The dismal picture presented by the latest Annual Status Report on Education (ASER) might not have shocked the State Government, but it can take cue from the successful indigenous experiment of running Ekal Vidyalayas, which are imparting education to the underprivileged children, mostly in tribal areas, in the State.
Over 50,000 one-teacher schools across the country, including over 3,600 in Jharkhand, are being run by Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, providing functional literacy to the children of the villages. They are non-formal schools with focus on providing basic literacy skills with emphasis on 3 R’s –i.e. reading, writing and arithmetic. The curriculum consists of the subjects including language, mathematics, general education, science, moral values, health care, handicrafts, yoga and physical education.
Significantly, the ‘one-teacher school’ concept was pioneered by a nuclear scientist Rakesh Populi in the deep forests of Gumla way back in 1986 and two years later, Madan lalji Agarwal replicated similar schools offering non formal education in 60 villages near Dhanbad.
Tomorrow, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement will celebrate its silver jubilee at Birsa Munda Football Stadium where RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat will address a congregation of some one lakh students and functionaries associated with Ekal Abhiyan- its nationwide one teacher school network. Chief of Ekal Abhiyan Shyamji Gupt and Secretary of Vikas Bharti Ashok Bhagat will also be there.
The RSS chief, during the two-hour programme is likely to lay down detailed guidelines to carry out the mission successfully in places where the government machinery has failed to reach education. The programme will begin at 2 pm.
According to lalan Sharma, an Ekal abhiyan functionary, by 1995-1996 there were 1,200 schools being run in Jharkhand. “The impact was that overall literacy rates in Jharkand doubled; the literacy rate soared from approximately 30 to 60 per cent, with youth literacy surpassing those numbers,” he added.
“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, organisations around the country adopted the concept. Many organisations 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,” he added.
“Earlier, the basic aim of single-teacher school was to eradicate the children in tribal villages. But gradually we learned that not only education but self employment is also a major problem faced by the villagers. So, we have been working on this problem for the last 10 years and are excelling in it,” Sharma pointed out. According to Sharma, the Ekal schools are run on a minimal budget of Rs. 50 a day. “Teachers are local youths, who have completed some formal education. The teachers are selected and trained by Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation for four months, before being deputed as a teacher in a school.”
The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from rural and tribal India by 2015. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement of over 51,943 teachers, 6,000 (approximately) voluntary workers, 35 field organisations, and eight support agencies.