survey, how to question the children and how to approach the community leader for permission.

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My group had three members including Nanda Kumar as the team leader, Fahd Khaleel and myself. As all of us are from the Department of Commerce and had known each other very well it was already a moral boost for us. 1330hrs: We sat together for Lunch. Meals were served to everyone. 1400hrs: Every group was given a village to visit and conduct the survey. Our team was given Pallaiyapalayam, which was around 8K.Ms away from the Banavaram School. We had spent some time in the School itself to plan our work. 1430hrs: We (Nanda Kumar, Fahd Khaleel and I) left the Banavaram Royal Nursery & Primary School premises and started to move towards the village assigned for us, Pallaiyapalayam. During our travel Nanda Kumar and I decided that we will survey the children and get Fahd to record data. Plus if we had extra time we thought of getting Fahd to talk to the children and entertain them with his skills. All of us were very excited and looking forward to experience the village people. 1500hrs: We reached the Pallaiyapalayam Village, which was in the Kaveripakkam block and Vellore district. The village had approximately 50 families and 100 people. We firstly met some of the village people and got to know who the community leader was, and then we met the community leader and spoke to him regarding the permission to survey the students and talk to their parents. The community leader was very kind and he helped us gathering the children and got us the school opened for conducting the meeting with the parents. 1530hrs: We gathered the children and started to examine them one by one. The children were as excited as we were. Nanda Kumar spoke to all of them in general and occupied them, where I managed to cover some of the students. Then Nanda Kumar took his turn. The children had to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and do two basic Subtraction sum given to them. We had to judge them based on the guidelines given to us.
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The most joyful experience was that when some of the children wanted Fahd to teach them English and talk to him. The children surely had a good time and they loved our visit.

Their performance in the survey was not that satisfactory. We were shocked to see the results. These children need some serious help. Out of 20 children who were surveyed 17 students (85%) were not able to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and 11 children (55%) were not able to do basic Subtraction sum. Note: Appendix 1 contains the details of the childrens performance (survey). 1700hrs: After surveying the children we called all the parents for a meeting at the school, where we explained them about the students performance and the need for some serious measures to improve their skills.

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We wrote a letter on behalf of the parents and the village people addressing to the Head Master of the local school. Around eleven parents signed the sheet and we also attached the student survey along with that letter. One of the parents G. S. Venkatesan took the responsibility of handing over the letter to the School Head Master. 1745hrs: We were finished with our days work. It was time for group photo. The children were running into us and posing for the photo.

We had to wait for a while to get transport arranged for us. The last bus to Banavaram was at 1730hrs and we were also not able to get a share auto. The village people were helping us to get a share auto. But before that Mr. Thamu had sent a share auto to pick us up. 1815hrs: We boarded the share auto with a feeling of great accomplishment and joy. Our travel back to the Banavaram school started. It was rainy and a very bumpy ride back. 1845hrs: We reached the Banavaram Royal Nursery & Primary School premises. All the other groups were back by then. I saw happiness and a feeling of accomplishment in every single person. They all had a very good time and were sharing their experiences and planning for the next day. 1930hrs: Some of us went for a walk and got some snack for the night.

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2000hrs: Mr. Thamu arrived and arranged dinner for us. We had dinner and slept after a while. 27th November, 2011 0600hrs: Woke up after a cool night sleep and got myself ready for the second day. 0645hrs: It was a bit dark, not a usual day. The clouds were staring at us with a dark face. Richard (from my class - BBA) and I went for a walk to the junction and had tea. Having tea in that climate was very nice. We started walking back towards the school, discussing about what to expect today. 0715hrs: We were back to the room. Nanda Kumar, Fahd and I started discussing about the plans for the day and got the required materials ready. 0830hrs: Mr. Thamu arrived and greeted everyone with a big smile, which got all of us up and ready. 0845hrs: Breakfast was served to everyone. 0915hrs: Mr. Thamu briefed everyone about the days plan. He mentioned to us that we have to be quick today, because that our train back to Chennai was at 1230hrs. He started giving us the locations. For one team he mentioned that they have to cover the Sri-Lankan refugees camp in Banavaram. I felt that I wanted to go there because I am a Sri-Lankan myself. I requested Mr. Thamu to allot that place to our team, as I could relate more to them. He accepted my proposal and agreed to send us there. 0930hrs: All teams started moving towards their allotted place. Our venue was just around 1 K.Ms away from the Banavaram Royal Nursery & Primary School premises. We started walking towards the camp. I was very excited and enthusiastic to visit a Sri-Lankan refugees camp. I recalled the days I spent in the Gummudipoondi Refugees camp, which was a great experience.
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0945hrs: We reached the Camp site and got the help of the people there to identify the community leaders house. The community leader was a person who attracted all of us by his approach. He offered us a seat and was standing in front of us. Nanda Kumar spoke to him about the Survey and got his permission. He came along with us and made an announcement through the Public announcement system to all the 3rd 5th class children to come to the school.

The school teachers were also there. 1000hrs: We just had to walk into the hall. Every thing was arranged by the teachers. Nanda Kumar and I started the surveying where Fahd was recording the performance of the children. The children were sent one by one by the teachers, which made our job easy. We also got snacks and tea from them. 1045hrs: We finished early because of the help provided by the teachers. The performance of the children in the test was not satisfactory. This showed that the region needs a different module to educate the children. Out of 18 children who were surveyed 14 students (77.78%) were not able to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and 11 children (61%) were not able to do basic Subtraction sum. Note: Appendix 2 contains the details of the childrens performance (survey).

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1050hrs: All the parents started coming to the hall. All of them sat in a way that we could present in an easy manner. We informed the parents about the situation and told them that their children need some serious guidance and help. The parents were eagerly listening and even questioned us about what they can do about it.

They agreed to sign and send a letter with the survey attached to the school head master. The community leader also told us that they had opened a library in the Camp and asked us to tell the importance of a library. 1115hrs: We were finished with our days work. It was another pleasant experience for all of us. The community leader S. Sivakaran took the letter and informed us that it will be given to the HM. 1130hrs: After all this we were invited by the community leader to the library and to have Sri-Lankan tea (black tea with ginger). We were also told that it was Maaveeran Day and that they were preparing for a ceremony.
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We were also educated about the Sri-Lankan war. Fahd and Nanda had a great time and got to know what sorts of problems are faced by the Sri-Lankan Tamils in their native place. 1200hrs: After a great time in the camp we had to move towards the Banavaram Royal Nursery & Primary School premises. We started walking and the community leader accompanied us. 1215hrs: We reached the school and were very happy about our performance. Mr. Thamu was collecting the survey documents from all the groups. We submitted our reports and had to move towards the Sholinghur Train Station. Certain people walked to the station which was around 1.5 K.Ms away from the school. Some of us got into the share auto which brought back the last group and moved to the train station. 1225hrs: We reached the train station. While waiting for the train Nanda Kumar was telling everyone about the wonderful experience he had in the Camp. All the other started questioning me about what happened.

1245hrs: The train arrived at the Sholinghur station. We boarded the train with full satisfaction and joy.

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3. Conclusions a) Pallaiyapalayam Village; Out of 20 children who were surveyed 17 students (85%) were not able to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and 11 children (55%) were not able to do basic Subtraction sum. b) Sri-Lankan refugees camp in Banavaram; Out of 18 children who were surveyed 14 students (77.78%) were not able to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and 11 children (61%) were not able to do basic Subtraction sum c) Combined results; Out of 38 children who were surveyed 31 students (81.58%) were not able to read a simple paragraph in Tamil and 22 children (57.89%) were not able to do basic Subtraction sum The main conclusion that can be drawn is therefore that the education system in government schools and low income English medium are not up to the standard. The low performing children are ignored.

4. Solution Schools have to change their system and focus to help the children to grasp easily. The teachers have to be trained more and educated to achieve the target of getting results from the children. The low performing children should be identified and helped to increase performance.

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5. Appendices Appendix 1 Record of the Pallaiyapalayam Village Childrens survey;

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 Appendix 2 Record of the Sri-Lankan refugees camp in Banavaram;

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6. Bibliography Pratham http://www.pratham.org/ ASER http://www.asercentre.org/ Eureka Child Foundation http://www.eurekachild.org/

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