Community-based Education at Rishi Valley Full Economic Citizenship Roundtable on Innovations in Education RISHI VALLEY INSTITUTE FOR EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES (RIVER) KRISHNAMURTI FOUNDATION INDIA

Why is the system failing? Centralised curriculum Frustrated teacher Uninteresting classrooms Community losing faith Why is the system failing?

Child in the driver’s seat

Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures Community involvement - A school free of fear

Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures Community involvement - A school free of fear

Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures Community involvement - A school free of fear

Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures Community involvement - A school free of fear

Teachers formulating curriculum - Meaningful support structures Community involvement - A school free of fear

Learning Ladder Sense of achievement Self paced learning Self driven learner Learning Ladder

Space and time management Most rural schools –multigrade by default RIVER model – multigrade / multilevel by design dynamic grouping Grade, gender and ability – not the criteria Space and time management

Community Ownership Community curriculum Mothers’ committees Mothers’ stories Traditional folk arts Mothers’ committees Monitoring children’s progress Organising mid-day meals · Local Ownership. Has local ownership of the project been obtained? Or is there a plan to transfer ownership? Community Ownership

Enriching village commons Barren wastelands converted into green public spaces Used variously for herbal gardens, water harvesting, solar energy Provides for fuel and fodder needs Enriching village commons

Cost effective model Design Teaching - learning materials 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 Cost effective model

16 to thousands of schools HOW?

The 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 The first challenge

Challenges 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 Challenges in the formal sector

Reaching out to remote socio-linguistic minorities

Regions in India practicing the RIVER model

Reaching other developing countries RIVER- Ethiopia Collaboration Several potential partnerships-Peru, Pakistan,China Reaching other developing countries

Replicating strategy moving 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 Replicating strategy moving in partnerships

Capacity building Range of training programmes Hands-on training On-the-job support and monitoring Comprehensive training materials – teachers’ manuals, trainers’ modules, training films Capacity building

Global Development Network award “Most innovate development project ” GDN criteria Creativity/innovativeness Social impact Cost performance Replicability Capacity building Global Development Network award “Most innovate development project ”

VISION Building regional resource groups Consolidate research base through action research Linkage with Universities-Metz, Regensburg, Harvard & London Creating a network of networks VISION

Innovation Recap 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 · Creativity / Innovativeness: How is your project (or what aspect of your project, including its methodology) is new in your field? Innovation Recap

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 · Social Impact of the Idea on Development Issues: What development idea is this project addressing? Is it a fundamental aspect of poverty alleviation and development in the short and long term? How does the institution assess this impact? Social impact Recap

Cost performance single room, single teacher Recap Sustainable design 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 · Cost Performance: How many people are/will be affected by this project? To what degree? Cost performance Recap

Capacity building Recap Experiential training On-the-job support and monitoring Comprehensive training materials · Capacity Building: Is one of the fundamental goals of the project to help people help themselves? Has the targeted population demonstrated an increase in skill development or an increased willingness to learn new skills? Capacity building Recap

Replicability Recap From partnership to ownership “Trans-creation” of materials Setting up model schools Scaling up in phases Creating a critical mass · Replicability: How easily can the project be replicated in other countries, regions, cultures? Replicability Recap

Vision Recap Joyful childhood - creative teachers - strong networks Preserve the self-sustaining, self-replicating, self-evolving nature of the RIVER model · Vision, Goal setting, Problem solving. Vision Recap

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