FIELD STUDIES IN EDUCATION March 2017
TEACHER ABSENTEEISM STUDYResearch Group | Azim Premji Foundation
TEACHER ABSENTEEISM STUDYResearch Group | Azim Premji Foundation
These papers present findings from Azim Premji Foundation's field engagements in trying to improve the quality and equity of school education in India. Our aim is to disseminate our studies to practitioners, academics and policy makers who wish to understand some of the key issues facing school education as observed by educators in the field. The findings of the paper are those of the Research Group and may not reflect the view of the Azim Premji Foundation including Azim Premji University.
Contact : [email protected]
Executive Summary
In therecentyears,highratesof teacherabsenteeism ingovernmentelementaryschoolshave
occupiedbothresearchersandpolicymakersasanissueofdeepconcern.Understandably,policy
effortshavebeenorientedtowardsaddressingthisissuebutprimarilywithsolutionsthatinvoke
greater controlover teachers. In thevery recentpast, forexample, in itseconomic survey, the
government has suggested biometric systems as a means of curbing teacher absenteeism
(GovernmentofIndia2017).
Whilethereareindeedreasonsthatkeepgovernmentschoolteachersawayfromclass,thesehave
lesstodowithanydelinquencyonthepartofteachersandmoretodowithsystemicissuesthat
oftenrequirethemtoundertakeotheractivities.Studiesactuallynotethis,andrankdelinquency,
whichcanbedefinedasabsencewithoutreason,isoftenseentobemuchlower,intherangeof
4–5%(cf.Muralidharanetal.2016).
Inthisstudy,weexamineasampleof619schoolsand2861teachersacrosssixstatestoanalyse
moreclosely the issueof teacherabsenteeism.Theseschoolsare in thecatchmentareaof the
regionsinwhichtheAzimPremjiFoundationworks.Weundertooktostudytheseschoolstoobtain
bothanumericalsenseoftheissuebutalsotospendtimewiththeteachersandtoassesshowand
why teachers actually maintain attendance and teaching standards in circumstances where
absenteeismanddelinquencymaybeexpected.
Thefindingsofthestudyshowthatteacherabsenteeism,definedas‘absencewithoutreason’,is
2.5%.Although our sample is not statistically representative of thewhole of the country, this
number is roughly in thesameorderofmagnitudeas inotherstudies.Wealsoexaminesome
potential correlates of overall absence from classroom and find that there are few obvious
systematicdifferencesattributabletothestandardarguments.
Wethenturntosomeethnographiccasestudies.Weprovidevignettesofteacherswho,despite
circumstancesthatmightbetrying,standcountertothewidelyreceivedstereotypeofdisengaged
andfrequentlyabsentteachers.Weconcludebynotingthattargetingandblamingteachersfor
mattersthatarebeyondtheircontroloramanifestationofsystemicdesignissuesislikelytobe
counterproductiveandtoadverselyaffectthegovernmentschoolsystem.
TEACHER ABSENTEEISM STUDYResearch Group | Azim Premji Foundation
1
TEACHER ABSENTEEISM STUDYResearch Group | Azim Premji Foundation
These papers present findings from Azim Premji Foundation's field engagements in trying to improve the quality and equity of school education in India. Our aim is to disseminate our studies to practitioners, academics and policy makers who wish to understand some of the key issues facing school education as observed by educators in the field. The findings of the paper are those of the Research Group and may not reflect the view of the Azim Premji Foundation including Azim Premji University.
Contact : [email protected]
Executive Summary
In therecentyears,highratesof teacherabsenteeism ingovernmentelementaryschoolshave
occupiedbothresearchersandpolicymakersasanissueofdeepconcern.Understandably,policy
effortshavebeenorientedtowardsaddressingthisissuebutprimarilywithsolutionsthatinvoke
greater controlover teachers. In thevery recentpast, forexample, in itseconomic survey, the
government has suggested biometric systems as a means of curbing teacher absenteeism
(GovernmentofIndia2017).
Whilethereareindeedreasonsthatkeepgovernmentschoolteachersawayfromclass,thesehave
lesstodowithanydelinquencyonthepartofteachersandmoretodowithsystemicissuesthat
oftenrequirethemtoundertakeotheractivities.Studiesactuallynotethis,andrankdelinquency,
whichcanbedefinedasabsencewithoutreason,isoftenseentobemuchlower,intherangeof
4–5%(cf.Muralidharanetal.2016).
Inthisstudy,weexamineasampleof619schoolsand2861teachersacrosssixstatestoanalyse
moreclosely the issueof teacherabsenteeism.Theseschoolsare in thecatchmentareaof the
regionsinwhichtheAzimPremjiFoundationworks.Weundertooktostudytheseschoolstoobtain
bothanumericalsenseoftheissuebutalsotospendtimewiththeteachersandtoassesshowand
why teachers actually maintain attendance and teaching standards in circumstances where
absenteeismanddelinquencymaybeexpected.
Thefindingsofthestudyshowthatteacherabsenteeism,definedas‘absencewithoutreason’,is
2.5%.Although our sample is not statistically representative of thewhole of the country, this
number is roughly in thesameorderofmagnitudeas inotherstudies.Wealsoexaminesome
potential correlates of overall absence from classroom and find that there are few obvious
systematicdifferencesattributabletothestandardarguments.
Wethenturntosomeethnographiccasestudies.Weprovidevignettesofteacherswho,despite
circumstancesthatmightbetrying,standcountertothewidelyreceivedstereotypeofdisengaged
andfrequentlyabsentteachers.Weconcludebynotingthattargetingandblamingteachersfor
mattersthatarebeyondtheircontroloramanifestationofsystemicdesignissuesislikelytobe
counterproductiveandtoadverselyaffectthegovernmentschoolsystem.
TEACHER ABSENTEEISM STUDYResearch Group | Azim Premji Foundation
1
2
1. Introduction
1.1 Background and Rationale
TeacherabsenteeismhasgeneratedalotofattentionasamatterofseriousconcernintheIndian
government elementary school system in the previous 10 years or so. The existing narrative
suggeststhattherearehighratesofteacherabsenteeismingovernmentschoolsandthatthisisone
ofthekeyelementsintheinfirmitiesofthegovernmentschoolsystem.
Sinceabout2005,anumberofstudieshavefocusedontheissueofteacherabsenteeisminIndia
(Kremeretal.2005;Governmentof India2009;Bhattacharjeaetal.2011;Muralidharanetal.
2016).Anumberofthesestudieshavehighlightedthehighratesofteacherabsenteeismandhave
focusedon thepoint that aroundoneout of four teachers are absent on any givenday in the
governmentschoolsystem.Thisstatistichasbecomeafocalpointinpolicydiscussionsonteacher
accountabilityinthegovernmentschoolsystem.
TheAzimPremjiFoundation'sworkwiththeschooleducationsystemovernearlytwodecadeshas
suggestedthatteacherabsenteeismisnotascentralaconcernasthedominantnarrativesuggests.
Inordertobetterunderstandteacherabsenteeism,weundertookafield-levelstudycoveringsome
areasinwhichtheFoundationhasanactivefieldpresence.Thepurposewastoidentifytheextentto
whichandthereasonswhyteachersare‘notpresent’inschools.Inbothourstudyandotherstudies,
teacherabsenteeism,whichisunderstoodasabsencewithoutreasonismuchlowerthanoverall
teacher absence. Typically, teacher absenteeism is in the range of 2–5%,whereas the overall
teacherabsenceisintherangeof20%.Manystudiesdonotpayadequateattentiontothedifferent
reasonsthatcompriseteachers’absenceinschools;reasons,giventherealitiesofthegovernment
school system, range from official duties (academic and administrative) and official other
departmentalworktolegitimateleavesthatteachersareentitledtoundertheirserviceconditions.
Instead,teacherabsence,atleastinthepopularnarrative,isequatedwithteacherabsenteeism.
Equally,teacherabsenteeismisoftenseenasthesinglemostcriticalissue,astancethatignores
manyoftheotherurgentareasofconcerninschoolreform.Forexample,theneedforsystemic
effortstorecruitanddeputeanadequatenumberoftrainedteachersingovernmentschools,the
need to avoidburdening teacherswithnon-academicwork, and theneed to viewmulti-grade
multilevel (MGML) pedagogies as sub-optimal solutions are seldom factored into the ‘teacher
accountability’discourse.Rather,theteachers,bothasindividualsandasagroup,areseentobear
theresponsibilityofalltheshortcomingsofthelargergovernmentschoolsystem.
Inaddition,weundertookasetofdetailedstudiesofselectedschoolsandtheirteachersindifferent
locations.Despitethefactthatthesewereatdifferentlocations,whatwasevidentwasthefactthat
theteachersintheseschoolsmaintainahighlevelofprofessionalismandcommitment—afinding
that isquiteatoddswith thedominantnarrative. Inspiteofexhibitingcharacteristicssuchas
difficultyofaccess,poorschoolinfrastructure,orsometimesevenhighpupil–teacherratio(PTR),
these schoolswere found to have an engaged teacher cadre,with no visible concerns around
teacherabsenteeismexpressedbyeitherlower-levelofficialsorthecommunity.Thesedetailed
casestudiesattempttoconveytherealitiesofteachers’workinthegovernmentschoolsystem,and
thecurrentstudydrawsuponthesetofurtherarguetheinadequatenatureoftheexistingteacher
absenteeismdiscourse.Inparticular,wearguethatfocusingonasingle-pointagendaandonethat
vilifiesteacherswhileignoringthelargerinstitutionallandscapeisunlikelytoyieldanappropriate
andnuancedpolicyresponse.
2. Teacher Absenteeism: field-level study
2.1 Research Objective
Thebroadresearchobjectivewastomeasuretherateofteacherabsenteeisminselectedsiteswith
thepresenceandengagementoftheAzimPremjiFoundation.Thespecificresearchquestionsfor
thestudywereasfollows:
1. Whatistherateofteacherabsenteeismingovernmentschools?
2. Whatarethedifferentreasonswhyteachersareabsentingovernmentschoolsandtherateof
teacherabsenceforthesedifferentreasons?
3. Howdotheratesofteacherabsencevarywithdifferentcorrelatesofteacherabsence?
2.2 Sampling
ThedistrictsandblocksinwhichthestudywascarriedoutisasubsetofthesitesinwhichAzim
Premji Foundation is present, which include some of the more disadvantaged regions of the
country.Thesamplingofschoolsforthestudywasnon-randomandextendedtoschoolsfamiliarto
theteamintermsoffield-levelengagement.Whiletheseschoolswerefamiliartotheteam,they
werenotoneswithwhichtheFoundationhasanydirectschool-levelengagement.Thesample
includedafairrepresentationofruralgovernmentlowerprimaryschools(LPS)andhigherprimary
schools(HPS).Urbanschoolswerenotapriorityandtheywerepartofthesampleonlyinblocks
with high urban density. Similarly, effortsweremade to build in some spread in terms of the
conveniencesamplewithintheblock.Also,eventhoughseparateDistrictInformationSystemfor
Education (DISE)Codeswereusedas the identifyingmarker forselectionofdifferent schools,
effortsweremadetoavoidincludingdifferenttypesofschools(e.g.LPSandHPS)fromschools
locatedwithinthesamecompound.
3
Thestudycoveredsixstatesandvisitsweremadeto619schoolswithatotalof2861teachers
appointedintheseschools.
2.3 Data-collection and analysis
Asetof three toolswereused fordatacollection: (1)aSchoolSchedule, forbasicbackground
informationabouttheschool;(2)aTeacherAbsenceSchedule,torecorddataonteacherabsencein
theschoolduringtheunannouncedschoolvisit;and(3)aTeacherSchedule,forbasicbackground
informationoneachoftheteachersintheschool.Thethreetoolswerebaseduponpreviousstudies
on ‘teacher absenteeism’ and were finalised after a process of internal review and feedback.
Orientationworkshopswerecarriedoutwiththeteamsadministeringtheschedulesatmultiple
levels,inacascademode,regardingthedesignofthestudy,thetools,andtheplanandprocessof
datacollection.
Table 1: Schools and teachers covered: state-wise
States No.ofSchools No.ofTeachers
Chhattisgarh 129 660
Rajasthan 199 1040
Uttarakhand 189 557
Others* 102 604
Total 619 2861
*AcrossBihar,KarnatakaandMadhyaPradesh
2
1. Introduction
1.1 Background and Rationale
TeacherabsenteeismhasgeneratedalotofattentionasamatterofseriousconcernintheIndian
government elementary school system in the previous 10 years or so. The existing narrative
suggeststhattherearehighratesofteacherabsenteeismingovernmentschoolsandthatthisisone
ofthekeyelementsintheinfirmitiesofthegovernmentschoolsystem.
Sinceabout2005,anumberofstudieshavefocusedontheissueofteacherabsenteeisminIndia
(Kremeretal.2005;Governmentof India2009;Bhattacharjeaetal.2011;Muralidharanetal.
2016).Anumberofthesestudieshavehighlightedthehighratesofteacherabsenteeismandhave
focusedon thepoint that aroundoneout of four teachers are absent on any givenday in the
governmentschoolsystem.Thisstatistichasbecomeafocalpointinpolicydiscussionsonteacher
accountabilityinthegovernmentschoolsystem.
TheAzimPremjiFoundation'sworkwiththeschooleducationsystemovernearlytwodecadeshas
suggestedthatteacherabsenteeismisnotascentralaconcernasthedominantnarrativesuggests.
Inordertobetterunderstandteacherabsenteeism,weundertookafield-levelstudycoveringsome
areasinwhichtheFoundationhasanactivefieldpresence.Thepurposewastoidentifytheextentto
whichandthereasonswhyteachersare‘notpresent’inschools.Inbothourstudyandotherstudies,
teacherabsenteeism,whichisunderstoodasabsencewithoutreasonismuchlowerthanoverall
teacher absence. Typically, teacher absenteeism is in the range of 2–5%,whereas the overall
teacherabsenceisintherangeof20%.Manystudiesdonotpayadequateattentiontothedifferent
reasonsthatcompriseteachers’absenceinschools;reasons,giventherealitiesofthegovernment
school system, range from official duties (academic and administrative) and official other
departmentalworktolegitimateleavesthatteachersareentitledtoundertheirserviceconditions.
Instead,teacherabsence,atleastinthepopularnarrative,isequatedwithteacherabsenteeism.
Equally,teacherabsenteeismisoftenseenasthesinglemostcriticalissue,astancethatignores
manyoftheotherurgentareasofconcerninschoolreform.Forexample,theneedforsystemic
effortstorecruitanddeputeanadequatenumberoftrainedteachersingovernmentschools,the
need to avoidburdening teacherswithnon-academicwork, and theneed to viewmulti-grade
multilevel (MGML) pedagogies as sub-optimal solutions are seldom factored into the ‘teacher
accountability’discourse.Rather,theteachers,bothasindividualsandasagroup,areseentobear
theresponsibilityofalltheshortcomingsofthelargergovernmentschoolsystem.
Inaddition,weundertookasetofdetailedstudiesofselectedschoolsandtheirteachersindifferent
locations.Despitethefactthatthesewereatdifferentlocations,whatwasevidentwasthefactthat
theteachersintheseschoolsmaintainahighlevelofprofessionalismandcommitment—afinding
that isquiteatoddswith thedominantnarrative. Inspiteofexhibitingcharacteristicssuchas
difficultyofaccess,poorschoolinfrastructure,orsometimesevenhighpupil–teacherratio(PTR),
these schoolswere found to have an engaged teacher cadre,with no visible concerns around
teacherabsenteeismexpressedbyeitherlower-levelofficialsorthecommunity.Thesedetailed
casestudiesattempttoconveytherealitiesofteachers’workinthegovernmentschoolsystem,and
thecurrentstudydrawsuponthesetofurtherarguetheinadequatenatureoftheexistingteacher
absenteeismdiscourse.Inparticular,wearguethatfocusingonasingle-pointagendaandonethat
vilifiesteacherswhileignoringthelargerinstitutionallandscapeisunlikelytoyieldanappropriate
andnuancedpolicyresponse.
2. Teacher Absenteeism: field-level study
2.1 Research Objective
Thebroadresearchobjectivewastomeasuretherateofteacherabsenteeisminselectedsiteswith
thepresenceandengagementoftheAzimPremjiFoundation.Thespecificresearchquestionsfor
thestudywereasfollows:
1. Whatistherateofteacherabsenteeismingovernmentschools?
2. Whatarethedifferentreasonswhyteachersareabsentingovernmentschoolsandtherateof
teacherabsenceforthesedifferentreasons?
3. Howdotheratesofteacherabsencevarywithdifferentcorrelatesofteacherabsence?
2.2 Sampling
ThedistrictsandblocksinwhichthestudywascarriedoutisasubsetofthesitesinwhichAzim
Premji Foundation is present, which include some of the more disadvantaged regions of the
country.Thesamplingofschoolsforthestudywasnon-randomandextendedtoschoolsfamiliarto
theteamintermsoffield-levelengagement.Whiletheseschoolswerefamiliartotheteam,they
werenotoneswithwhichtheFoundationhasanydirectschool-levelengagement.Thesample
includedafairrepresentationofruralgovernmentlowerprimaryschools(LPS)andhigherprimary
schools(HPS).Urbanschoolswerenotapriorityandtheywerepartofthesampleonlyinblocks
with high urban density. Similarly, effortsweremade to build in some spread in terms of the
conveniencesamplewithintheblock.Also,eventhoughseparateDistrictInformationSystemfor
Education (DISE)Codeswereusedas the identifyingmarker forselectionofdifferent schools,
effortsweremadetoavoidincludingdifferenttypesofschools(e.g.LPSandHPS)fromschools
locatedwithinthesamecompound.
3
Thestudycoveredsixstatesandvisitsweremadeto619schoolswithatotalof2861teachers
appointedintheseschools.
2.3 Data-collection and analysis
Asetof three toolswereused fordatacollection: (1)aSchoolSchedule, forbasicbackground
informationabouttheschool;(2)aTeacherAbsenceSchedule,torecorddataonteacherabsencein
theschoolduringtheunannouncedschoolvisit;and(3)aTeacherSchedule,forbasicbackground
informationoneachoftheteachersintheschool.Thethreetoolswerebaseduponpreviousstudies
on ‘teacher absenteeism’ and were finalised after a process of internal review and feedback.
Orientationworkshopswerecarriedoutwiththeteamsadministeringtheschedulesatmultiple
levels,inacascademode,regardingthedesignofthestudy,thetools,andtheplanandprocessof
datacollection.
Table 1: Schools and teachers covered: state-wise
States No.ofSchools No.ofTeachers
Chhattisgarh 129 660
Rajasthan 199 1040
Uttarakhand 189 557
Others* 102 604
Total 619 2861
*AcrossBihar,KarnatakaandMadhyaPradesh
4
DatacollectionforthestudywasdoneovertheperiodAugust–September2016.Thisisarelatively
stableperiodintheacademicyear,relativelyuninterruptedbyfestivals,vacations,andsoon.The
teammembersmakingtheschoolvisitsplannedthevisitsothattheycouldspendaround2–3hours
(minimum)ineachschool,preferablyaroundthemiddleoftheworkinghoursoftheschool.The
decideddayofvisittotheschoolwiththeintentofdatacollectionwasunannouncedandwasthe
dayonwhich ‘teacher absence’was recorded.For the study, teacherabsencewasdefinedas a
teacherbeingnotpresentphysicallyintheschoolforthedurationofthevisitonlyandforthatday
only.Whiletheteacherabsenceschedulewascompletedontheplanneddayofvisit,insomecases,
datarelatedtotheotherscheduleswascollectedoversubsequentvisits.
Thissectionprovidesasummaryofsomeofthekeyfindingsfromtheoveralldataacrosssixstates.
Theoverallabsenceratewasfoundtobe18.9%,with462teachersbeingabsentoutofthe24421teacherobservationsforwhichabsencedatawasrecorded. Thisisslightlylessthantherates
reportedbyMuralidharanet al. (2016)and closer to theobservations in theAnnual Statusof
1Note:allcalculationsarebasedonlyonthebases/countsofproperlyrecordedresponsesfortherelevantvariables.
2.4 Findings
Table 2: Absence rates (in %)—total and by key teacher-level characteristics
Present Absent
Totalteachers 81.1 18.9
Byposition
Headteachers 83.5 16.5
Otherteachers(notheadteachers) 80.4 19.6
Bygender
Femaleteachers 83.8 16.2
Maleteachers 78.4 21.6
Byacademicqualifications
Highschoolorbelow 77.9 22.1
Highersecondary 83.6 16.4
Graduate 78.9 21.1
Postgraduate 82.0 18.0
Byprofessionalqualifications
Untrained 66.1 33.9
Diplomaorcertificateinbasicteachers’trainingofa
durationnotlessthantwoyears(includingD.Ed) 81.3 18.7
B.Ed(orB.El.Ed) 82.1 17.9
Anyother 73.5 26.5
Byoffice-bearingpositioninteacherunions
Withposition 76.9 23.1
Withoutposition 81.4 18.6
Education Reports (ASER), which have, across the years, reported that teacher absence in
governmentschoolsislessthan20%inmoststates(cf.Pratham2017).Differencesinabsencerates
byvarious individual teacher-levelcharacteristicswereobservedandthesearediscussedwith
referencetoTable2.Theabsencerateofheadteachers(16.5%)waslessthanthatofotherteachers
(19.6%)andabsenceratesoffemaleteachers(16.2%)waslessthanthatofmaleteachers(21.6%)
byalmost5percentagepoints.Thereweresomenoticeablevariationsinteacherabsencebyboth
academicqualificationsandprofessionalqualifications.Theabsenceratewashighestforteachers
with an academic qualification of high school or below (22.1%) and for teachers who were
untrained(33.9%)intermsoftheirprofessionalqualifications.Theabsenceratewasfoundtobe
greaterforteacherswithsomeofficialpositioninteacherunions(23.1%)ascomparedtothose
withoutsuchpositions(18.6%).Someofthesefindingsseemtodifferfromexistingstudieswhile
someothersresonatewiththeobservationsfromthesestudies.Forexample,Kremeretal.findthe
absencerateofheadteachersandmaleteacherstobemorethanthatofbothotherteachersand
femaleteachersandofferthefollowingpossiblereason:‘Powerdifferentialsmayexplainthehigher
absenceratesofolder,moreeducated,andmoreexperiencedteachers,aswellasthefindingthat
malesaresignificantlymoreabsentthanfemales’(2005:662).Thefindingthatmorequalifiedand
trainedregularteachersarelikelytobemoreabsentthanlessqualifiedanduntrainedteachers
(whoaremorelikelycontractteachers),reportedbyMuralidharanandSundararaman(2013),is
notborneoutinourstudy.However,thehigherratesofabsenceofteacherswithofficialpositionsin
teacherunionsisalongthelinesofstudiesthathaveshownthatpoliticallinkagesofteachers,in
terms of teacher union connections, help them bypass official accountability mechanisms
(cf.KingdonandMuzammil2003;Beteille2009).
Forteacherswhowerenotpresentduringthevisit,thereasonsforabsencewerenotedunderthe
followingfivecategories:(I)‘Officialacademicduties’suchastemporarydeputationforteachingin
otherschools,trainings,clustermeetings,andtrainingscalledbynon-governmentorganisations
(NGOs); (ii) ‘Official school administrative duties’ such as data collection, submission of
reports/data related tomid-daymeal (MDM), childrenwith special needs (CWSN), and other
5
Table 3: Stated reasons for absence
Officialduty Authorised Absence
leave withoutreason
Official Officialschool Officialother
academic administrative departmental
duties duties work
Totalteachers–
absenceratesmeasured3.8 2.1 0.9 9.1 2.5
aspercentagesoftotalteacherobservations.*
Byposition–absenceratesmeasuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence.
Headteachers 24.4 18.9 4.4 35.6 16.7
Otherteachers
(notheadteachers) 19.7 9.4 5.3 52.6 13.1
Bygender–absenceratesmeasuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence.
Femaleteachers 15.2 6.5 4.1 61.8 12.4
Maleteachers 25.6 15.8 6.0 37.6 15.0
*As‘overallabsence’and‘reasonsforabsence’arecalculatedbasedonthebases/countsofproperlyrecordedresponsesfortherelevant
variables,therearesmalldifferencesintherespectivetotals.
4
DatacollectionforthestudywasdoneovertheperiodAugust–September2016.Thisisarelatively
stableperiodintheacademicyear,relativelyuninterruptedbyfestivals,vacations,andsoon.The
teammembersmakingtheschoolvisitsplannedthevisitsothattheycouldspendaround2–3hours
(minimum)ineachschool,preferablyaroundthemiddleoftheworkinghoursoftheschool.The
decideddayofvisittotheschoolwiththeintentofdatacollectionwasunannouncedandwasthe
dayonwhich ‘teacher absence’was recorded.For the study, teacherabsencewasdefinedas a
teacherbeingnotpresentphysicallyintheschoolforthedurationofthevisitonlyandforthatday
only.Whiletheteacherabsenceschedulewascompletedontheplanneddayofvisit,insomecases,
datarelatedtotheotherscheduleswascollectedoversubsequentvisits.
Thissectionprovidesasummaryofsomeofthekeyfindingsfromtheoveralldataacrosssixstates.
Theoverallabsenceratewasfoundtobe18.9%,with462teachersbeingabsentoutofthe24421teacherobservationsforwhichabsencedatawasrecorded. Thisisslightlylessthantherates
reportedbyMuralidharanet al. (2016)and closer to theobservations in theAnnual Statusof
1Note:allcalculationsarebasedonlyonthebases/countsofproperlyrecordedresponsesfortherelevantvariables.
2.4 Findings
Table 2: Absence rates (in %)—total and by key teacher-level characteristics
Present Absent
Totalteachers 81.1 18.9
Byposition
Headteachers 83.5 16.5
Otherteachers(notheadteachers) 80.4 19.6
Bygender
Femaleteachers 83.8 16.2
Maleteachers 78.4 21.6
Byacademicqualifications
Highschoolorbelow 77.9 22.1
Highersecondary 83.6 16.4
Graduate 78.9 21.1
Postgraduate 82.0 18.0
Byprofessionalqualifications
Untrained 66.1 33.9
Diplomaorcertificateinbasicteachers’trainingofa
durationnotlessthantwoyears(includingD.Ed) 81.3 18.7
B.Ed(orB.El.Ed) 82.1 17.9
Anyother 73.5 26.5
Byoffice-bearingpositioninteacherunions
Withposition 76.9 23.1
Withoutposition 81.4 18.6
Education Reports (ASER), which have, across the years, reported that teacher absence in
governmentschoolsislessthan20%inmoststates(cf.Pratham2017).Differencesinabsencerates
byvarious individual teacher-levelcharacteristicswereobservedandthesearediscussedwith
referencetoTable2.Theabsencerateofheadteachers(16.5%)waslessthanthatofotherteachers
(19.6%)andabsenceratesoffemaleteachers(16.2%)waslessthanthatofmaleteachers(21.6%)
byalmost5percentagepoints.Thereweresomenoticeablevariationsinteacherabsencebyboth
academicqualificationsandprofessionalqualifications.Theabsenceratewashighestforteachers
with an academic qualification of high school or below (22.1%) and for teachers who were
untrained(33.9%)intermsoftheirprofessionalqualifications.Theabsenceratewasfoundtobe
greaterforteacherswithsomeofficialpositioninteacherunions(23.1%)ascomparedtothose
withoutsuchpositions(18.6%).Someofthesefindingsseemtodifferfromexistingstudieswhile
someothersresonatewiththeobservationsfromthesestudies.Forexample,Kremeretal.findthe
absencerateofheadteachersandmaleteacherstobemorethanthatofbothotherteachersand
femaleteachersandofferthefollowingpossiblereason:‘Powerdifferentialsmayexplainthehigher
absenceratesofolder,moreeducated,andmoreexperiencedteachers,aswellasthefindingthat
malesaresignificantlymoreabsentthanfemales’(2005:662).Thefindingthatmorequalifiedand
trainedregularteachersarelikelytobemoreabsentthanlessqualifiedanduntrainedteachers
(whoaremorelikelycontractteachers),reportedbyMuralidharanandSundararaman(2013),is
notborneoutinourstudy.However,thehigherratesofabsenceofteacherswithofficialpositionsin
teacherunionsisalongthelinesofstudiesthathaveshownthatpoliticallinkagesofteachers,in
terms of teacher union connections, help them bypass official accountability mechanisms
(cf.KingdonandMuzammil2003;Beteille2009).
Forteacherswhowerenotpresentduringthevisit,thereasonsforabsencewerenotedunderthe
followingfivecategories:(I)‘Officialacademicduties’suchastemporarydeputationforteachingin
otherschools,trainings,clustermeetings,andtrainingscalledbynon-governmentorganisations
(NGOs); (ii) ‘Official school administrative duties’ such as data collection, submission of
reports/data related tomid-daymeal (MDM), childrenwith special needs (CWSN), and other
5
Table 3: Stated reasons for absence
Officialduty Authorised Absence
leave withoutreason
Official Officialschool Officialother
academic administrative departmental
duties duties work
Totalteachers–
absenceratesmeasured3.8 2.1 0.9 9.1 2.5
aspercentagesoftotalteacherobservations.*
Byposition–absenceratesmeasuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence.
Headteachers 24.4 18.9 4.4 35.6 16.7
Otherteachers
(notheadteachers) 19.7 9.4 5.3 52.6 13.1
Bygender–absenceratesmeasuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence.
Femaleteachers 15.2 6.5 4.1 61.8 12.4
Maleteachers 25.6 15.8 6.0 37.6 15.0
*As‘overallabsence’and‘reasonsforabsence’arecalculatedbasedonthebases/countsofproperlyrecordedresponsesfortherelevant
variables,therearesmalldifferencesintherespectivetotals.
6
incentiveschemes;(iii)‘Officialotherdepartmentalwork’suchasthatrelatedtoelections,health,
otherdepartmentschemes,andpanchayatmeetings;(iv)‘Authorisedleave’suchascasualleaveand
medicalleave;and(v)‘Absencewithoutreason’.Table3showsthatamongthereasonsforabsence
recordedforthosenotpresentduringthevisits,measuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence,highest
was for ‘authorised leave’ at9.1%, followedby ‘official academicduties’ at3.8%and ‘absence
withoutreason’at2.5%.Therefore,ineffect,teacherabsenteeism,thatis,teachersbeingabsent
withoutanyreason,was foundtobeonly2.5%,withabsencemeasuredaspercentageof total
teacherobservations.Ratesofrankdelinquency,whichcanbedefinedasabsencewithoutreason,
arenotedtobemuchlowerinotherstudiesalso,asintherangeof4–5%reportedbyMuralidharan
etal.(2016),althoughthisisanaspectthatseemstobeunderemphasisedinthelargerteacher
accountabilitydiscourse.
In our study, teachers were also asked the specific reasons for absences under the various
categories.Understandably,differenttypesoftrainings—in-serviceteachertrainingsattheDistrict
InstituteofEducationandTraining(DIET),blockandclusterlevel,SchoolManagementCommittee
(SMC)training,thosecalledbyNGOs,andsport-related—seemedtobethemostfrequentlycited
reasons for absencedue to ‘official academicwork’.Data collectionand submission tovarious
senior offices and MDM-related work were the main reasons for absence due to ‘official
administrativeduties’.Electionduty,differentcensussurveys,andpanchayatmeetingswerecited
asthemainreasonsforabsenceon‘officialotherdepartmentalwork’.Teacherspresentwerealso
askedhow theirworkandschedulewereaffected if their colleagueswereabsent.Mostof the
responsesindicatedthatinsuchinstances,‘teacherscombinedclasses’,‘classesweretakenbya
substituteteacher’,or‘teachersgavesomeclassworktooccupythestudents’.
Further,Table3showsthedifferencesinreasonsforabsencebetweenheadteachersandother
teachers, and between female andmale teachers, as percentages of total absence. Differences
betweenheadteachersandother teacherswere found tobequitepronounced forbothofficial
schooladministrativedutiesandofficialacademicduties,withtheabsenceratesofheadteachers
being9and5percentagepointsgreater,respectively, thanthatofotherteachers.However, for
authorisedleave,theabsencerateofheadteachers(35.6%)isnoticeablylessthanthatofother
teachers(52.6%).Pronounceddifferencesbygenderareseenforofficialacademicduties,withthe
absencerateofmaleteachers(25.6%)around10percentagepointsgreaterthanthatoffemale
teachers(15.2%),andalsoforofficialschooladministrativeduties,forwhichtheabsencerateof
maleteachers(15.8%)isalmost10percentagepointsgreaterthanthatoffemaleteachers(6.5%).
However,forauthorisedleave,theabsencerateoffemaleteachers(61.8%)isgreaterbyalmost25
percentagepointsthanthatofmaleteachers(37.6%).
Table 4: Average teacher absence by correlates at the teacher and school-level
Averageteacher
absence
Correlates
Teacher'sage(years)
age<=30 21.9
30<age<=40 19.0
40<age<=50 17.4
age>50 19.5
Averageteacher
absence
Correlates
Commutetime(hours)
t<=1 18.6
1<t<=2 16.9
t>2 31.8
Schoollocation
Rural 18.7
Urban 19.7
Categoriesofschool
Primaryonly(1–5) 18.8
PrimarywithUpperPrimary(1–8) 17.9
UpperPrimaryonly(6–8) 20.9
Top-downadministrativemonitoring
Notvisited 18.1
Visited 18.6
Bottom-upmonitoring
SMCmeetingbeforeAug-2016 18.7
SMCmeetinginAugorafterAug-2016 18.2
PracticeofMGML
MGMLnotpracticed 18.5
MGMLpracticed 18.4
Schoolfacilities
Toilets
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 16.1
Availableandused 18.2
DrinkingWater
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 18.7
Availableandused 17.9
Electricity
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 18.5
Availableandused 17.8
TablesandChairs
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 25.1
Availableandused 17.4
7
6
incentiveschemes;(iii)‘Officialotherdepartmentalwork’suchasthatrelatedtoelections,health,
otherdepartmentschemes,andpanchayatmeetings;(iv)‘Authorisedleave’suchascasualleaveand
medicalleave;and(v)‘Absencewithoutreason’.Table3showsthatamongthereasonsforabsence
recordedforthosenotpresentduringthevisits,measuredaspercentagesoftotalabsence,highest
was for ‘authorised leave’ at9.1%, followedby ‘official academicduties’ at3.8%and ‘absence
withoutreason’at2.5%.Therefore,ineffect,teacherabsenteeism,thatis,teachersbeingabsent
withoutanyreason,was foundtobeonly2.5%,withabsencemeasuredaspercentageof total
teacherobservations.Ratesofrankdelinquency,whichcanbedefinedasabsencewithoutreason,
arenotedtobemuchlowerinotherstudiesalso,asintherangeof4–5%reportedbyMuralidharan
etal.(2016),althoughthisisanaspectthatseemstobeunderemphasisedinthelargerteacher
accountabilitydiscourse.
In our study, teachers were also asked the specific reasons for absences under the various
categories.Understandably,differenttypesoftrainings—in-serviceteachertrainingsattheDistrict
InstituteofEducationandTraining(DIET),blockandclusterlevel,SchoolManagementCommittee
(SMC)training,thosecalledbyNGOs,andsport-related—seemedtobethemostfrequentlycited
reasons for absencedue to ‘official academicwork’.Data collectionand submission tovarious
senior offices and MDM-related work were the main reasons for absence due to ‘official
administrativeduties’.Electionduty,differentcensussurveys,andpanchayatmeetingswerecited
asthemainreasonsforabsenceon‘officialotherdepartmentalwork’.Teacherspresentwerealso
askedhow theirworkandschedulewereaffected if their colleagueswereabsent.Mostof the
responsesindicatedthatinsuchinstances,‘teacherscombinedclasses’,‘classesweretakenbya
substituteteacher’,or‘teachersgavesomeclassworktooccupythestudents’.
Further,Table3showsthedifferencesinreasonsforabsencebetweenheadteachersandother
teachers, and between female andmale teachers, as percentages of total absence. Differences
betweenheadteachersandother teacherswere found tobequitepronounced forbothofficial
schooladministrativedutiesandofficialacademicduties,withtheabsenceratesofheadteachers
being9and5percentagepointsgreater,respectively, thanthatofotherteachers.However, for
authorisedleave,theabsencerateofheadteachers(35.6%)isnoticeablylessthanthatofother
teachers(52.6%).Pronounceddifferencesbygenderareseenforofficialacademicduties,withthe
absencerateofmaleteachers(25.6%)around10percentagepointsgreaterthanthatoffemale
teachers(15.2%),andalsoforofficialschooladministrativeduties,forwhichtheabsencerateof
maleteachers(15.8%)isalmost10percentagepointsgreaterthanthatoffemaleteachers(6.5%).
However,forauthorisedleave,theabsencerateoffemaleteachers(61.8%)isgreaterbyalmost25
percentagepointsthanthatofmaleteachers(37.6%).
Table 4: Average teacher absence by correlates at the teacher and school-level
Averageteacher
absence
Correlates
Teacher'sage(years)
age<=30 21.9
30<age<=40 19.0
40<age<=50 17.4
age>50 19.5
Averageteacher
absence
Correlates
Commutetime(hours)
t<=1 18.6
1<t<=2 16.9
t>2 31.8
Schoollocation
Rural 18.7
Urban 19.7
Categoriesofschool
Primaryonly(1–5) 18.8
PrimarywithUpperPrimary(1–8) 17.9
UpperPrimaryonly(6–8) 20.9
Top-downadministrativemonitoring
Notvisited 18.1
Visited 18.6
Bottom-upmonitoring
SMCmeetingbeforeAug-2016 18.7
SMCmeetinginAugorafterAug-2016 18.2
PracticeofMGML
MGMLnotpracticed 18.5
MGMLpracticed 18.4
Schoolfacilities
Toilets
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 16.1
Availableandused 18.2
DrinkingWater
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 18.7
Availableandused 17.9
Electricity
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 18.5
Availableandused 17.8
TablesandChairs
NotavailableorAvailablebutnotused 25.1
Availableandused 17.4
7
8
Thestudyalsoanalysedaverageteacherabsenceagainstanumberofcorrelatesattheteacherlevel
andschoollevel(Table4).Attheteacherlevel,averageteacherabsencerateswerenotfoundtobe
verydifferentintermsofageofteacherswithaverageabsencerangingfrom17.4%forthosewho
wereagedbetween40and50yearsto21.9%forthoseaged30yearsandbelow.Thedataalso
showedthatformostoftheteachers,commutetimetoschoolwasaround1hourorless,withonlya
fewteacherswithacommutetimeofover2hours.Averageabsenceforthelattercategorywas
foundtobenoticeablyhigher(31.8%)thanthatoftheteacherswithlessercommutetime.
Forschool-levelcorrelates,theaverageteacherabsenceratewasnotfoundtobeverydifferentin
rural andurban schools,with18.7% in rural schoolsas compared to19.7% inurban schools.
Likewise,comparisonsacrosscategoriesofschoolsdidnotshownoticeabledifferencesacrossthe
school categories ‘primary only’ (18.8%), ‘primary with upper primary’ (17.9%), and ‘upper
primaryonly’(20.9%).
Associationofteacherabsencerateswascheckedwithbothtop-downmonitoringandbottom-up2monitoring. Notmuchdifferenceintermsofaverageteacherabsencewasfoundbetweenschools
visitedbyofficials(18.6%)andthosenotvisitedbyofficials(18.1%)inthepastthreemonths.
Similarly,nonoticeabledifferenceinaverageteacherabsencewasfoundbetweenschoolsinwhich
anSMCmeetinghadtakenplacebeforeAugust2016(18.7%)andthoseinwhichanSMCmeeting
hadtakenplaceinAugust2016orafter(18.2%).
Therewasnotmuchdifference in termsofaverage teacherabsencebetweenschools inwhich3MGMLispracticed(18.4%)andinwhichitisnot(18.5%).
Average teacherabsencewasalsoanalysedwithreference todifferentschool facilitiessuchas
availabilityandfunctionalityoftoilets,drinkingwater,electricity,andclassroomfurniture.Except
forclassroomfurniture(tablesandchairs),therewerenonoticeabledifferencesinaverageteacher
absencebetweenschoolshavingsuchfacilitiesandthoseschoolsnothavingsuchfacilitiesorwhere
suchfacilities,thoughexisting,weredysfunctional.
Overall,analysesofteacherabsenceagainstpotentialcorrelatesofabsenceatboththeteacherlevel
andschoollevelshowthattherearefewobvioussystematicdifferences.
2.5 Caveats
Whileourstudyisfairlyextensive,somecaveatsneedtobeoutlinedininterpretingourfindings.
1. The surveywas based on a relatively small convenience sample of schools (per block) in
selectedblocks/districtsthattheAzimPremjiFoundationworksin.Therefore,thestudydoes
notaspiretogeneralisableconclusions.
2. Thedefinitionof‘absence’wasbasedonateachernotbeingpresentphysicallyintheschoolfor
thedurationofthevisitonlyandforthatdayonly.Thiswasduetoboththelimitedresources
(fieldpersonneltime)tocovereachschoolforanentiredayandtheintentionofnotunduly
disturbingtheregularworkingoftheschool.However,mostschoolswerevisitedaroundthe
middleoftheworkinghoursoftheschoolwithatleasthalfoftheschooldaybeingspentineach
schoolfordatacollection.
3. Thiswasaone-timestudy.So,repeatedvisitstoseethereliabilityofintra-schoolobservations
onteacherabsenceandtoaccountforseasonalvariationwerenotpartofthedesign.
2Top-down monitoring was operationalised as visits of district and block-level officials to the school in the past three months and bottom-up
monitoring was defined in terms of recentness of the last SMC meeting. 3Practice of MGML was recorded as ‘yes’ in the case of both official practice and unofficial practice of MGML in the school.
9
3. Qualitative Case Studies
This sectionof the study comprises sevenqualitative case studies.The case studies consist of
purposivelyselectedschoolsfromacrossdistrictsandstatesinwhichtheAzimPremjiFoundation
hasapresence.Theseschools,selectedbasedoncriteriaidentifiedwithhighriskofteacherabsence
inexistingstudies(e.g.remotenessanddifficultyofaccess;poorschoolinfrastructure;andhigh
PTR)inconsultationwitheducationdepartmentfunctionaries,areschoolsthatarereportedtonot4exhibitanyvisibleconcernsaroundtheissueofteacherabsenteeism. Inaway,thesecasestudies
aremeanttosupplement,atonelevel,thefindingsfromthequantitativestudy,whichshowsthat
unauthorised teacher absence in the system—actual teacher absenteeism—is not of alarming
proportionsasunderlinedincurrenteducationalpolicydiscourse.Atanotherlevel,theyaremeant
toprovideaninsightintothechallenges,systemicandindividual,thatteachershavetodealwithon
aregularbasiswithinthegovernmentschoolsystemand,howinspiteofsuchchallenges,they
exhibitexemplaryfortitudeanddedicationtotheirwork.Thelatterinsightislinkedtothelarger
normativeargumentthatthisstudyseekstomakeontheissueofteacherabsenteeism.
Asisvisiblefromthesecasestudies,despitemultipleproblemsanddifficultcircumstancessuchas
remotenessoflocation,difficultyofaccess,shortageofteachers,lackofadequateinfrastructure,
multi-grade classrooms, andmarginalised communitieswho are not able to provide adequate
homesupportfortheirchildren,tonameafew,acrossallsevenschools,weseeteacherswhoare
fully present in school and ensure that they come to school regularly and punctually and
conscientiouslyengagewiththeirtaskasteachers.Theseteachersseemtoengagewiththeirwork
inamannerthatdefiesthepopularnarrativeorperceptionofattitudesandbehavioursofteachers
ingovernmentschools.Here,weseeteacherswhoarecommittedandmotivated,workingunder
sometimesveryadversecircumstancesbutdeeplyinvestedintheoutcomesoftheirendeavours.
Thisbegsthequestion,‘Whatdrivestheseteachersandmotivatesthemtocometoschooleveryday
andengagewiththeirworkthewaytheydo,despitethemanyodds?’
Manyof the teachers interviewedstatedveryexplicitly that theyweredrivennotby idealistic
motives,suchasapassionforteachingoraloveforchildrenoraburningdesireforsocialreform,to
chooseteachingasaprofession.Instead,theirchoicewasdictatedbyconvenience,availabilityof
opportunities,economicconsiderations,andsoon.But,astheteachersalsoshared,overtime,they
have learnt to appreciate the significance and import of their work and they now clearly
demonstratecommitmentandmotivation.Forsome,thismayhavebeenbecauseofaparticular
definingexperiencewithchildrenorinspiringcolleagues;butperhaps,itmayjustbethenatureof
the teaching profession. In other words, given a certain kind of enabling and positive work
environmentthatfacilitatescollegialityandtrust,teacherstendtobecommittedandmotivatedand
holdthemselvesaccountablewithoutexternalsupervisionandmonitoring.Thoseverynormsthat
drivetheirbehaviouralsomakethemaccountable.Thougheachofthesevencasesisuniquein
termsofitscontextanditsownsetofchallenges,somecommonthreadsemergeacrosstheseven
narratives.
First, despite difficulty of access and challenges of commuting, teacherswere seen to be fully
presentevenattheriskofpersonalinconvenienceandasignificantexpenditure.Forexample,inthe
caseoftheKuphargereSchool(CaseStudy3),teachersmadeachoicetostayinthevillagesothat
theywerebetterabletounderstandthecommunityandengagewiththelearningactivitiesofthe
childrenbeyondschoolhours.IntheBasarpurSchool(CaseStudy4),teachershadtousemultiple
modesoftransportandconsiderabletimeintransittoreachtheschool.InallthethreeUttarakhand
schools, as inmany other schools in the state, teachers had to hire a shared taxi, involving a
4Pseudonyms have been used for all participants and actors (teachers, students, officials and parents) as well as for schools, villages and other
such easily identifiable places to retain confidentiality.
8
Thestudyalsoanalysedaverageteacherabsenceagainstanumberofcorrelatesattheteacherlevel
andschoollevel(Table4).Attheteacherlevel,averageteacherabsencerateswerenotfoundtobe
verydifferentintermsofageofteacherswithaverageabsencerangingfrom17.4%forthosewho
wereagedbetween40and50yearsto21.9%forthoseaged30yearsandbelow.Thedataalso
showedthatformostoftheteachers,commutetimetoschoolwasaround1hourorless,withonlya
fewteacherswithacommutetimeofover2hours.Averageabsenceforthelattercategorywas
foundtobenoticeablyhigher(31.8%)thanthatoftheteacherswithlessercommutetime.
Forschool-levelcorrelates,theaverageteacherabsenceratewasnotfoundtobeverydifferentin
rural andurban schools,with18.7% in rural schoolsas compared to19.7% inurban schools.
Likewise,comparisonsacrosscategoriesofschoolsdidnotshownoticeabledifferencesacrossthe
school categories ‘primary only’ (18.8%), ‘primary with upper primary’ (17.9%), and ‘upper
primaryonly’(20.9%).
Associationofteacherabsencerateswascheckedwithbothtop-downmonitoringandbottom-up2monitoring. Notmuchdifferenceintermsofaverageteacherabsencewasfoundbetweenschools
visitedbyofficials(18.6%)andthosenotvisitedbyofficials(18.1%)inthepastthreemonths.
Similarly,nonoticeabledifferenceinaverageteacherabsencewasfoundbetweenschoolsinwhich
anSMCmeetinghadtakenplacebeforeAugust2016(18.7%)andthoseinwhichanSMCmeeting
hadtakenplaceinAugust2016orafter(18.2%).
Therewasnotmuchdifference in termsofaverage teacherabsencebetweenschools inwhich3MGMLispracticed(18.4%)andinwhichitisnot(18.5%).
Average teacherabsencewasalsoanalysedwithreference todifferentschool facilitiessuchas
availabilityandfunctionalityoftoilets,drinkingwater,electricity,andclassroomfurniture.Except
forclassroomfurniture(tablesandchairs),therewerenonoticeabledifferencesinaverageteacher
absencebetweenschoolshavingsuchfacilitiesandthoseschoolsnothavingsuchfacilitiesorwhere
suchfacilities,thoughexisting,weredysfunctional.
Overall,analysesofteacherabsenceagainstpotentialcorrelatesofabsenceatboththeteacherlevel
andschoollevelshowthattherearefewobvioussystematicdifferences.
2.5 Caveats
Whileourstudyisfairlyextensive,somecaveatsneedtobeoutlinedininterpretingourfindings.
1. The surveywas based on a relatively small convenience sample of schools (per block) in
selectedblocks/districtsthattheAzimPremjiFoundationworksin.Therefore,thestudydoes
notaspiretogeneralisableconclusions.
2. Thedefinitionof‘absence’wasbasedonateachernotbeingpresentphysicallyintheschoolfor
thedurationofthevisitonlyandforthatdayonly.Thiswasduetoboththelimitedresources
(fieldpersonneltime)tocovereachschoolforanentiredayandtheintentionofnotunduly
disturbingtheregularworkingoftheschool.However,mostschoolswerevisitedaroundthe
middleoftheworkinghoursoftheschoolwithatleasthalfoftheschooldaybeingspentineach
schoolfordatacollection.
3. Thiswasaone-timestudy.So,repeatedvisitstoseethereliabilityofintra-schoolobservations
onteacherabsenceandtoaccountforseasonalvariationwerenotpartofthedesign.
2Top-down monitoring was operationalised as visits of district and block-level officials to the school in the past three months and bottom-up
monitoring was defined in terms of recentness of the last SMC meeting. 3Practice of MGML was recorded as ‘yes’ in the case of both official practice and unofficial practice of MGML in the school.
9
3. Qualitative Case Studies
This sectionof the study comprises sevenqualitative case studies.The case studies consist of
purposivelyselectedschoolsfromacrossdistrictsandstatesinwhichtheAzimPremjiFoundation
hasapresence.Theseschools,selectedbasedoncriteriaidentifiedwithhighriskofteacherabsence
inexistingstudies(e.g.remotenessanddifficultyofaccess;poorschoolinfrastructure;andhigh
PTR)inconsultationwitheducationdepartmentfunctionaries,areschoolsthatarereportedtonot4exhibitanyvisibleconcernsaroundtheissueofteacherabsenteeism. Inaway,thesecasestudies
aremeanttosupplement,atonelevel,thefindingsfromthequantitativestudy,whichshowsthat
unauthorised teacher absence in the system—actual teacher absenteeism—is not of alarming
proportionsasunderlinedincurrenteducationalpolicydiscourse.Atanotherlevel,theyaremeant
toprovideaninsightintothechallenges,systemicandindividual,thatteachershavetodealwithon
aregularbasiswithinthegovernmentschoolsystemand,howinspiteofsuchchallenges,they
exhibitexemplaryfortitudeanddedicationtotheirwork.Thelatterinsightislinkedtothelarger
normativeargumentthatthisstudyseekstomakeontheissueofteacherabsenteeism.
Asisvisiblefromthesecasestudies,despitemultipleproblemsanddifficultcircumstancessuchas
remotenessoflocation,difficultyofaccess,shortageofteachers,lackofadequateinfrastructure,
multi-grade classrooms, andmarginalised communitieswho are not able to provide adequate
homesupportfortheirchildren,tonameafew,acrossallsevenschools,weseeteacherswhoare
fully present in school and ensure that they come to school regularly and punctually and
conscientiouslyengagewiththeirtaskasteachers.Theseteachersseemtoengagewiththeirwork
inamannerthatdefiesthepopularnarrativeorperceptionofattitudesandbehavioursofteachers
ingovernmentschools.Here,weseeteacherswhoarecommittedandmotivated,workingunder
sometimesveryadversecircumstancesbutdeeplyinvestedintheoutcomesoftheirendeavours.
Thisbegsthequestion,‘Whatdrivestheseteachersandmotivatesthemtocometoschooleveryday
andengagewiththeirworkthewaytheydo,despitethemanyodds?’
Manyof the teachers interviewedstatedveryexplicitly that theyweredrivennotby idealistic
motives,suchasapassionforteachingoraloveforchildrenoraburningdesireforsocialreform,to
chooseteachingasaprofession.Instead,theirchoicewasdictatedbyconvenience,availabilityof
opportunities,economicconsiderations,andsoon.But,astheteachersalsoshared,overtime,they
have learnt to appreciate the significance and import of their work and they now clearly
demonstratecommitmentandmotivation.Forsome,thismayhavebeenbecauseofaparticular
definingexperiencewithchildrenorinspiringcolleagues;butperhaps,itmayjustbethenatureof
the teaching profession. In other words, given a certain kind of enabling and positive work
environmentthatfacilitatescollegialityandtrust,teacherstendtobecommittedandmotivatedand
holdthemselvesaccountablewithoutexternalsupervisionandmonitoring.Thoseverynormsthat
drivetheirbehaviouralsomakethemaccountable.Thougheachofthesevencasesisuniquein
termsofitscontextanditsownsetofchallenges,somecommonthreadsemergeacrosstheseven
narratives.
First, despite difficulty of access and challenges of commuting, teacherswere seen to be fully
presentevenattheriskofpersonalinconvenienceandasignificantexpenditure.Forexample,inthe
caseoftheKuphargereSchool(CaseStudy3),teachersmadeachoicetostayinthevillagesothat
theywerebetterabletounderstandthecommunityandengagewiththelearningactivitiesofthe
childrenbeyondschoolhours.IntheBasarpurSchool(CaseStudy4),teachershadtousemultiple
modesoftransportandconsiderabletimeintransittoreachtheschool.InallthethreeUttarakhand
schools, as inmany other schools in the state, teachers had to hire a shared taxi, involving a
4Pseudonyms have been used for all participants and actors (teachers, students, officials and parents) as well as for schools, villages and other
such easily identifiable places to retain confidentiality.
10
significant personal expense, for their daily commute to school. Yet, these teacherswereboth
observed and reported to be punctual and regular. This perseverance of the teacherswasnot
limited tomaking efforts to be in school. This was also visible in their efforts to involve the
communityinschoolprocesses,oftenmadedifficultintermsofthestructuralproblemsofpoverty,
illiteracy,anddisempowermentthatdistancesociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedparental
communitiesfrombeinginvolvedineithertheday-to-dayschoolingissuesoftheirchildrenorthe
schoolasapublicinstitution.
Second, as individuals, these teachers and their practices reflected empathy to the needs and
context(mostlydeprivedandexcluded)ofthechildrenandthecommunity,asensitivitytoissuesof
genderandequity, andanaffirmationofequality in their facilitationofpeerprocessesamong
the children and in their own interactions with the children. For example, in the Mandehalli
School(CaseStudy7),teacherswereseencontributingtowardschildren’sneedsandforschool
improvementfromtheirownpockets,afactreaffirmedbymembersoftheSchoolDevelopmentand
ManagementCommittee(SDMC).IntheRuparpurSchool(CaseStudy6),teacherswereobservedto
bothactivelyencourageasociallyequitableenvironmentinschoolprocessessuchastheMDMand
maintainanon-hierarchicalrelationshipintheirinteractionswitheachotherandthechildren.A
keensensitivitytowardschildrenwasobservedintheclassroomprocessesinmostschools,with
scaffoldingofweakerchildreninavarietyofways,eveninthecontextofthetypicalmulti-grade
characterofsomeoftheseschools.
Third,theschoolenvironmentinalmostalltheschoolswascharacterisedbyacultureoftrustand
easy camaraderie, often initiated and supported through the efforts of the headteacher but
sustainedintermsofeverydayworkbyalltheteachers.Acollectivesenseofownershipofschool
processesseemedtoemergefromthiscultureanditextendedbeyondtheimmediatemandateof
designatedworktotheschoolasaninstitution,includinginteractionswithotherstakeholderssuch
asthecommunityandeducationfunctionaries.Forexample,teachersacrosstheschoolswereseen
to autonomously take decisions in the absence of the headteacher, share by rotation the
responsibilityofdifferentschoolprocesses,andensurethatteaching–learningwasnotaffectedby
theabsenceoftheircolleaguesduetoofficialworkorotherreasons.Theywerealsoobservedto
haveworkedoutamongthemselvesprocessesofreviewingtheirownwork—intermsofeither
formalend-of-monthreviewmeetingsorquickmeetingsbuiltintotheirdailyroutine.Mutualtrust
andrespectamongprofessionalcolleagueswereevidentininstanceswhereateachercouldreadily
sharehalftheteachingloadinthelongabsenceofathirdteacher(CaseStudy2),andwhereteachers
feltnohesitationorembarrassmentinadmittingignoranceandaskingtheheadteacherforhelpto
understandcertaincontent(CaseStudy6).
Finally, all the schoolshadheadteachers,whether regularor in-charge,whowereobserved to
articulateawell-definedsenseofwhattheywishedtoseeinandfortheirschools.Formanyofthem,
this had been acquired through a combination of lived experience, exposure to challenging
circumstances in the government school system, and individual application towards self-
development.More importantly, theheadteacherscouldbeseen toeffectively translate for the
otherteachersintheschoolasimilarvisionthroughtheirexemplarypracticesandtheprofessional
valuesystemsthattheyendorsedandworkedtowardsinstitutionalisingwithintheirschools.
Case study 1: Government Girls High School – Uparpur, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
GovernmentGirlsHighSchoolUparpurislocatedinUparpurvillage,UparpurGramPanchayatof
DundaBlockinUttarkashidistrict.Thetotalpopulationofthevillageis660with118households.
Thesexratiois1025femalesper1000males.Theoverallliteracyrateis77%,withmaleliteracy
being94%andfemaleliteracybeing67%.
Theschoolwasfoundedintheyear2006withinthepremisesofatempleandtransferredtoitsown
buildingonlyin2013.Theschoolisyettohaveapuccabuildingandelectricity,andtheplayground
issmall.Currently,thereare44childrenenrolledintheschoolacrossClasses6–8.
Itis35kilometresfromtheblockresourcecentre,33kilometresfromtheblockeducationoffice,
and18kilometresfromtheclusterresourcecentre.Connectingroadsandpublictransportare
almostnon-existent.Theonlywaytocommuteisbypersonalvehicleorhiredtransport.Teachersof
theschool,therefore,takeasharedtaxieveryday,atapersonalindividualexpenseofRs.100per
day.Onrainydays,whenthetaxiisunabletonavigatetheroads,theystayoverinthevillage.
Mostofthecommunityisengagedinagricultureanddairywork.Formuchoftheyear,theylivein
‘chaanis’(ahutonhighaltituderegionsinthemountains),keeptheircattlewiththem,andreturnto
theirhomesinthevillageonlyfortwotothreemonthsoftheyear.Duetothis,parentsarenotthere
for much of the school year. The teachers expressed how they considered themselves more
responsibleforthechildrenofthese‘absenteeparents’:‘Iftheparentdoesnotcarefortheirward,
thentheteachermustplaytheroleofparentforthemandtreatthemastheirownchildren’.
11
Table 1.1 Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Shalini(headteacher) Archana Preet
Gender Female Female Female
Age(years) 46 45 40
SocialCategory OBC OBC OBC
AcademicQualification M.A M.A M.A
ProfessionalQualification B.T.C B.T.C B.T.C
Yearofpostinginschool 2006 2006 2014
TotalExperience(years) 26 26 17
SubjectsTaughtNow SocialScience Language Science&Mathematics
Theschoolhasthreeteachers—theheadteacher(in-charge)Shalini,andtwoassistantteachers,
ArchanaandPreet(Table1.1).Theheadteacherhasbeeninthisschoolfortenyears;overall,shehas
26yearsofexperienceinschooleducation.Shehasplayedanactiveandconstructiveroleinthe
establishmentofthisschool.Becauseofherlongassociationwiththeschool,sheisveryfamiliar
withmanyintheparentcommunityandknowsthechildrenwell.Theothertwoteachersalsohave
severalyearsofexperienceascanbeseenfromtheabovetable.
Concernforstudentswasobservedinanumberofwaysinwhichtheteachersarrangedforthose
studentswhoneededextrasupport.Theywerefoundtoassignpeerstohelpthesestudentsona
dailybasis.Theyalsoarrangedremedialclassesforthefirstthreemonthsforthosestudentswho
camefromprimaryschoolandneededsupport tobeabletocopewiththesyllabusofClass6.
10
significant personal expense, for their daily commute to school. Yet, these teacherswereboth
observed and reported to be punctual and regular. This perseverance of the teacherswasnot
limited tomaking efforts to be in school. This was also visible in their efforts to involve the
communityinschoolprocesses,oftenmadedifficultintermsofthestructuralproblemsofpoverty,
illiteracy,anddisempowermentthatdistancesociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedparental
communitiesfrombeinginvolvedineithertheday-to-dayschoolingissuesoftheirchildrenorthe
schoolasapublicinstitution.
Second, as individuals, these teachers and their practices reflected empathy to the needs and
context(mostlydeprivedandexcluded)ofthechildrenandthecommunity,asensitivitytoissuesof
genderandequity, andanaffirmationofequality in their facilitationofpeerprocessesamong
the children and in their own interactions with the children. For example, in the Mandehalli
School(CaseStudy7),teacherswereseencontributingtowardschildren’sneedsandforschool
improvementfromtheirownpockets,afactreaffirmedbymembersoftheSchoolDevelopmentand
ManagementCommittee(SDMC).IntheRuparpurSchool(CaseStudy6),teacherswereobservedto
bothactivelyencourageasociallyequitableenvironmentinschoolprocessessuchastheMDMand
maintainanon-hierarchicalrelationshipintheirinteractionswitheachotherandthechildren.A
keensensitivitytowardschildrenwasobservedintheclassroomprocessesinmostschools,with
scaffoldingofweakerchildreninavarietyofways,eveninthecontextofthetypicalmulti-grade
characterofsomeoftheseschools.
Third,theschoolenvironmentinalmostalltheschoolswascharacterisedbyacultureoftrustand
easy camaraderie, often initiated and supported through the efforts of the headteacher but
sustainedintermsofeverydayworkbyalltheteachers.Acollectivesenseofownershipofschool
processesseemedtoemergefromthiscultureanditextendedbeyondtheimmediatemandateof
designatedworktotheschoolasaninstitution,includinginteractionswithotherstakeholderssuch
asthecommunityandeducationfunctionaries.Forexample,teachersacrosstheschoolswereseen
to autonomously take decisions in the absence of the headteacher, share by rotation the
responsibilityofdifferentschoolprocesses,andensurethatteaching–learningwasnotaffectedby
theabsenceoftheircolleaguesduetoofficialworkorotherreasons.Theywerealsoobservedto
haveworkedoutamongthemselvesprocessesofreviewingtheirownwork—intermsofeither
formalend-of-monthreviewmeetingsorquickmeetingsbuiltintotheirdailyroutine.Mutualtrust
andrespectamongprofessionalcolleagueswereevidentininstanceswhereateachercouldreadily
sharehalftheteachingloadinthelongabsenceofathirdteacher(CaseStudy2),andwhereteachers
feltnohesitationorembarrassmentinadmittingignoranceandaskingtheheadteacherforhelpto
understandcertaincontent(CaseStudy6).
Finally, all the schoolshadheadteachers,whether regularor in-charge,whowereobserved to
articulateawell-definedsenseofwhattheywishedtoseeinandfortheirschools.Formanyofthem,
this had been acquired through a combination of lived experience, exposure to challenging
circumstances in the government school system, and individual application towards self-
development.More importantly, theheadteacherscouldbeseen toeffectively translate for the
otherteachersintheschoolasimilarvisionthroughtheirexemplarypracticesandtheprofessional
valuesystemsthattheyendorsedandworkedtowardsinstitutionalisingwithintheirschools.
Case study 1: Government Girls High School – Uparpur, Uttarkashi, Uttarakhand
GovernmentGirlsHighSchoolUparpurislocatedinUparpurvillage,UparpurGramPanchayatof
DundaBlockinUttarkashidistrict.Thetotalpopulationofthevillageis660with118households.
Thesexratiois1025femalesper1000males.Theoverallliteracyrateis77%,withmaleliteracy
being94%andfemaleliteracybeing67%.
Theschoolwasfoundedintheyear2006withinthepremisesofatempleandtransferredtoitsown
buildingonlyin2013.Theschoolisyettohaveapuccabuildingandelectricity,andtheplayground
issmall.Currently,thereare44childrenenrolledintheschoolacrossClasses6–8.
Itis35kilometresfromtheblockresourcecentre,33kilometresfromtheblockeducationoffice,
and18kilometresfromtheclusterresourcecentre.Connectingroadsandpublictransportare
almostnon-existent.Theonlywaytocommuteisbypersonalvehicleorhiredtransport.Teachersof
theschool,therefore,takeasharedtaxieveryday,atapersonalindividualexpenseofRs.100per
day.Onrainydays,whenthetaxiisunabletonavigatetheroads,theystayoverinthevillage.
Mostofthecommunityisengagedinagricultureanddairywork.Formuchoftheyear,theylivein
‘chaanis’(ahutonhighaltituderegionsinthemountains),keeptheircattlewiththem,andreturnto
theirhomesinthevillageonlyfortwotothreemonthsoftheyear.Duetothis,parentsarenotthere
for much of the school year. The teachers expressed how they considered themselves more
responsibleforthechildrenofthese‘absenteeparents’:‘Iftheparentdoesnotcarefortheirward,
thentheteachermustplaytheroleofparentforthemandtreatthemastheirownchildren’.
11
Table 1.1 Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Shalini(headteacher) Archana Preet
Gender Female Female Female
Age(years) 46 45 40
SocialCategory OBC OBC OBC
AcademicQualification M.A M.A M.A
ProfessionalQualification B.T.C B.T.C B.T.C
Yearofpostinginschool 2006 2006 2014
TotalExperience(years) 26 26 17
SubjectsTaughtNow SocialScience Language Science&Mathematics
Theschoolhasthreeteachers—theheadteacher(in-charge)Shalini,andtwoassistantteachers,
ArchanaandPreet(Table1.1).Theheadteacherhasbeeninthisschoolfortenyears;overall,shehas
26yearsofexperienceinschooleducation.Shehasplayedanactiveandconstructiveroleinthe
establishmentofthisschool.Becauseofherlongassociationwiththeschool,sheisveryfamiliar
withmanyintheparentcommunityandknowsthechildrenwell.Theothertwoteachersalsohave
severalyearsofexperienceascanbeseenfromtheabovetable.
Concernforstudentswasobservedinanumberofwaysinwhichtheteachersarrangedforthose
studentswhoneededextrasupport.Theywerefoundtoassignpeerstohelpthesestudentsona
dailybasis.Theyalsoarrangedremedialclassesforthefirstthreemonthsforthosestudentswho
camefromprimaryschoolandneededsupport tobeabletocopewiththesyllabusofClass6.
12
Archanasaidthatshetriedto‘payattentiontoallthechildren’,includingthosewithspecialneeds;
shetriedtousedifferentstrategiesforthis.Asalanguageteacher,shefrequentlymadethemworkin
groups—sometimesmixedandsometimesgroupedaccordingtotheirlocallanguage.Accordingto
her, ‘Weshouldgivesometimetochildrentodoguidedtalkamongthemselves,soIdesignmy
lessonwiththeseideasalso’.Sheexpressedhowshebelievedthatherworkspokeforitself:‘My
childrenarearealreflectionorliveevidenceofmywork’.Shealsosharedhowshebelievedthat
childrenrespondtoaffection:‘Childrenwilllearn;onlyyouwillhavetotakecareaboutthem.Ifyou
lovethem,theywillalsoloveyou’.
The teachers decided among themselves the subjects they wished to take responsibility for,
accordingtotheircomfortlevelswitheachsubject.Thereseemedtobea‘cultureoftrust’amongthe
teachers.Theheadteacher’scupboardwaskeptunlockedandallteachershadaccesstorecordsand
documents.Intheheadteacher’swords,‘Itisnotmypersonalpropertyasweallaremembersofthe
schoolfamily;so,weallhaveequalrighttoaccessit’.
TheschoolhasanSMCconstitutedasperthenormsoftheRighttoEducationAct.Theteacherswere
seentobemakingeffortstobuildbridgeswiththecommunitybuttheparents,possiblybecauseof
time constraints and the demands of their livelihood,were unable to engage deeplywith the
educationoftheirchildren.Theheadteachercontinuouslysentletterstoparentsregardingthe
meetings,functions,Aam-Sabha(commonmeeting),andcelebrationofspecialdaysintheschool,
buttherateofattendanceofparentsfortheseeventswasnotverysatisfactory.Theteachersmade
anefforttoperiodicallysharetheirchildren’sprogresswiththeparentsforfeedback;yet,parents
didnotseemtoberesponsiveenough.Theteachersexpressedhowtheyfeltasenseoffrustrationat
thisperceivedlackofengagement.Asoneteachersaid,‘Duringlastmonth’smeeting,Ihaveshared
theresultsofchildrenwiththeirparentsbutnoonewasinterestedtotalkonthoseissues.They
came,sawtheresults,andmovedtotheirworkwithoutsayingasinglewordabouttheirchildrenor
effortofteachers’.
The SMChead Sanjay, an influentialmember of the village, opined that lack of education and
awarenessinthecommunityledtothisattitude.Accordingtohim,parentsbelievedthattheschool
wouldtakefullresponsibilityfortheeducationoftheirchildren.However,appreciatingtheefforts
oftheteachers,henoted,‘Weallareobligedtosuchteacherswhohavesuchastrongprofessional
commitmenttowardsourchildren.Onlyduetosuchcommitment,studentsofourvillageareableto
dowellinthenearbyGovernmentInterCollegeKWHforthelastmanyyears’.Hefurtherelaborated
howtheSMCwasmakingsomeeffortstoimprovetheschool:‘Thisisourbelovedschoolandweall
aretryingtoimproveresourcesintermsoflevellingtheplaygroundandmakingconcreteveranda
forourchildren’.
Case Study 2: Government Primary School – Dunsagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
The Government Primary School, Dunsagar was established in 1932. It is one among the 14
governmentschoolsofRajpurBlockinDehradundistrict.Theschoolislocatedinahillyarea,25
kilometresfromDehraduntown.Theschoolisrarelyvisitedbydistrict-levelofficials;however,the
clustercoordinatoroftenvisitstheschool.Thecurrentstrengthoftheschoolis69childrenwith38
boysand31girls.Contrarytorecenttrendsofadeclineinenrolmentingovernmentschools,dueto
themushroomingofprivateschools,thisschoolhasseenanincreaseinenrolmentfrom49children
in2007–08to69childrenin2016–17(Table2.1).Theschoolhasadequatefacilitiesintermsof
infrastructure.
13
Table 2.1: Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2007–2008 49
2008–2009 56
2009–2010 54
2010–2011 60
2011–2012 61
2012–2013 61
2013–2014 64
2014–2015 73
2015–2016 78
2016–2017 69
Thecatchmentareaoftheschoolisquitewide,coveringninehamletsthathavenogovernment
school intheirvicinity.Childrenhavetosometimeswalkadistanceof4–5kilometrestoreach
school.Evenifotherschoolingoptionsareavailable,asinthecaseofonevillage,parentschooseto
sendtheirchildrentotheDunsagarschoolbecauseofitsreputationandbecausetheiroldersiblings
havegonethere.Thepopularlocalperceptionisthatthisisoneofthebestgovernmentschools.
Asignificantpercentageofthepopulationinthecatchmentareabelongstothe‘generalcategory’;
however,thereareafewscheduledcastefamiliesinthevillageswhosechildrenalsoattendthis
school.Theparentcommunitywasfoundtobemoderatelysupportiveandengagedwithschool
processes.
Therearethreeteachersintheschool—Lakshmi,Jyoti,andSunita.Lakshmihasbeenin-charge
since the transfer of the previous headteacher to another school. Table 2.2 provides a brief
backgroundofeachoftheteachers.
Theschoolisbothremoteanddifficulttoaccess.Therearenobasicfacilitiessuchasemergency
medicalhelp,bank,ormarketneartheschool,andtheclosestpostofficeis10kilometresaway.
Thoughwellconnectedintermsofamacadamizedroadthatprovideseasyaccess,publictransport
isavailableonlyforthefirst15kilometresofthe25-kilometrejourneythattheteachershaveto
Table 2.2: Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Lakshmi Jyoti Sunita
(In-chargeHeadteacher) (AssistantTeacher) (AssistantTeacher)
Gender Female Female Female
Age(years) 48 36 36
AcademicQualification B.A B.Sc M.Sc,M.A
ProfessionalQualification BTC B.Ed B.Ed
DateofJoininginDept. 30.11.1988 16.10.2014 17.10.2014
DateofJoininginPSDunsagar 26.09.2013 16.10.2014 17.10.2014
12
Archanasaidthatshetriedto‘payattentiontoallthechildren’,includingthosewithspecialneeds;
shetriedtousedifferentstrategiesforthis.Asalanguageteacher,shefrequentlymadethemworkin
groups—sometimesmixedandsometimesgroupedaccordingtotheirlocallanguage.Accordingto
her, ‘Weshouldgivesometimetochildrentodoguidedtalkamongthemselves,soIdesignmy
lessonwiththeseideasalso’.Sheexpressedhowshebelievedthatherworkspokeforitself:‘My
childrenarearealreflectionorliveevidenceofmywork’.Shealsosharedhowshebelievedthat
childrenrespondtoaffection:‘Childrenwilllearn;onlyyouwillhavetotakecareaboutthem.Ifyou
lovethem,theywillalsoloveyou’.
The teachers decided among themselves the subjects they wished to take responsibility for,
accordingtotheircomfortlevelswitheachsubject.Thereseemedtobea‘cultureoftrust’amongthe
teachers.Theheadteacher’scupboardwaskeptunlockedandallteachershadaccesstorecordsand
documents.Intheheadteacher’swords,‘Itisnotmypersonalpropertyasweallaremembersofthe
schoolfamily;so,weallhaveequalrighttoaccessit’.
TheschoolhasanSMCconstitutedasperthenormsoftheRighttoEducationAct.Theteacherswere
seentobemakingeffortstobuildbridgeswiththecommunitybuttheparents,possiblybecauseof
time constraints and the demands of their livelihood,were unable to engage deeplywith the
educationoftheirchildren.Theheadteachercontinuouslysentletterstoparentsregardingthe
meetings,functions,Aam-Sabha(commonmeeting),andcelebrationofspecialdaysintheschool,
buttherateofattendanceofparentsfortheseeventswasnotverysatisfactory.Theteachersmade
anefforttoperiodicallysharetheirchildren’sprogresswiththeparentsforfeedback;yet,parents
didnotseemtoberesponsiveenough.Theteachersexpressedhowtheyfeltasenseoffrustrationat
thisperceivedlackofengagement.Asoneteachersaid,‘Duringlastmonth’smeeting,Ihaveshared
theresultsofchildrenwiththeirparentsbutnoonewasinterestedtotalkonthoseissues.They
came,sawtheresults,andmovedtotheirworkwithoutsayingasinglewordabouttheirchildrenor
effortofteachers’.
The SMChead Sanjay, an influentialmember of the village, opined that lack of education and
awarenessinthecommunityledtothisattitude.Accordingtohim,parentsbelievedthattheschool
wouldtakefullresponsibilityfortheeducationoftheirchildren.However,appreciatingtheefforts
oftheteachers,henoted,‘Weallareobligedtosuchteacherswhohavesuchastrongprofessional
commitmenttowardsourchildren.Onlyduetosuchcommitment,studentsofourvillageareableto
dowellinthenearbyGovernmentInterCollegeKWHforthelastmanyyears’.Hefurtherelaborated
howtheSMCwasmakingsomeeffortstoimprovetheschool:‘Thisisourbelovedschoolandweall
aretryingtoimproveresourcesintermsoflevellingtheplaygroundandmakingconcreteveranda
forourchildren’.
Case Study 2: Government Primary School – Dunsagar, Dehradun, Uttarakhand
The Government Primary School, Dunsagar was established in 1932. It is one among the 14
governmentschoolsofRajpurBlockinDehradundistrict.Theschoolislocatedinahillyarea,25
kilometresfromDehraduntown.Theschoolisrarelyvisitedbydistrict-levelofficials;however,the
clustercoordinatoroftenvisitstheschool.Thecurrentstrengthoftheschoolis69childrenwith38
boysand31girls.Contrarytorecenttrendsofadeclineinenrolmentingovernmentschools,dueto
themushroomingofprivateschools,thisschoolhasseenanincreaseinenrolmentfrom49children
in2007–08to69childrenin2016–17(Table2.1).Theschoolhasadequatefacilitiesintermsof
infrastructure.
13
Table 2.1: Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2007–2008 49
2008–2009 56
2009–2010 54
2010–2011 60
2011–2012 61
2012–2013 61
2013–2014 64
2014–2015 73
2015–2016 78
2016–2017 69
Thecatchmentareaoftheschoolisquitewide,coveringninehamletsthathavenogovernment
school intheirvicinity.Childrenhavetosometimeswalkadistanceof4–5kilometrestoreach
school.Evenifotherschoolingoptionsareavailable,asinthecaseofonevillage,parentschooseto
sendtheirchildrentotheDunsagarschoolbecauseofitsreputationandbecausetheiroldersiblings
havegonethere.Thepopularlocalperceptionisthatthisisoneofthebestgovernmentschools.
Asignificantpercentageofthepopulationinthecatchmentareabelongstothe‘generalcategory’;
however,thereareafewscheduledcastefamiliesinthevillageswhosechildrenalsoattendthis
school.Theparentcommunitywasfoundtobemoderatelysupportiveandengagedwithschool
processes.
Therearethreeteachersintheschool—Lakshmi,Jyoti,andSunita.Lakshmihasbeenin-charge
since the transfer of the previous headteacher to another school. Table 2.2 provides a brief
backgroundofeachoftheteachers.
Theschoolisbothremoteanddifficulttoaccess.Therearenobasicfacilitiessuchasemergency
medicalhelp,bank,ormarketneartheschool,andtheclosestpostofficeis10kilometresaway.
Thoughwellconnectedintermsofamacadamizedroadthatprovideseasyaccess,publictransport
isavailableonlyforthefirst15kilometresofthe25-kilometrejourneythattheteachershaveto
Table 2.2: Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Lakshmi Jyoti Sunita
(In-chargeHeadteacher) (AssistantTeacher) (AssistantTeacher)
Gender Female Female Female
Age(years) 48 36 36
AcademicQualification B.A B.Sc M.Sc,M.A
ProfessionalQualification BTC B.Ed B.Ed
DateofJoininginDept. 30.11.1988 16.10.2014 17.10.2014
DateofJoininginPSDunsagar 26.09.2013 16.10.2014 17.10.2014
makefromDehradun.Theremainingdistanceof10kilometrescanonlybecoveredbyeitherusinga
personalvehicleorrequestingothercommutersforalift.Theroadisrelativelydeserted,somuchso
thatsometimes,itishardtospotevenasinglepersontravelingonit.Allthreeteachersuseashared
taxifortheircommute.Itishiredbyagroupof8–10teachersworkinginneighbouringschoolsin
thearea.Thetaxiownerpicksuptheteachersfromafewcentralisedlocations.Toensurethatall
teachersreachtheirschoolsontime,theyhavetostartatleastonehourbeforeschoolbegins.The
taxiisbookedfortheentireyear,exceptsummervacations,bythisgroupofteachers;thetaxiowner
chargeseachteacherRs.2500permonth.ThisisacommonpracticeacrossUttarakhandwhere
teachersresideintheclosesttownbutusesharecabstocommutetoschool.
Ofthethreeteachers,onewasawayonmaternityleavesinceJuly2016andwasexpectedtoreturn
onlybyend-December.Inherabsence,theheadteacherandtheotherteacherdistributedthework
loadequallybetweenthemselves.Thelatterexpressedthatshefeltfreetoraiseanddiscussany
issuewiththeheadteacherandtherelationshipbetweenthemwasobservedtobecommunicative
andnon-hierarchical.Recordsarenotkeptlocked-upinacupboardandbothteachershaveaccess
tothem.Itwasalsoobservedthatiftheheadteacherwasawayfromschoolforameetingatthe
clusterresourcecentreortheblockresourcecentre,theotherteachertookresponsibilityforall
childrenandensured that teaching–learningprocesseswerenotaffectedby theheadteacher’s
absence.
Jyoti,forwhomthiswasthefirstpostingandwhohasnowbeenworkingforthepasttwoyearsin
this school, shared how she initially chose to become a teacher because of the perceived
convenienceoftheworkinghours.Shefeltthatwithateachingjob,shewouldbeabletobalanceher
personalandprofessionallife.However,shecontinuedthatanencounterwithaparticularchild,
Asha, and the experience ofworkingwith her over a period of time transformedher attitude
towardsteachingandhervisionoftheprofessionanditssignificance.
ThestoryofAsha(Box2.1)wasnarratedbybothJyotiandtheMDMcookintheschool.Speaking
aboutAsha,Jyotisaid,‘Today,AshaisabletodoalotandIexperienceagreatsenseofsatisfaction
whenIseeher.ShehaschangedthewayIseeandunderstandeducation’.
Box 2.1: Inspiring experience for teacher
AshaisagirlchildcurrentlystudyinginClass2;heroldersisterisinClass4inthesameschool.
WhenAshawasfirstenrolled,shewasobservedtobeverysilentandwithdrawn.Forthefirstsix
months,shealwayskeptherschoolbaginherlap,closetoher,neitheropeningitherselfnor
allowingteacherstoopenitortakeitawayfromher.Once,whentheheadteacher,Lakshmi,
forcefullytriedtopickupherbag,shestartedtohitandkicktheteacherandcriedveryloudly.She
wasnotconsidered‘normal’byherpeers.JyotiworkedwithAshapatientlyandgently,gradually
winninghertrust.Overthemonths,hereffortspaidoff.Now,thereisaremarkablechangein
Asha.Sheparticipatesinclassandshehasbeenperformingwell.Themotherisalsohappytosee
thechangeinherchild.
Indeed,observationsfromJyoti’sclassroomreflectedhowherengagementwassensitiveandnon-
discriminatory.Further,theobservationsshowedtheeffortssheputintosimultaneouslyfacilitatea
rich learningexperience inadifficultmulti-gradeclassroomsituationandmaintaina fear-free
environment,allowingchildrentointeractwithherwithouthesitation(Box2.2).
14 15
Box 2.2: A glimpse of classroom processes
Classes1,2,and4werehousedtogetherinoneclassroom.Everychildfromeveryclasswas
present.Therefore,therewere40childreninclass.Theteacherhadgivenindividualassignments
toeachclass.Class1childrenwereengagedincompletingtheirlanguageworkbook,Class2was
giventwo-digitaddition,andClass4childrenwereaskedtoreadagivenchapter fromtheir
textbook.
The primary focus during the observed period was Class 2. While the others worked by
themselves,theteacherexplainedadditionoftwo-digitnumbersusingtheblackboardtoClass2
andthen,theyweregivenproblemstosolve.WithinClass2,forthesecondexercise,theteacher
further divided the children into two groups, each consisting of 6–7 children. One group
consistedofthosechildrenwhowereabletosolvetheproblemsandthesecondconsistedof
thosewho needed support. The teacher directed the first group to help the second. In this
manner,thelessonproceededsmoothlywithallchildrenlookinghappy.
She appreciated children whenever she could. A child, Rajeev, from Class 2, completed his
mathematicsproblemssoquicklythefirsttimethattheteacheraskedallthechildrentoclapfor
him.Rajeevwasvisiblypleasedbythis.Atthesametime,shewasattentivetowardsthechildren
whoseemedtobestruggling,helpingthempatientlyandcontinuously.Itwasobservedthatthe
childrendidnothesitatetoaskherquestions.
Afterthis,sheaskedthechildrenofClass1tobringtheirworktoherforevaluationandfeedback.
Shethenassessedandrespondedtotheirworkindividually,whileClass4childrencontinuedto
readquietlybythemselves,withoutcreatinganydisturbanceeventhoughtheydidnothavethe
teacher’sattentionsofar.
In other conversations, Jyoti lamented that despite having decent enrolments, there was an
inadequacyofteachersintheschool.Sheexpressedfrustrationathavingtosimultaneouslyengage
withchildrenofdifferentclassesandagesinthesameclassroom.Accordingtoher,thiswasnotthe
rightwaytodealwithchildrenandnotthebestwaytohelpthemtofulfiltheirpotential:‘Nomatter
howmanychildren theremaybe inaclassroom, ifweput twoormoreclasses together, then
somewhere,we are compromisingwith the learning of these children,which is not the right
solution.Ineveryclass,everychildrenshouldgetanadequateopportunitytolearn.Forthis,itis
importanttohaveadequatenumberofteachersforeveryclassandeverysubject’.
Case Study 3: Government Higher Primary School – Kuphargere, Yadgiri, Karnataka
GovernmentHigherPrimarySchool,KuphargereislocatedintheheartofKuphargerevillagein
ruralKarnataka,whichhasatotalpopulationof2259,consistingof447households.Thesexratiois
954femalesper1000males.Theliteracyrateofthevillageis46.1%,withmaleliteracyat59.3%
andfemaleliteracyat32.2%.Scheduledcastesandscheduledtribestogethercomprise43.4%of
thepopulation.OtherdominantsocialgroupsofthevillageareLingayatsandVokkaligas.Themajor
occupationofthevillagecommunityisagricultureandagriculturallabour.Asectionofthevillage
populationmigratesseasonallytourbanareasforconstructionandothercooliework.
Theschoolislocatedatadistanceof28kilometresfromtheSurpurBlockheadquarters.Theaccess
roadstotheschoolareverypoor.Publictransportfacilityisalsopoorandpeoplehavetodepend
upontheirownvehiclesorprivateauto(Tam-Tam),whichisrarelyavailable.
makefromDehradun.Theremainingdistanceof10kilometrescanonlybecoveredbyeitherusinga
personalvehicleorrequestingothercommutersforalift.Theroadisrelativelydeserted,somuchso
thatsometimes,itishardtospotevenasinglepersontravelingonit.Allthreeteachersuseashared
taxifortheircommute.Itishiredbyagroupof8–10teachersworkinginneighbouringschoolsin
thearea.Thetaxiownerpicksuptheteachersfromafewcentralisedlocations.Toensurethatall
teachersreachtheirschoolsontime,theyhavetostartatleastonehourbeforeschoolbegins.The
taxiisbookedfortheentireyear,exceptsummervacations,bythisgroupofteachers;thetaxiowner
chargeseachteacherRs.2500permonth.ThisisacommonpracticeacrossUttarakhandwhere
teachersresideintheclosesttownbutusesharecabstocommutetoschool.
Ofthethreeteachers,onewasawayonmaternityleavesinceJuly2016andwasexpectedtoreturn
onlybyend-December.Inherabsence,theheadteacherandtheotherteacherdistributedthework
loadequallybetweenthemselves.Thelatterexpressedthatshefeltfreetoraiseanddiscussany
issuewiththeheadteacherandtherelationshipbetweenthemwasobservedtobecommunicative
andnon-hierarchical.Recordsarenotkeptlocked-upinacupboardandbothteachershaveaccess
tothem.Itwasalsoobservedthatiftheheadteacherwasawayfromschoolforameetingatthe
clusterresourcecentreortheblockresourcecentre,theotherteachertookresponsibilityforall
childrenandensured that teaching–learningprocesseswerenotaffectedby theheadteacher’s
absence.
Jyoti,forwhomthiswasthefirstpostingandwhohasnowbeenworkingforthepasttwoyearsin
this school, shared how she initially chose to become a teacher because of the perceived
convenienceoftheworkinghours.Shefeltthatwithateachingjob,shewouldbeabletobalanceher
personalandprofessionallife.However,shecontinuedthatanencounterwithaparticularchild,
Asha, and the experience ofworkingwith her over a period of time transformedher attitude
towardsteachingandhervisionoftheprofessionanditssignificance.
ThestoryofAsha(Box2.1)wasnarratedbybothJyotiandtheMDMcookintheschool.Speaking
aboutAsha,Jyotisaid,‘Today,AshaisabletodoalotandIexperienceagreatsenseofsatisfaction
whenIseeher.ShehaschangedthewayIseeandunderstandeducation’.
Box 2.1: Inspiring experience for teacher
AshaisagirlchildcurrentlystudyinginClass2;heroldersisterisinClass4inthesameschool.
WhenAshawasfirstenrolled,shewasobservedtobeverysilentandwithdrawn.Forthefirstsix
months,shealwayskeptherschoolbaginherlap,closetoher,neitheropeningitherselfnor
allowingteacherstoopenitortakeitawayfromher.Once,whentheheadteacher,Lakshmi,
forcefullytriedtopickupherbag,shestartedtohitandkicktheteacherandcriedveryloudly.She
wasnotconsidered‘normal’byherpeers.JyotiworkedwithAshapatientlyandgently,gradually
winninghertrust.Overthemonths,hereffortspaidoff.Now,thereisaremarkablechangein
Asha.Sheparticipatesinclassandshehasbeenperformingwell.Themotherisalsohappytosee
thechangeinherchild.
Indeed,observationsfromJyoti’sclassroomreflectedhowherengagementwassensitiveandnon-
discriminatory.Further,theobservationsshowedtheeffortssheputintosimultaneouslyfacilitatea
rich learningexperience inadifficultmulti-gradeclassroomsituationandmaintaina fear-free
environment,allowingchildrentointeractwithherwithouthesitation(Box2.2).
14 15
Box 2.2: A glimpse of classroom processes
Classes1,2,and4werehousedtogetherinoneclassroom.Everychildfromeveryclasswas
present.Therefore,therewere40childreninclass.Theteacherhadgivenindividualassignments
toeachclass.Class1childrenwereengagedincompletingtheirlanguageworkbook,Class2was
giventwo-digitaddition,andClass4childrenwereaskedtoreadagivenchapter fromtheir
textbook.
The primary focus during the observed period was Class 2. While the others worked by
themselves,theteacherexplainedadditionoftwo-digitnumbersusingtheblackboardtoClass2
andthen,theyweregivenproblemstosolve.WithinClass2,forthesecondexercise,theteacher
further divided the children into two groups, each consisting of 6–7 children. One group
consistedofthosechildrenwhowereabletosolvetheproblemsandthesecondconsistedof
thosewho needed support. The teacher directed the first group to help the second. In this
manner,thelessonproceededsmoothlywithallchildrenlookinghappy.
She appreciated children whenever she could. A child, Rajeev, from Class 2, completed his
mathematicsproblemssoquicklythefirsttimethattheteacheraskedallthechildrentoclapfor
him.Rajeevwasvisiblypleasedbythis.Atthesametime,shewasattentivetowardsthechildren
whoseemedtobestruggling,helpingthempatientlyandcontinuously.Itwasobservedthatthe
childrendidnothesitatetoaskherquestions.
Afterthis,sheaskedthechildrenofClass1tobringtheirworktoherforevaluationandfeedback.
Shethenassessedandrespondedtotheirworkindividually,whileClass4childrencontinuedto
readquietlybythemselves,withoutcreatinganydisturbanceeventhoughtheydidnothavethe
teacher’sattentionsofar.
In other conversations, Jyoti lamented that despite having decent enrolments, there was an
inadequacyofteachersintheschool.Sheexpressedfrustrationathavingtosimultaneouslyengage
withchildrenofdifferentclassesandagesinthesameclassroom.Accordingtoher,thiswasnotthe
rightwaytodealwithchildrenandnotthebestwaytohelpthemtofulfiltheirpotential:‘Nomatter
howmanychildren theremaybe inaclassroom, ifweput twoormoreclasses together, then
somewhere,we are compromisingwith the learning of these children,which is not the right
solution.Ineveryclass,everychildrenshouldgetanadequateopportunitytolearn.Forthis,itis
importanttohaveadequatenumberofteachersforeveryclassandeverysubject’.
Case Study 3: Government Higher Primary School – Kuphargere, Yadgiri, Karnataka
GovernmentHigherPrimarySchool,KuphargereislocatedintheheartofKuphargerevillagein
ruralKarnataka,whichhasatotalpopulationof2259,consistingof447households.Thesexratiois
954femalesper1000males.Theliteracyrateofthevillageis46.1%,withmaleliteracyat59.3%
andfemaleliteracyat32.2%.Scheduledcastesandscheduledtribestogethercomprise43.4%of
thepopulation.OtherdominantsocialgroupsofthevillageareLingayatsandVokkaligas.Themajor
occupationofthevillagecommunityisagricultureandagriculturallabour.Asectionofthevillage
populationmigratesseasonallytourbanareasforconstructionandothercooliework.
Theschoolislocatedatadistanceof28kilometresfromtheSurpurBlockheadquarters.Theaccess
roadstotheschoolareverypoor.Publictransportfacilityisalsopoorandpeoplehavetodepend
upontheirownvehiclesorprivateauto(Tam-Tam),whichisrarelyavailable.
16
Theschoolishousedintwodifferentbuildingsatsomedistancefromeachother.Onebuilding
accommodatesClasses1–4andtheotherbuildingaccommodatesClasses5–7.321childrenare
currentlyenrolledintheschool.Onanaverage,around260studentsattendschooleveryday.
In2003,theschoolwasrunningwith238studentsforClasses1–7withfiveteachers.Therewere
onlyfourrooms,whichwereinastateofdisrepair.Especiallyduringtherains,theschoolgrounds
would be flooded and some rooms would become unusable. The teachers would either club
childrentogetherandconductmulti-gradeclassesorperforcesendthechildrenhome.Theschoolis
nowverywellequippedintermsofinfrastructure.Thishasbeenpossiblelargelyduetotheefforts
ofafewmembersofthecommunityandsomecapableandcommittedheadteacherswho,overthe
years,wereabletomobilisethecommunity.
Despite this engagement of the community with school development, during the period
2003–2013,theschoolwasnotevenabletoformanSDMCduetopoliticalinterruptionandcaste
conflicts.TheschoolgrantssanctionedinthatperiodwereremittedtotheDepartmentduetonon-
formationofSDMC.ThepresentSDMCwasformedintheyear2014;however,itisnotyetactiveand
noSDMCmeetingshavebeenconductedsofar.OnlytheSDMCPresidentvisitstheschoolwhenever
invited;heseemedtohaveaverylimitedunderstandingoftherolesandresponsibilitiesofthe
SDMC.
Table 3.1: Profile of teachers
Name Sex Age Qualification Subjects Duration No.ofposting Durationof
(years) taught ofservice incurrent currentposting
(years) school (years)
Gangadhar Male 35 B.Ed English 13 1 13
Mahendra Male 32 B.Ed Mathematics 8 1 8
Vajramuni Male 29 D.Ed Science, 6 1 6 Mathematics, Hindi
Badri Male 29 B.Ed Kannada, 1 1 1
SocialScience
Currently,theschoolhasfourregularappointedassistantteacherswhoengagewiththehigher
primaryclasses(Table3.1)andthreeparateacherswhotakecareoflowerprimaryclasses.With11
sanctionedposts,thereisavacancyofseventeachers.Twooftheregularteacherswhocomefrom
distantplaces,namelyDharwadandBelgaum,havedeliberatelychosentoliveinthevillage.They
cited thedistanceand lackofavailabilityofpublic transportasoneof thereasonsbehind this
decision;thesecondreasonwassothattheycouldengagewiththecommunity,understandthem,
andbuildagoodrelationshipwiththem,aswellasengagewithchildrenafterschoolhours.Thetwo
otherteacherstraveladistanceof15kilometresone-waydaily.
Assharedbyacoupleoftheregularteachers,theirprimaryschoolteachershadbeenaninspiration
for them to become teachers. The in-chargeheadteacher recalled, ‘Myprimary school teacher
Shankarappahadinfluencedmealot.Hestayedinthesamevillageandspentmuchofhistimein
schoolwithchildren.Ispenttimediscussingwithhiminhishouseafterschoolhours.Iusedtosleep
athishousemostofthetimeandhetaughtmeyogaat4a.m.,andtoreadbooks.Thisinfluencedmea
lotandhenceIoptedfortheteachingprofession’.
The teachers shared how they felt that teaching was a worthwhile endeavour that makes a
significantcontributiontosociety,morethanotherprofessions.Asoneofthemsaid,‘Likewater,air
andlight,educationisalsoafundamentalneed.Givingeducationisnotjustmakingthechildrento
17
readandwrite.Itshouldincludecultureandvalues.Achildcanget80%or90%inhisexams,butif
hedoesn’tknowhowtogel inthesociety,thateducationdoesn’thaveanymeaning.Heshould
respectthesocietyandgetrespectfromthesociety’.
Theschoolday for the teachersstartedat8a.m.,anhourbeforeschoolbegan.Whilechildren
cleanedtheschoolpremisesandbroughtwaterfromthenearbycanaltowaterthegarden,the
teacherstookextraclassesforthehigher-gradechildrenfrom8–9a.m.Theteachersalsotookan
hourofextraclassforMathematicsintheevening,from4.30to5.30p.m.Theyappearedtoworkasa
teamandtheunderstandingandcoordinationamongstthemwasvisibleinthedailyrunningofthe
school.AllprocessespertainingtotheMDMwereorganisedindetailandinturnmanagedsmoothly
by theMDM staff, with one assistant teacher being responsible for supervision. Observations
showedthat theteachers,besideshavingtheir lunch,spent the lunchhourdiscussingrelevant
academicandadministrativeissuessuchasclassdistributionandofficialdocumentationwork.
Transparencywasevidentamongtheteacherswithrespectto informationsharing;grantsand
expenditurestatementsweresharedamongallthroughashareitapp.Theteacherswerealsoseen
tomakeuseofWhatsApptoshareacademicmaterials,readings,andrhymesamongthemselves.
No visible sense of hierarchy based on age, experience, or seniority was evident in their
interactions. This spirit of professional camaraderie is best captured in one of the teachers’
response:‘Theimportantthingisthatwenevertrytotakethecreditindividually;whateverwedo,
wedoitinthenameofteamwork.Thatmightbeourgreateststrength,whichhelpedustobe
togetherandachieveallthis’.
EvenintheabsenceoftheSMCuntil2014anditsnon-functionalstateafteritsformationin2014,
theteachers,byoptingtoliveinthevillage,havebeenabletobuildagoodrelationshipwiththe
community.Despiteavisiblyfracturedcommunitywithamultitudeoffactionsandyouthgroups,
theteachershavebeenabletomobilisefundsforschooldevelopment,includingsettingupofa
librarywithbooks,charts,tables,andchairs.
Theteacherswererarelyabsent,butiftheywere,theyapproachedtheschoolalumnifromthe
community,whohadcompletedtheirgraduationandpost-graduation,totakeclasses.Thealumni
wereobservedtodosowillingly,withoutanyfinancialcompensation.Onotheroccasions,whena
teacherwasabsent,eithertwoclassesweremergedtogetherorhigher-gradestudentsweregiven
theresponsibilityofengagingwiththeclass.
Theheadteacheroftheschoolseemedtohavecontributedalotinbuildingapositiveworkculture
intheschoolandwasawarethathehadtoleadbyexample.Heexpressedhow,onlyifhemanagedto
betransparent,dedicated,andhonest,wouldthosequalitiesbetransferredtotheotherteachers.
Thecomplexanddemandingnatureofhisrolewasevidentwhenhesaid,‘Everyonehasdifferent
opinionsandbeliefs,andbringingpeopletoacommonandsharedunderstandingisatoughjob.
Consideringeveryone’sviews,generalisingallopinions,andtakingeveryone’sconsenttomakea
finaldecisionisatoughtask’.
Case Study 4: Govt. Primary School – Basarpur, Tonk, Rajasthan Government Primary School, Basarpur is located in Basarpur of Kahan Panchayat Samiti,
32kilometresfromKairiBlockand47kilometresfromTonk.Theschoolwasestablishedin2001
with one student, by the present headteacher, and currently has a student strength of 82,
distributedacrossClasses1–5.Ofthe82students,61areKanjarsfromBasarpurand21areof
othercastesfromanothervillagelocated2kilometresaway.
Theheadteacher,Hiralal,hasbeenassociatedwiththeschoolsinceitsinception.Ithasbeenlargely
throughhiseffortsthattheschoolwasestablishedandithascontinuedtofunction.Untilaschool
buildingwassanctionedin2007,hecontinuedtopayrentforaschoolbuildingoutofhispocket.
16
Theschoolishousedintwodifferentbuildingsatsomedistancefromeachother.Onebuilding
accommodatesClasses1–4andtheotherbuildingaccommodatesClasses5–7.321childrenare
currentlyenrolledintheschool.Onanaverage,around260studentsattendschooleveryday.
In2003,theschoolwasrunningwith238studentsforClasses1–7withfiveteachers.Therewere
onlyfourrooms,whichwereinastateofdisrepair.Especiallyduringtherains,theschoolgrounds
would be flooded and some rooms would become unusable. The teachers would either club
childrentogetherandconductmulti-gradeclassesorperforcesendthechildrenhome.Theschoolis
nowverywellequippedintermsofinfrastructure.Thishasbeenpossiblelargelyduetotheefforts
ofafewmembersofthecommunityandsomecapableandcommittedheadteacherswho,overthe
years,wereabletomobilisethecommunity.
Despite this engagement of the community with school development, during the period
2003–2013,theschoolwasnotevenabletoformanSDMCduetopoliticalinterruptionandcaste
conflicts.TheschoolgrantssanctionedinthatperiodwereremittedtotheDepartmentduetonon-
formationofSDMC.ThepresentSDMCwasformedintheyear2014;however,itisnotyetactiveand
noSDMCmeetingshavebeenconductedsofar.OnlytheSDMCPresidentvisitstheschoolwhenever
invited;heseemedtohaveaverylimitedunderstandingoftherolesandresponsibilitiesofthe
SDMC.
Table 3.1: Profile of teachers
Name Sex Age Qualification Subjects Duration No.ofposting Durationof
(years) taught ofservice incurrent currentposting
(years) school (years)
Gangadhar Male 35 B.Ed English 13 1 13
Mahendra Male 32 B.Ed Mathematics 8 1 8
Vajramuni Male 29 D.Ed Science, 6 1 6 Mathematics, Hindi
Badri Male 29 B.Ed Kannada, 1 1 1
SocialScience
Currently,theschoolhasfourregularappointedassistantteacherswhoengagewiththehigher
primaryclasses(Table3.1)andthreeparateacherswhotakecareoflowerprimaryclasses.With11
sanctionedposts,thereisavacancyofseventeachers.Twooftheregularteacherswhocomefrom
distantplaces,namelyDharwadandBelgaum,havedeliberatelychosentoliveinthevillage.They
cited thedistanceand lackofavailabilityofpublic transportasoneof thereasonsbehind this
decision;thesecondreasonwassothattheycouldengagewiththecommunity,understandthem,
andbuildagoodrelationshipwiththem,aswellasengagewithchildrenafterschoolhours.Thetwo
otherteacherstraveladistanceof15kilometresone-waydaily.
Assharedbyacoupleoftheregularteachers,theirprimaryschoolteachershadbeenaninspiration
for them to become teachers. The in-chargeheadteacher recalled, ‘Myprimary school teacher
Shankarappahadinfluencedmealot.Hestayedinthesamevillageandspentmuchofhistimein
schoolwithchildren.Ispenttimediscussingwithhiminhishouseafterschoolhours.Iusedtosleep
athishousemostofthetimeandhetaughtmeyogaat4a.m.,andtoreadbooks.Thisinfluencedmea
lotandhenceIoptedfortheteachingprofession’.
The teachers shared how they felt that teaching was a worthwhile endeavour that makes a
significantcontributiontosociety,morethanotherprofessions.Asoneofthemsaid,‘Likewater,air
andlight,educationisalsoafundamentalneed.Givingeducationisnotjustmakingthechildrento
17
readandwrite.Itshouldincludecultureandvalues.Achildcanget80%or90%inhisexams,butif
hedoesn’tknowhowtogel inthesociety,thateducationdoesn’thaveanymeaning.Heshould
respectthesocietyandgetrespectfromthesociety’.
Theschoolday for the teachersstartedat8a.m.,anhourbeforeschoolbegan.Whilechildren
cleanedtheschoolpremisesandbroughtwaterfromthenearbycanaltowaterthegarden,the
teacherstookextraclassesforthehigher-gradechildrenfrom8–9a.m.Theteachersalsotookan
hourofextraclassforMathematicsintheevening,from4.30to5.30p.m.Theyappearedtoworkasa
teamandtheunderstandingandcoordinationamongstthemwasvisibleinthedailyrunningofthe
school.AllprocessespertainingtotheMDMwereorganisedindetailandinturnmanagedsmoothly
by theMDM staff, with one assistant teacher being responsible for supervision. Observations
showedthat theteachers,besideshavingtheir lunch,spent the lunchhourdiscussingrelevant
academicandadministrativeissuessuchasclassdistributionandofficialdocumentationwork.
Transparencywasevidentamongtheteacherswithrespectto informationsharing;grantsand
expenditurestatementsweresharedamongallthroughashareitapp.Theteacherswerealsoseen
tomakeuseofWhatsApptoshareacademicmaterials,readings,andrhymesamongthemselves.
No visible sense of hierarchy based on age, experience, or seniority was evident in their
interactions. This spirit of professional camaraderie is best captured in one of the teachers’
response:‘Theimportantthingisthatwenevertrytotakethecreditindividually;whateverwedo,
wedoitinthenameofteamwork.Thatmightbeourgreateststrength,whichhelpedustobe
togetherandachieveallthis’.
EvenintheabsenceoftheSMCuntil2014anditsnon-functionalstateafteritsformationin2014,
theteachers,byoptingtoliveinthevillage,havebeenabletobuildagoodrelationshipwiththe
community.Despiteavisiblyfracturedcommunitywithamultitudeoffactionsandyouthgroups,
theteachershavebeenabletomobilisefundsforschooldevelopment,includingsettingupofa
librarywithbooks,charts,tables,andchairs.
Theteacherswererarelyabsent,butiftheywere,theyapproachedtheschoolalumnifromthe
community,whohadcompletedtheirgraduationandpost-graduation,totakeclasses.Thealumni
wereobservedtodosowillingly,withoutanyfinancialcompensation.Onotheroccasions,whena
teacherwasabsent,eithertwoclassesweremergedtogetherorhigher-gradestudentsweregiven
theresponsibilityofengagingwiththeclass.
Theheadteacheroftheschoolseemedtohavecontributedalotinbuildingapositiveworkculture
intheschoolandwasawarethathehadtoleadbyexample.Heexpressedhow,onlyifhemanagedto
betransparent,dedicated,andhonest,wouldthosequalitiesbetransferredtotheotherteachers.
Thecomplexanddemandingnatureofhisrolewasevidentwhenhesaid,‘Everyonehasdifferent
opinionsandbeliefs,andbringingpeopletoacommonandsharedunderstandingisatoughjob.
Consideringeveryone’sviews,generalisingallopinions,andtakingeveryone’sconsenttomakea
finaldecisionisatoughtask’.
Case Study 4: Govt. Primary School – Basarpur, Tonk, Rajasthan Government Primary School, Basarpur is located in Basarpur of Kahan Panchayat Samiti,
32kilometresfromKairiBlockand47kilometresfromTonk.Theschoolwasestablishedin2001
with one student, by the present headteacher, and currently has a student strength of 82,
distributedacrossClasses1–5.Ofthe82students,61areKanjarsfromBasarpurand21areof
othercastesfromanothervillagelocated2kilometresaway.
Theheadteacher,Hiralal,hasbeenassociatedwiththeschoolsinceitsinception.Ithasbeenlargely
throughhiseffortsthattheschoolwasestablishedandithascontinuedtofunction.Untilaschool
buildingwassanctionedin2007,hecontinuedtopayrentforaschoolbuildingoutofhispocket.
18
Herecalledhisstrugglesoftheinitialyearsoftheschool‘Neitherdidtheygivemearoomonrentfor
theschool,nordidtheygiveaplacetosit.ItookaroomonrentforRs.200permonth.Anotherpara
teacherwasposted,afterwhichweworkedveryhard to increase theenrolment. In2007,our
applicationgotpassedandin2008,thebuildingwasconstructed’.
Healsodescribedthecommunity’sreluctancetoaccesstheschoolintheearlyyears:‘Theywould
notsendthechildren,becausetheschoolwasfarandrightinfrontoftheburialground;then,we
madethemunderstandandslowlytheystartedtosendthechildren’.Theschoolislocateddirectly
acrossthevillageburialground,andevennow,wheneverthereisadeathinthevillage,children’s
attendance gets badly affected due to fear of evil spirits. Once the building construction was
completed in 2008, it is largely because of the headteacher’s regular interactions with the
community that the enrolment has climbed steadily over the years (Table 4.1). Besides the
headteacher,therearethreeotherteachersintheschool(Table4.2).
Table 4.1 : Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2008–2009 23
2010–2011 45
2011–2012 49
2012–2013 51
2013–2014 61
2014–2015 71
2015–2016 82
Table 4.2: Profile of the teachers
NameoftheTeacher Hiralal Seema Bhupesh Gayatri
(Placeofresidence) (Headteacher) (Kairi) (Kairi) (Deputed–InKahan)
(Kahan)
Gender Male Female Female Female
Age(years) 36 24 38 38
SocialCategory OBC SC SC SC
AcademicQualification M.AHindi M.AHistory M.AHindi B.A
ProfessionalQualification B.Ed STC STC STC
NumberofyearsinSchool Sinceinception 2013 2016 2013
TheschoolbuildingconsistsoftworoomsbutwithnoseparateareaforpreparingtheMDMandnoseparate room for the headteacher either. The school has adequate infrastructure, though noelectrical connection. In the recent years, the headteacher, in his efforts towards schoolimprovement, has consistently tried to mobilise funds for the construction and extension ofclassrooms,constructionofaboundarywallandaplaceformakingMDM,butwithoutsuccess.Assharedbytheheadteacher,thePanchayatSamitiandtheDepartmenthaveeachpointedtotheother,saying that it was the other’s responsibility. The school is also not on the radar of the localfunctionaries.Thelastofficialvisitwasmadeon26thAugust2016,byaresourceperson;there
19
werenoothervisitsoverthecurrentacademicyear.Theresponseoftheofficialswhohadvisitedthisschoolearlierwasthattheyhadprovidedwhateverthegovernmenthadsanctionedandasmuchsupportastheypossiblycould,emphasisingthatithadstartedasasingle-teacherschoolandnowithadthreesanctionedpostsandanadditionaldeputedteacher.Theywereunabletogiveasuitable response to thequestiononwhy the request to addextra classroomsandaplace forpreparingtheMDMhadnotmovedforward.
The school primarily serves the Kanjar, a socially outcast local community found mainly inRajasthanandMadhyaPradesh.Typically,theyliveontheperipheryofresidentialsettlements.ThemainoccupationofthefamiliessettledinBasarpur,bytheirownadmissionandteachers’reports,includesproductionofcountryliquor,runningbrothelhouses,andextortion.Theyalsoworkasagriculturallabourers.Afewinfluentialmencontroltheentirecommunitythroughcommunity‘panchayats’.Themenareprimarilyresponsible forthefamily livelihood,whilethewomenareconfinedtothehomeandtheymanagetheliquorproduction.Educationisnotaveryhighprioritywith the community. As a result, the attendance in the school is often poor. It was seen thatwheneverthishappened,theheadteacherwenttothecommunityandtriedtofindthereasonsfortheabsenceofthechildrenandmadeeffortstotalktotheparents.Theheadteacherlamented,‘Theparentsarenotaware.Wetrytomakethemawarebutitisnoteasy.ThatiswhybythetimechildrenreachClass8,theyalldropout.Forgetaboutgettingagovernmentjobfortheseslumchildren,notasinglechildhasevenpassedClass10.Theydonotgethelpandsupportfromparents’.Interestingly,onlytheheadteachervisitedthecommunitytofollow-upontheabsentchildren,astheteachersdidnotventureintowhattheyperceivedtobeatroubledarea.
Asobservedbytheheadteacher,sofar,nochildfromthecommunityhasbeenabletocompleteschool(Class10),withtheexceptionofoneboycurrentlyenrolledinClass11inanearbyseniorsecondary school.This senior student appeared tobe a symbolofhope for someof theotherstudents.Duringavisittotheschool,aClass5studentDhirajexplainedthateveryonewasveryinterestedinknowinghowfarthisstudentwouldgobecausehewasarolemodelforthemandtheywere hopeful that hewould guide them after completion of his own education and obtainingemployment.
Yet,despitethelackofawarenessabouteducationinthecommunity,theschoolhasafunctioningSMC,reconstitutedeachyear.Thememberscametoschoolwheneverrequired,andparent–teachermeetings(PTMs)wereseentotakeplaceregularly.Boththeforums,SMCsandPTMs,wereusedtotake decisions and implement actions related to students’ attendance, their learning levels,infrastructure related opinion collection, and information sharing about relevant governmentschemes.
TheSMCmemberswereobservedtobeactivebutplayedmoreofapolicingandmonitoringroleoverseeingteachers’actionsinschoolaswellasoutofschool.AnSMCmemberwasobservedtorebukeateacherforwatchingavideocliponhercellphone,duringlunchtime,‘WahMadam!Areyoulisteningtosongsduringschooltime?’towhichtheteacherreplied,‘Brother,Iwaswatchinganactivityvideotoprepareforanactivitywhichwillbetransactedwiththechildren’.TherewerealsocaseswhereSMCmembersstoppedandquestionedteacherswhowereseencominglatetoschool.
Thecommunity,despiteitsattituderegardingeducation,hadanunderstandingofandappreciatedtheheadteacher’scontributiontotheschool.DuringaconversationwithoneoftheSMCmembers,mentionwasmadeoftheheadteacher’swishtoobtainatransferfromthisschool.Thememberresponded,‘Thiscannothappen;wewillnotlethimgo’.
Thoughtheschooliswellconnectedbyaroad,therearenopublictransportationfacilitiesthatregularlyplyonthis.Twoofthefourteachers,namelytheheadteacherHiralalandthedeputed-inteacherGayatri,resideinKahanandareclosertotheschool.TheothertwoteachersliveinKairiandhavetotraveladistanceof32kilometresonewaytoschooleveryday.Apartfromthedistance,the
18
Herecalledhisstrugglesoftheinitialyearsoftheschool‘Neitherdidtheygivemearoomonrentfor
theschool,nordidtheygiveaplacetosit.ItookaroomonrentforRs.200permonth.Anotherpara
teacherwasposted,afterwhichweworkedveryhard to increase theenrolment. In2007,our
applicationgotpassedandin2008,thebuildingwasconstructed’.
Healsodescribedthecommunity’sreluctancetoaccesstheschoolintheearlyyears:‘Theywould
notsendthechildren,becausetheschoolwasfarandrightinfrontoftheburialground;then,we
madethemunderstandandslowlytheystartedtosendthechildren’.Theschoolislocateddirectly
acrossthevillageburialground,andevennow,wheneverthereisadeathinthevillage,children’s
attendance gets badly affected due to fear of evil spirits. Once the building construction was
completed in 2008, it is largely because of the headteacher’s regular interactions with the
community that the enrolment has climbed steadily over the years (Table 4.1). Besides the
headteacher,therearethreeotherteachersintheschool(Table4.2).
Table 4.1 : Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2008–2009 23
2010–2011 45
2011–2012 49
2012–2013 51
2013–2014 61
2014–2015 71
2015–2016 82
Table 4.2: Profile of the teachers
NameoftheTeacher Hiralal Seema Bhupesh Gayatri
(Placeofresidence) (Headteacher) (Kairi) (Kairi) (Deputed–InKahan)
(Kahan)
Gender Male Female Female Female
Age(years) 36 24 38 38
SocialCategory OBC SC SC SC
AcademicQualification M.AHindi M.AHistory M.AHindi B.A
ProfessionalQualification B.Ed STC STC STC
NumberofyearsinSchool Sinceinception 2013 2016 2013
TheschoolbuildingconsistsoftworoomsbutwithnoseparateareaforpreparingtheMDMandnoseparate room for the headteacher either. The school has adequate infrastructure, though noelectrical connection. In the recent years, the headteacher, in his efforts towards schoolimprovement, has consistently tried to mobilise funds for the construction and extension ofclassrooms,constructionofaboundarywallandaplaceformakingMDM,butwithoutsuccess.Assharedbytheheadteacher,thePanchayatSamitiandtheDepartmenthaveeachpointedtotheother,saying that it was the other’s responsibility. The school is also not on the radar of the localfunctionaries.Thelastofficialvisitwasmadeon26thAugust2016,byaresourceperson;there
19
werenoothervisitsoverthecurrentacademicyear.Theresponseoftheofficialswhohadvisitedthisschoolearlierwasthattheyhadprovidedwhateverthegovernmenthadsanctionedandasmuchsupportastheypossiblycould,emphasisingthatithadstartedasasingle-teacherschoolandnowithadthreesanctionedpostsandanadditionaldeputedteacher.Theywereunabletogiveasuitable response to thequestiononwhy the request to addextra classroomsandaplace forpreparingtheMDMhadnotmovedforward.
The school primarily serves the Kanjar, a socially outcast local community found mainly inRajasthanandMadhyaPradesh.Typically,theyliveontheperipheryofresidentialsettlements.ThemainoccupationofthefamiliessettledinBasarpur,bytheirownadmissionandteachers’reports,includesproductionofcountryliquor,runningbrothelhouses,andextortion.Theyalsoworkasagriculturallabourers.Afewinfluentialmencontroltheentirecommunitythroughcommunity‘panchayats’.Themenareprimarilyresponsible forthefamily livelihood,whilethewomenareconfinedtothehomeandtheymanagetheliquorproduction.Educationisnotaveryhighprioritywith the community. As a result, the attendance in the school is often poor. It was seen thatwheneverthishappened,theheadteacherwenttothecommunityandtriedtofindthereasonsfortheabsenceofthechildrenandmadeeffortstotalktotheparents.Theheadteacherlamented,‘Theparentsarenotaware.Wetrytomakethemawarebutitisnoteasy.ThatiswhybythetimechildrenreachClass8,theyalldropout.Forgetaboutgettingagovernmentjobfortheseslumchildren,notasinglechildhasevenpassedClass10.Theydonotgethelpandsupportfromparents’.Interestingly,onlytheheadteachervisitedthecommunitytofollow-upontheabsentchildren,astheteachersdidnotventureintowhattheyperceivedtobeatroubledarea.
Asobservedbytheheadteacher,sofar,nochildfromthecommunityhasbeenabletocompleteschool(Class10),withtheexceptionofoneboycurrentlyenrolledinClass11inanearbyseniorsecondary school.This senior student appeared tobe a symbolofhope for someof theotherstudents.Duringavisittotheschool,aClass5studentDhirajexplainedthateveryonewasveryinterestedinknowinghowfarthisstudentwouldgobecausehewasarolemodelforthemandtheywere hopeful that hewould guide them after completion of his own education and obtainingemployment.
Yet,despitethelackofawarenessabouteducationinthecommunity,theschoolhasafunctioningSMC,reconstitutedeachyear.Thememberscametoschoolwheneverrequired,andparent–teachermeetings(PTMs)wereseentotakeplaceregularly.Boththeforums,SMCsandPTMs,wereusedtotake decisions and implement actions related to students’ attendance, their learning levels,infrastructure related opinion collection, and information sharing about relevant governmentschemes.
TheSMCmemberswereobservedtobeactivebutplayedmoreofapolicingandmonitoringroleoverseeingteachers’actionsinschoolaswellasoutofschool.AnSMCmemberwasobservedtorebukeateacherforwatchingavideocliponhercellphone,duringlunchtime,‘WahMadam!Areyoulisteningtosongsduringschooltime?’towhichtheteacherreplied,‘Brother,Iwaswatchinganactivityvideotoprepareforanactivitywhichwillbetransactedwiththechildren’.TherewerealsocaseswhereSMCmembersstoppedandquestionedteacherswhowereseencominglatetoschool.
Thecommunity,despiteitsattituderegardingeducation,hadanunderstandingofandappreciatedtheheadteacher’scontributiontotheschool.DuringaconversationwithoneoftheSMCmembers,mentionwasmadeoftheheadteacher’swishtoobtainatransferfromthisschool.Thememberresponded,‘Thiscannothappen;wewillnotlethimgo’.
Thoughtheschooliswellconnectedbyaroad,therearenopublictransportationfacilitiesthatregularlyplyonthis.Twoofthefourteachers,namelytheheadteacherHiralalandthedeputed-inteacherGayatri,resideinKahanandareclosertotheschool.TheothertwoteachersliveinKairiandhavetotraveladistanceof32kilometresonewaytoschooleveryday.Apartfromthedistance,the
20
journey is tedious and can be uncertain in terms of time taken, as it is undertaken in stages(Table4.3).Thewaittimeatthedesignatedspotswheretheychangefromonemodetoanothercanbemore than the actual travel time.To complete the lastphaseof the journey fromKahan toBasarpur,theteacherneedstowalk30minutes.Theotheroptionistotakealiftfromcommunitymembers passing by. Therefore, the commute time, including the wait time, can vary from aminimumof1hourtoasmuchas1hour45mindependingupontheteacher’sluckwithavailabletransport.Thereturnjourneyissimilar.
Yet,itwasobservedthatdespitethesehurdles,theteachers,especiallythetwoteachersfromKairi,
cametoschoolregularlyandspenttheentiredayinschoolbyapplyingthemselvestothejobof
teaching.Thedeputed-inteacherwholivedinKahanwaslessregularandfrequentlyawayonduty
leave.Shereportedlyhadconnectionstolocalbureaucratsandwasseekingatransfer.Incasethe
teachersrequiredleave,theyappliedforleavefollowingdueprocessthattheheadteacherinsisted
upon.
Theteachersseemedtohaveanunderstandingofthedifficultcircumstancesofthechildrencoming
totheschoolanddisplayedtheneedtoputinextraefforts,giventheinadequatenatureofparental
awarenessandsupport.Asoneteachershared,‘Ifthey(thechildren)canbemadealittleaware,
thenonlywilltheybeabletomoveforward’.Studentsinturnwereseentoshareacomfortable,open
andtrustingrelationshipwiththeteachersdiscussingwiththemarangeofproblemsincluding
subject-relatedconfusions,pendinghomework,anduniform-relatedissues.Onesuchexamplewas
alunchtimeincidentwhen,whileplayingcricket,thechildrenweresummonedinforclasshalfway
throughamatch.Accordingtothechildren,sincetherewasabetofRs.5placedontheoutcomeof
thematch,itwasnecessarytocompleteit.Theydidnotfeeltheneedtohidethisfactfromtheir
teachers.Inresponsetothesummons,astudentshoutedout,‘Sirweareplayingonabetanditwill
take10minutesmore’,andtheycontinuedplayingforanother5minuteswithoutfear.
Theschoolwasobservedtofunctionundertheleadershipoftheheadteacher,supportedbythe
combinedeffortsoftheteachers.Eachteacherhadaspecificresponsibility;forexample,onetook
careofMDM,anotherofthemorningassembly,andthethirdwasresponsibleforthecoordination
ofoverallactivities.Theheadteacherwasresponsibleforallinternalandexternalmanagementand
communication,whichincludedinterfacewiththecommunityandtheblockresourcecentre.On
thelastworkingdayofeverymonth,theteacherssattogethertoreviewthepreviousmonth’swork
and plan for the next. The teachers shared that the planning process was consultative and
collaborativeanditincludeddiscussionspertainingtolessonplanning,classroomactivities,and
optimaluseofscarceandavailableteachinglearningmaterials.
Inaddition,theheadteacherhadputinplaceseveralschool-levelprocessestoenablethesmooth
functioningoftheschool.Therewerecommitteesinplacetoworkondifferentactivitiessuchas
cleaningofclassroomsandtoiletsandorganisationofMDM.Almosteverychildwasassignedthe
responsibilityofaplantortree.Wheneverachildgottimeduringtheday,shewouldtendthetreeby
wateringit.Shouldastudentbeabsent,his/hertreehadtobetendedbythestudentwhosetreewas
placednexttoit.Asaresult,thecampuswaswelltended.
Table 4.3: Commute to School
Point-to-pointtravel Mode Distance TravelTime
(kilometres) (minutes)
ResidencetoKairibusstand PersonalVehicle 1–2 5–10
KairitoSamel BusorJeep 25 40–45
SameltoKahan Jeeporliftbylocalvillagemembers 5 10
KahantoBasarpur Liftbylocalvillagemember/Walk 2.5 5–30
21
Case Study 5: Government Middle School Maramtara – Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh GovernmentMiddleSchool,MaramtaraislocatedinMaramtaravillage,nearly17kilometresfrom
the block headquarters at Dhamtari. It comes under the Lalpani Panchayat. The combined
populationofMaramtaraandLalpanivillagesisapproximately2000.ThepopulationofMaramtara
villageis945,consistingof204households.Totalliteracyisaround68%,withmaleliteracyat78%
andfemaleliteracyat57%.ThevillageispredominantlypopulatedwithOBCcommunities,mostly
SahuandYadav,thoughSTpopulation(mainlyGonds)isalsosignificantat36%.Thereisaphysical
separationofcommunitiesinthevillage,wherehousesofSahuandYadavfamiliesaresituatedon
one side of the road that goes through the village, and that of Gonds on the other side.Most
households are dependent on agriculture; many of them earn their livelihood by working as
agriculturallabourersinnearbyvillages.Thelandholdingisconcentratedinthehandsofafew
influentialpeople.
Thenearestprimaryhealthcarecentreis4kilometresawayandthecommunityhealthcarecentre
is7kilometresaway.Thevillage isapproximately5kilometres fromthemainroad.Therefore,
accessibilityisachallenge,withpublictransportbeingnon-existent,andeasyaccesslimitedtothe
fewwhohavepersonalvehicles;evenrickshawsorauto-rickshawsarenotavailable.Until1975,
therewasnoschoolinthevillage.MiddleSchoolMaramtarahasbeensetupsuccessfullyduetothe
combinedeffortsofsomededicatedteachersandselectmembersofthecommunity.
Sukesh,thecurrentheadteacher,joinedthedepartmentin1983andhasworkedinthreeschools
prior to joining Maramtara. As he shared in conversations, he had experience of working in
challengingcircumstancesandinworkingwiththecommunityinhispriorpostingsandevenhadto
walk12kilometreseverydaytoreachschoolbecausetherewasnopublictransport.Eventually,he
decidedtostayinthesamevillage,whichhadnoelectricity.AccordingtoSukesh,thecommunitytoo
wasindifferenttotheeducationoftheirchildren;theywouldfrequentlytaketheirchildrentowork
inthefieldsorforfishing.Insuchcircumstances,Sukeshworkedcloselywiththechildrenandthe
communitytohelpestablishtheschool.
In2008,whenSukeshjoinedMiddleSchoolMaramtara,65studentswereenrolledintheschool,but
sometimes,attendancewasaslowas20%.Thecommunityandparentswerenotseentoplace
muchvalueoneducation;childrenwerenotverymotivatedeither.Thisdisinterestwasparticularly
stronginthecaseoftheSTcommunity.Sukeshdescribedtheeffortsthattheyhadtomakeinthe
earlyyears:‘Wewouldgotothechildren’shomesfirstandtalktotheparentsaboutwhyitwas
necessarytocometoschool.Wewouldtrytomakethemunderstandthatifyouwantyourchildren
to be good human beings, you have to give them an education. For this, school has its own
significance.Wewouldalsotalktothechildrenandtrytobringthemtoschoolwithus.Totalktothe
children,wewouldhavetobecomechildren.Onlythendidoureffortsbearfruit’.Anotherteacher
shared,‘Thechildrendidnotcometoschool;wehadtocallthem.Sir(headteacher)haddonealotof
work but therewere stillmany problems. Afterwards, weworked a lotwith the parents, the
children,thecommunity,andtheSMC—theresultsofwhichweareseeingtoday’.
Atthattime,itwasalsorealisedthattheSMCcouldbeagoodlinkwiththecommunityand,within
theSMC,thewomenmightbebetterpositionedtoinfluencethechildren.Theteacherssharedhow
effortswere thus put into empowering and activating the SMC, through regularmeetings and
involvingwomen in the SMC.As Sukesh said, ‘In thesemeetings,wedid a lot ofwork for the
participationofwomen.Werealisedthatifwecanmakewomenaware,thenperhapsitcanmakea
difference.Wealso said to them that this is your school,notours. Slowlyafterwards, theSMC
becameregularised’.
20
journey is tedious and can be uncertain in terms of time taken, as it is undertaken in stages(Table4.3).Thewaittimeatthedesignatedspotswheretheychangefromonemodetoanothercanbemore than the actual travel time.To complete the lastphaseof the journey fromKahan toBasarpur,theteacherneedstowalk30minutes.Theotheroptionistotakealiftfromcommunitymembers passing by. Therefore, the commute time, including the wait time, can vary from aminimumof1hourtoasmuchas1hour45mindependingupontheteacher’sluckwithavailabletransport.Thereturnjourneyissimilar.
Yet,itwasobservedthatdespitethesehurdles,theteachers,especiallythetwoteachersfromKairi,
cametoschoolregularlyandspenttheentiredayinschoolbyapplyingthemselvestothejobof
teaching.Thedeputed-inteacherwholivedinKahanwaslessregularandfrequentlyawayonduty
leave.Shereportedlyhadconnectionstolocalbureaucratsandwasseekingatransfer.Incasethe
teachersrequiredleave,theyappliedforleavefollowingdueprocessthattheheadteacherinsisted
upon.
Theteachersseemedtohaveanunderstandingofthedifficultcircumstancesofthechildrencoming
totheschoolanddisplayedtheneedtoputinextraefforts,giventheinadequatenatureofparental
awarenessandsupport.Asoneteachershared,‘Ifthey(thechildren)canbemadealittleaware,
thenonlywilltheybeabletomoveforward’.Studentsinturnwereseentoshareacomfortable,open
andtrustingrelationshipwiththeteachersdiscussingwiththemarangeofproblemsincluding
subject-relatedconfusions,pendinghomework,anduniform-relatedissues.Onesuchexamplewas
alunchtimeincidentwhen,whileplayingcricket,thechildrenweresummonedinforclasshalfway
throughamatch.Accordingtothechildren,sincetherewasabetofRs.5placedontheoutcomeof
thematch,itwasnecessarytocompleteit.Theydidnotfeeltheneedtohidethisfactfromtheir
teachers.Inresponsetothesummons,astudentshoutedout,‘Sirweareplayingonabetanditwill
take10minutesmore’,andtheycontinuedplayingforanother5minuteswithoutfear.
Theschoolwasobservedtofunctionundertheleadershipoftheheadteacher,supportedbythe
combinedeffortsoftheteachers.Eachteacherhadaspecificresponsibility;forexample,onetook
careofMDM,anotherofthemorningassembly,andthethirdwasresponsibleforthecoordination
ofoverallactivities.Theheadteacherwasresponsibleforallinternalandexternalmanagementand
communication,whichincludedinterfacewiththecommunityandtheblockresourcecentre.On
thelastworkingdayofeverymonth,theteacherssattogethertoreviewthepreviousmonth’swork
and plan for the next. The teachers shared that the planning process was consultative and
collaborativeanditincludeddiscussionspertainingtolessonplanning,classroomactivities,and
optimaluseofscarceandavailableteachinglearningmaterials.
Inaddition,theheadteacherhadputinplaceseveralschool-levelprocessestoenablethesmooth
functioningoftheschool.Therewerecommitteesinplacetoworkondifferentactivitiessuchas
cleaningofclassroomsandtoiletsandorganisationofMDM.Almosteverychildwasassignedthe
responsibilityofaplantortree.Wheneverachildgottimeduringtheday,shewouldtendthetreeby
wateringit.Shouldastudentbeabsent,his/hertreehadtobetendedbythestudentwhosetreewas
placednexttoit.Asaresult,thecampuswaswelltended.
Table 4.3: Commute to School
Point-to-pointtravel Mode Distance TravelTime
(kilometres) (minutes)
ResidencetoKairibusstand PersonalVehicle 1–2 5–10
KairitoSamel BusorJeep 25 40–45
SameltoKahan Jeeporliftbylocalvillagemembers 5 10
KahantoBasarpur Liftbylocalvillagemember/Walk 2.5 5–30
21
Case Study 5: Government Middle School Maramtara – Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh GovernmentMiddleSchool,MaramtaraislocatedinMaramtaravillage,nearly17kilometresfrom
the block headquarters at Dhamtari. It comes under the Lalpani Panchayat. The combined
populationofMaramtaraandLalpanivillagesisapproximately2000.ThepopulationofMaramtara
villageis945,consistingof204households.Totalliteracyisaround68%,withmaleliteracyat78%
andfemaleliteracyat57%.ThevillageispredominantlypopulatedwithOBCcommunities,mostly
SahuandYadav,thoughSTpopulation(mainlyGonds)isalsosignificantat36%.Thereisaphysical
separationofcommunitiesinthevillage,wherehousesofSahuandYadavfamiliesaresituatedon
one side of the road that goes through the village, and that of Gonds on the other side.Most
households are dependent on agriculture; many of them earn their livelihood by working as
agriculturallabourersinnearbyvillages.Thelandholdingisconcentratedinthehandsofafew
influentialpeople.
Thenearestprimaryhealthcarecentreis4kilometresawayandthecommunityhealthcarecentre
is7kilometresaway.Thevillage isapproximately5kilometres fromthemainroad.Therefore,
accessibilityisachallenge,withpublictransportbeingnon-existent,andeasyaccesslimitedtothe
fewwhohavepersonalvehicles;evenrickshawsorauto-rickshawsarenotavailable.Until1975,
therewasnoschoolinthevillage.MiddleSchoolMaramtarahasbeensetupsuccessfullyduetothe
combinedeffortsofsomededicatedteachersandselectmembersofthecommunity.
Sukesh,thecurrentheadteacher,joinedthedepartmentin1983andhasworkedinthreeschools
prior to joining Maramtara. As he shared in conversations, he had experience of working in
challengingcircumstancesandinworkingwiththecommunityinhispriorpostingsandevenhadto
walk12kilometreseverydaytoreachschoolbecausetherewasnopublictransport.Eventually,he
decidedtostayinthesamevillage,whichhadnoelectricity.AccordingtoSukesh,thecommunitytoo
wasindifferenttotheeducationoftheirchildren;theywouldfrequentlytaketheirchildrentowork
inthefieldsorforfishing.Insuchcircumstances,Sukeshworkedcloselywiththechildrenandthe
communitytohelpestablishtheschool.
In2008,whenSukeshjoinedMiddleSchoolMaramtara,65studentswereenrolledintheschool,but
sometimes,attendancewasaslowas20%.Thecommunityandparentswerenotseentoplace
muchvalueoneducation;childrenwerenotverymotivatedeither.Thisdisinterestwasparticularly
stronginthecaseoftheSTcommunity.Sukeshdescribedtheeffortsthattheyhadtomakeinthe
earlyyears:‘Wewouldgotothechildren’shomesfirstandtalktotheparentsaboutwhyitwas
necessarytocometoschool.Wewouldtrytomakethemunderstandthatifyouwantyourchildren
to be good human beings, you have to give them an education. For this, school has its own
significance.Wewouldalsotalktothechildrenandtrytobringthemtoschoolwithus.Totalktothe
children,wewouldhavetobecomechildren.Onlythendidoureffortsbearfruit’.Anotherteacher
shared,‘Thechildrendidnotcometoschool;wehadtocallthem.Sir(headteacher)haddonealotof
work but therewere stillmany problems. Afterwards, weworked a lotwith the parents, the
children,thecommunity,andtheSMC—theresultsofwhichweareseeingtoday’.
Atthattime,itwasalsorealisedthattheSMCcouldbeagoodlinkwiththecommunityand,within
theSMC,thewomenmightbebetterpositionedtoinfluencethechildren.Theteacherssharedhow
effortswere thus put into empowering and activating the SMC, through regularmeetings and
involvingwomen in the SMC.As Sukesh said, ‘In thesemeetings,wedid a lot ofwork for the
participationofwomen.Werealisedthatifwecanmakewomenaware,thenperhapsitcanmakea
difference.Wealso said to them that this is your school,notours. Slowlyafterwards, theSMC
becameregularised’.
22
By 2010, things started to improve substantially in terms of community awareness about the
school.Now,thecommunityisactivelyinvolvedindecisionmakingandcontributingtowardsthe
betterment of the school. The school has adequate infrastructure in terms of classrooms and
playground but no usable toilets due to unavailability of water. SMCmembers, teachers, and
communitymembers are concerned about this and they have requested the panchayat to do
somethinginthisregard.Currently,theschoolhas41childrenacrossClasses1–7and4teachers
(Table5.1).
Table 5.1: Profile of the teachers
NameoftheTeacher Sukesh Ramesh Jivan Pradeep
Gender Male Male Male Male
Age(years) 53 42 47 37
SocialCategory OBC General OBC General
AcademicQualification M.ASocialStudies M.AMathematics M.ASocialStudies B.AEnglish
Theteacherswerefoundtocommutelongdistancestocometoschool.Theheadteachertravelled
11 kilometres one way, while the other three teachers travelled 16–18 kilometres one way.
Currently,theyallhavetheirowntwowheelers,butitwasnotalwaysso.Earlier,theymanagedby
cominghalfwaybypublictransportandthentakingliftsfromtheircolleagues.
Today,theschooliswellthoughtofandtheteachersarerespectedwithinthecommunityaswellas
bythelocalofficials.Vinod,theclusteracademiccoordinatorwhoisaregularvisitortothisschool
andneighbouringschools,sharedthattheteacherswereveryregularandtheclassroomprocesses
ran smoothly.Parents andSMCmembersechoed similar sentiments.AsanSMCmember said,
‘Teachingisgood.Theteachersteachproperly’.Sheexplainedthatsheknewwhatshewassaying
becausetwoofherdaughtershadpassedoutofthesameschoolandtheyweredoingverywellin
highschool.
Theteacherswerenotonlyregularbutalsopunctual.Theheadteacherexplained,‘Wehavejointly
decidedthatwewillallmakesurethatweareinschool10minutesbeforethemorningassembly
begins’.Theyalsowereobservedtoworkwelltogetherandcommunicateregularlywitheachother,
especiallywhenitcametostudent-relatedmatters.Inonesuchincident,theteachersnoticeda
particularchildinClass8notfocusingonhisstudies,thoughhehadsupposedlybeenagoodstudent
inClass6and7.Theydiscussedthematterbetweenthemselvesfirstandonlythentalkedtothe
parentsandtothechild,expressingtheirconcern.Teacherconcernwasalsovisibleinthecaseofa
childwithspecialneedswhowasstrugglinginschool;theteacherstriedtodowhatwasbestforher,
includinggettingherahearingaidandplacinghercasebeforethepanchayatandtheDepartmentof
SchoolEducation.Unfortunately,theireffortsdidnotyieldanyimmediateresults.
Therewasnovisiblesenseofhierarchyamongtheteachersandtheywereseentotakedecisionsina
participativemanner.Accordingtotheheadteacher,theyallworkedtogetherasateamandhad
completeautonomytodecidewhichclassestheywishedtoteach.Hesaid,‘Isaythatwhichever
classesyouwishtoteach,youmustdecideyourself.Imyselftakeclass,mostlySanskritandSocial
Science’.Inhisabsencefromtheschool,theteacherswereexpectedtoautonomouslytakedecisions
intheinterestoftheschool.Hefurtheremphasised,‘Ifateacherisonleave,wetrynottoletthe
children’sworksuffer’.Teachersalsosharedresponsibilityforotherschoolprocesses.Forexample,
teachersprovidedregularoversightofMDMandofferedguidancewheneverrequiredtotheself-
helpgroup(SHG)thatmanagedtheMDM.Intherecentpast,thereweretwooccasionswhenthe
teachersandthecommunitymembershadtocoordinatetoensurethatMDMwasrunproperlyin
theabsenceoftheregularcook.
Itwasseen that theheadteacherhad tried tocreateavarietyofotherplatforms forchildren’s
learning.Forexample,BalSabhawasonesuchplatform.ItwasheldonSaturdays.Childrengotan
opportunitytospeakinbothextemporeandpreparedfashiononavarietyoftopicssuchasfestivals
and environment. Children themselves planned for this event and communitymemberswere
invited.Theheadteacherexpressedhisbelief that, ‘Todevelop theability to thinkandexpress
fearlesslyandindependently,platformslikethisareverynecessary’.
Case Study 6: Upper Primary School Ruparpur – Bageshwar, Uttarakhand UpperPrimarySchoolRuparpurcomesunderGarudBlockofBageshwardistrict.Itislocated18
kilometresfromtheblockresourcecentreand7kilometresfromtheclusterresourcecentre.There
isnopublictransportandtheschoolcanbereachedonlybypersonalvehicleorahiredtaxi.The
motorableroadendssomedistancebeforetheschool,andonehastowalkthelaststretchofnearly
1.5kilometresonanunevensteeproadtofinallyreachtheschool.Duringtherains,thisbecomes
evenmorechallengingfortheteachersandthestudents.Localgovernmentofficialsalsovisititvery
infrequentlybecauseofitsremotenessandinaccessibility.
Theschoolwasestablishedin2010with1teacherand11students.Overtheyears,enrolmenthas
increasedgraduallyandthecurrentenrolmentis38(Table6.1).MostchildrenarefromanOBC
community,Goswami,fromthevillageRuparpurandothernearbyvillages.Theprimaryoccupation
ofthevillageisagriculture,managedmostlybywomen.Discussionswiththewomenrevealedthat
themeninthevillagetendtoshirkworkandtoindulgeinexcessivedrinking;women,therefore,
managethehousehold,livelihood,andthefamilyeconomy.Theyassumeresponsibilityforsending
theirchildrentoschool,whichwasalsoevidentfromtheSMCmeeting,attendedmostlybymothers.
Table 6.1: Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2010–2011 11
2011–2012 12
2012–2013 16
2013–2014 15
2014–2015 22
2015–2016 28
2016–2017 38
Today, there are three teachers in the school, including the headteacher (Table 6.2). All three
teachers live in Garud and travel a distance of 25 kilometres oneway. Likemany teachers in
Uttarakhand,whoworkinremoteinaccessiblevillagesnotconnectedbypublictransport,theyhire
asharedtaxi totakethemtoschooleveryday.Typically, thetaxipicksthemupfromacentral
locationandthendropsthemoffatschool.InthecaseofRuparpur,theone-waytraveltimecanvary
from1hourto1hour10minutes.Withwaittimefactoredin,thetotaltraveltimeinadaycouldadd
uptoalmost3hours.Table6.3detailsthestepsateacherhastofollowtotravelfromhisresidenceto
theschool.Thecostofthetaxi-rideisRs.80perdayforanindividualteacher,anexpenditureof
almostRs.2000permonth.
23
22
By 2010, things started to improve substantially in terms of community awareness about the
school.Now,thecommunityisactivelyinvolvedindecisionmakingandcontributingtowardsthe
betterment of the school. The school has adequate infrastructure in terms of classrooms and
playground but no usable toilets due to unavailability of water. SMCmembers, teachers, and
communitymembers are concerned about this and they have requested the panchayat to do
somethinginthisregard.Currently,theschoolhas41childrenacrossClasses1–7and4teachers
(Table5.1).
Table 5.1: Profile of the teachers
NameoftheTeacher Sukesh Ramesh Jivan Pradeep
Gender Male Male Male Male
Age(years) 53 42 47 37
SocialCategory OBC General OBC General
AcademicQualification M.ASocialStudies M.AMathematics M.ASocialStudies B.AEnglish
Theteacherswerefoundtocommutelongdistancestocometoschool.Theheadteachertravelled
11 kilometres one way, while the other three teachers travelled 16–18 kilometres one way.
Currently,theyallhavetheirowntwowheelers,butitwasnotalwaysso.Earlier,theymanagedby
cominghalfwaybypublictransportandthentakingliftsfromtheircolleagues.
Today,theschooliswellthoughtofandtheteachersarerespectedwithinthecommunityaswellas
bythelocalofficials.Vinod,theclusteracademiccoordinatorwhoisaregularvisitortothisschool
andneighbouringschools,sharedthattheteacherswereveryregularandtheclassroomprocesses
ran smoothly.Parents andSMCmembersechoed similar sentiments.AsanSMCmember said,
‘Teachingisgood.Theteachersteachproperly’.Sheexplainedthatsheknewwhatshewassaying
becausetwoofherdaughtershadpassedoutofthesameschoolandtheyweredoingverywellin
highschool.
Theteacherswerenotonlyregularbutalsopunctual.Theheadteacherexplained,‘Wehavejointly
decidedthatwewillallmakesurethatweareinschool10minutesbeforethemorningassembly
begins’.Theyalsowereobservedtoworkwelltogetherandcommunicateregularlywitheachother,
especiallywhenitcametostudent-relatedmatters.Inonesuchincident,theteachersnoticeda
particularchildinClass8notfocusingonhisstudies,thoughhehadsupposedlybeenagoodstudent
inClass6and7.Theydiscussedthematterbetweenthemselvesfirstandonlythentalkedtothe
parentsandtothechild,expressingtheirconcern.Teacherconcernwasalsovisibleinthecaseofa
childwithspecialneedswhowasstrugglinginschool;theteacherstriedtodowhatwasbestforher,
includinggettingherahearingaidandplacinghercasebeforethepanchayatandtheDepartmentof
SchoolEducation.Unfortunately,theireffortsdidnotyieldanyimmediateresults.
Therewasnovisiblesenseofhierarchyamongtheteachersandtheywereseentotakedecisionsina
participativemanner.Accordingtotheheadteacher,theyallworkedtogetherasateamandhad
completeautonomytodecidewhichclassestheywishedtoteach.Hesaid,‘Isaythatwhichever
classesyouwishtoteach,youmustdecideyourself.Imyselftakeclass,mostlySanskritandSocial
Science’.Inhisabsencefromtheschool,theteacherswereexpectedtoautonomouslytakedecisions
intheinterestoftheschool.Hefurtheremphasised,‘Ifateacherisonleave,wetrynottoletthe
children’sworksuffer’.Teachersalsosharedresponsibilityforotherschoolprocesses.Forexample,
teachersprovidedregularoversightofMDMandofferedguidancewheneverrequiredtotheself-
helpgroup(SHG)thatmanagedtheMDM.Intherecentpast,thereweretwooccasionswhenthe
teachersandthecommunitymembershadtocoordinatetoensurethatMDMwasrunproperlyin
theabsenceoftheregularcook.
Itwasseen that theheadteacherhad tried tocreateavarietyofotherplatforms forchildren’s
learning.Forexample,BalSabhawasonesuchplatform.ItwasheldonSaturdays.Childrengotan
opportunitytospeakinbothextemporeandpreparedfashiononavarietyoftopicssuchasfestivals
and environment. Children themselves planned for this event and communitymemberswere
invited.Theheadteacherexpressedhisbelief that, ‘Todevelop theability to thinkandexpress
fearlesslyandindependently,platformslikethisareverynecessary’.
Case Study 6: Upper Primary School Ruparpur – Bageshwar, Uttarakhand UpperPrimarySchoolRuparpurcomesunderGarudBlockofBageshwardistrict.Itislocated18
kilometresfromtheblockresourcecentreand7kilometresfromtheclusterresourcecentre.There
isnopublictransportandtheschoolcanbereachedonlybypersonalvehicleorahiredtaxi.The
motorableroadendssomedistancebeforetheschool,andonehastowalkthelaststretchofnearly
1.5kilometresonanunevensteeproadtofinallyreachtheschool.Duringtherains,thisbecomes
evenmorechallengingfortheteachersandthestudents.Localgovernmentofficialsalsovisititvery
infrequentlybecauseofitsremotenessandinaccessibility.
Theschoolwasestablishedin2010with1teacherand11students.Overtheyears,enrolmenthas
increasedgraduallyandthecurrentenrolmentis38(Table6.1).MostchildrenarefromanOBC
community,Goswami,fromthevillageRuparpurandothernearbyvillages.Theprimaryoccupation
ofthevillageisagriculture,managedmostlybywomen.Discussionswiththewomenrevealedthat
themeninthevillagetendtoshirkworkandtoindulgeinexcessivedrinking;women,therefore,
managethehousehold,livelihood,andthefamilyeconomy.Theyassumeresponsibilityforsending
theirchildrentoschool,whichwasalsoevidentfromtheSMCmeeting,attendedmostlybymothers.
Table 6.1: Enrolment in school
AcademicYear Enrolment
2010–2011 11
2011–2012 12
2012–2013 16
2013–2014 15
2014–2015 22
2015–2016 28
2016–2017 38
Today, there are three teachers in the school, including the headteacher (Table 6.2). All three
teachers live in Garud and travel a distance of 25 kilometres oneway. Likemany teachers in
Uttarakhand,whoworkinremoteinaccessiblevillagesnotconnectedbypublictransport,theyhire
asharedtaxi totakethemtoschooleveryday.Typically, thetaxipicksthemupfromacentral
locationandthendropsthemoffatschool.InthecaseofRuparpur,theone-waytraveltimecanvary
from1hourto1hour10minutes.Withwaittimefactoredin,thetotaltraveltimeinadaycouldadd
uptoalmost3hours.Table6.3detailsthestepsateacherhastofollowtotravelfromhisresidenceto
theschool.Thecostofthetaxi-rideisRs.80perdayforanindividualteacher,anexpenditureof
almostRs.2000permonth.
23
Table 6.2: Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Rajesh Lokesh Kedar
Gender Male Male Male
Age(years) 39 39 38
SocialCategory General General General
AcademicQualification M.APoliticalScience M.ScChemistry M.AHindi
ProfessionalQualification B.Ed B.Ed B.Ed
Yearofjoiningtheschool 2015 2016 2015
Table 6.3: Commute to school
Point-to-pointtravel Mode Distance TravelTime
(kilometres) (minutes)
Residencetopick-uppoint Walk 0.3–0.5 10
Pick-uppointtoRuparpurschool
droppingpoint Cab 18–20 40–45
DroppingpointtoUPSRuparpur Walk 1.5 10–15
Teacherswere found toshareagoodrelationshipwitheachother.As they indicated, thedaily
commute together gave them additional timewith each other and helped to build a sense of
camaraderie. Everymorning after assembly, the teachers were observed tomeet and discuss
operationalissuesrelatedtodailyclassroomactivitiessuchasallocationofclasses,timerequired
byeachteacherinaparticularclass,andanyotherspecificchallenges.Throughthisroutineof
informaldiscussion,theyalsodecidedwhatwasneededtobedoneincaseateacherwasabsent.
Accordingtotheteachers,theyrelatedtotheheadteacherasan‘approachablefriend’,ratherthanas
afigureofauthority.Hewasreportedtobeencouragingofnewideasproposedbytheteachersand
tofacilitatetheimplementationoftheseideasintheclassroomsbytheteachers.Inschool-based
interactions, it was observed that the headteacher made efforts to create a non-threatening
environment, which allowed the teachers to be honest with each other in articulating their
differencesorevenexpressing their ignoranceregardingsomecontent.Asoneof the teachers
recalled,‘Once,wewerediscussingatopicduringwhichtherewasareferencetophotosynthesis.I
didnotknowmuchbeyond“theprocessoffoodproductionofplants”.Aftertheclass,Isharedthis
withRajeshSirandthenwebothdiscussedwithLokeshSir(scienceteacher).Heexplainedthe
processindetailanddiscussedthesametopicinhisnextclassalso’.Hefurtherelaboratedthatthe
headteacherwasagoodmanagerwhotookcareofalltheadministrativeworkandotherdemands
thatkeptcomingfromthedepartment.Thislefttheteachersfreetofocusonteaching–learningand
classroom-relatedmatters.
Theheadteacherinquestion,Rajesh,wasaformerclusterresourcecoordinator.Hisbelief,that
childrenneedasupportiveenvironmenttobeabletolearn,wasvisibleintheencouragementhe
gavetochildrentoparticipateactivelyintheclassroomandthewayheusedtheirowncontextand
relevantexamplestodiscussconcepts.Studentswereseentobeactivelyparticipatinginhisclasses
andsharedhowtheyenjoyedhisstyleofteaching.Narratinghisexperience,onestudentofClass8
said,‘Whenwewerestudyingabouttheparliament,RajeshSirtaughtusverynicelyandshowedus
Samvidhaan(Constitution)video.Weenjoyhisclassverymuch’.Eventhecommunitymembers
sharedthathewasoneoftheprimaryreasonswhychildrenhadshownanincreasinginterestin
comingtoschool.Accordingtothem,healsounderstoodthecontextofthecommunityandincluded
themineverydecisionrelatedtoschool,suchasorganisingeventsandcelebrationssuchasthe
AnnualDay.
24
Thecharacteroftheschoolwasreflectedinsomeoftheschoolprocesses.Thechildrenwereseen
takingresponsibility,byrotation,fordistributionoffoodduringtheMDM,regardlessofgenderand
caste.Thisinvolvedtakingtheutensilsandfoodfromthebhojanmataanddistributingthemtoall
thechildren.Theteachershelpedthechildrentolayoutthematonthegroundandsatalongwith
thechildrenonthesamematforMDM.Afterthechildrenwereseated,theheadteacherreshuffled
thestudentsandmadesurethateverygirlsatnexttoaboy.Thereasonfordoingso,heresponded,
wasthatchildrenneededtounderstandandbesensitivetowardsgenderissuesandnotbeafraidof
tacklingtheseissuesupfront.Theschooldidnotfollowthepracticeofringingbellstoindicatethe
endofaperiodofstudy.Accordingtotheheadteacher,‘Thechildrenarenotherefortraining,they
arehereforeducation,whichshouldbewithoutfear’.Heexplainedthathedrewmanyideasfrom
thereadingaroundeducationthathedidregularly.Eventheschoolassemblywasuniqueinits
approach.Itwasconductedinthreelanguages,withHindi,English,andSanskritbeingusedon
alternatedays.Adaybefore,agroupoftwoorthreestudentswerenominatedbytheclassforthe
nextday’sassembly.Alltheproceedings,includinginstructionsandintroductionofstudents,were
inthechosenlanguageoftheday(English,Sanskrit,orHindi).Birthdaysofchildren,ifany,were
celebratedbysingingsongsandpresentingthechildwithapenorothersimilarstationery.
Other school activities that were organised included educational tours, cleanliness campaign,
BalSabha,summercamp,andgardeningweek.Someofthesewereatthebehestofthedepartment
andsomewereinitiativesproposedbytheheadteacher.Forexample,theschoolorganisedatwo-
dayeventaftertheexamseveryyear.Thefirstdaywasdevotedtocleaningtheschoolpremises
thoroughlyandtotakingcareoftheplants.Thenextday,thestudentsandteachersparticipatedina
cookingfestivalwhereallthestudentscookedlocaldishesintheopenandrelishedittogether.This
eventwasanideaoftheheadteachertoacquaintthechildrenwithlocalcuisineandculture.
Case Study 7: Government Lower Primary School – Mandehalli, Mandya District, Karnataka
GovernmentLowerPrimarySchool(LPS),MandehalliislocatedinMandehalliclusterofMandya
NorthBlock,about12kilometresfromMandyadistrictheadquarters.Thoughnotveryfarfromthe
districtheadquarters,theconnectivitytothecityintermsoftransportisverypoor.Thereisasingle
busplyingtothisvillagefromMandya.FromthebusstopatMandehalli,toreachtheschool,onehas
towalkanother2.5kilometres,crossinganuninhabitedlandscapeoffieldsandcanals,whichis
knownnottobesafe.Villagerswithmotorcyclesofferingalifttochildrenonthisrouteisacommon
sightinMandehallivillage.
Thereareapproximately150familiesinthevillage—aprimarilymigranttribalpopulationwho
havegraduallysettledhere.Mostofthemareuneducatedandpooranddependuponpieceworkin
thefieldsanddailywages.Workinthefieldsisavailableonlyatthetimeofaseasonalcrop;during
thenon-seasonperiod,thevillagershavetolookforothersourcesoflivelihood.Becauseofbroken
homes,manychildrenlivewithasingleparentoronlygrandparents.
Theschoolwasestablishedin1981.Sincethen,ithashadasteadyenrolmentofaround30children
everyyear.Currently,theschoolhas25children.Ithasadequateinfrastructureandlargepremises,
whichmakesspaceforbothaplaygroundandakitchengarden.Thekitchengardenismaintained
bychildrenofClasses4and5andtheteachers.ThereisafemalecookfortheMDM.
Theschoolhastwoteachers,Rachaiah,thein-chargeheadteacher,andPrakash,anassistantteacher
(Table7.1).Rachaiahisaseniorteacherwithanexperienceof23years,ofwhich20havebeenwith
this school. The two teachers travel to school together bymotorbike, which frees them from
depending upon local transport. The two teachers were observed to work closely together.
RachaiahtakescareofClasses1–3andPrakashtakescareofClasses4and5.
25
Table 6.2: Profile of teachers
NameoftheTeacher Rajesh Lokesh Kedar
Gender Male Male Male
Age(years) 39 39 38
SocialCategory General General General
AcademicQualification M.APoliticalScience M.ScChemistry M.AHindi
ProfessionalQualification B.Ed B.Ed B.Ed
Yearofjoiningtheschool 2015 2016 2015
Table 6.3: Commute to school
Point-to-pointtravel Mode Distance TravelTime
(kilometres) (minutes)
Residencetopick-uppoint Walk 0.3–0.5 10
Pick-uppointtoRuparpurschool
droppingpoint Cab 18–20 40–45
DroppingpointtoUPSRuparpur Walk 1.5 10–15
Teacherswere found toshareagoodrelationshipwitheachother.As they indicated, thedaily
commute together gave them additional timewith each other and helped to build a sense of
camaraderie. Everymorning after assembly, the teachers were observed tomeet and discuss
operationalissuesrelatedtodailyclassroomactivitiessuchasallocationofclasses,timerequired
byeachteacherinaparticularclass,andanyotherspecificchallenges.Throughthisroutineof
informaldiscussion,theyalsodecidedwhatwasneededtobedoneincaseateacherwasabsent.
Accordingtotheteachers,theyrelatedtotheheadteacherasan‘approachablefriend’,ratherthanas
afigureofauthority.Hewasreportedtobeencouragingofnewideasproposedbytheteachersand
tofacilitatetheimplementationoftheseideasintheclassroomsbytheteachers.Inschool-based
interactions, it was observed that the headteacher made efforts to create a non-threatening
environment, which allowed the teachers to be honest with each other in articulating their
differencesorevenexpressing their ignoranceregardingsomecontent.Asoneof the teachers
recalled,‘Once,wewerediscussingatopicduringwhichtherewasareferencetophotosynthesis.I
didnotknowmuchbeyond“theprocessoffoodproductionofplants”.Aftertheclass,Isharedthis
withRajeshSirandthenwebothdiscussedwithLokeshSir(scienceteacher).Heexplainedthe
processindetailanddiscussedthesametopicinhisnextclassalso’.Hefurtherelaboratedthatthe
headteacherwasagoodmanagerwhotookcareofalltheadministrativeworkandotherdemands
thatkeptcomingfromthedepartment.Thislefttheteachersfreetofocusonteaching–learningand
classroom-relatedmatters.
Theheadteacherinquestion,Rajesh,wasaformerclusterresourcecoordinator.Hisbelief,that
childrenneedasupportiveenvironmenttobeabletolearn,wasvisibleintheencouragementhe
gavetochildrentoparticipateactivelyintheclassroomandthewayheusedtheirowncontextand
relevantexamplestodiscussconcepts.Studentswereseentobeactivelyparticipatinginhisclasses
andsharedhowtheyenjoyedhisstyleofteaching.Narratinghisexperience,onestudentofClass8
said,‘Whenwewerestudyingabouttheparliament,RajeshSirtaughtusverynicelyandshowedus
Samvidhaan(Constitution)video.Weenjoyhisclassverymuch’.Eventhecommunitymembers
sharedthathewasoneoftheprimaryreasonswhychildrenhadshownanincreasinginterestin
comingtoschool.Accordingtothem,healsounderstoodthecontextofthecommunityandincluded
themineverydecisionrelatedtoschool,suchasorganisingeventsandcelebrationssuchasthe
AnnualDay.
24
Thecharacteroftheschoolwasreflectedinsomeoftheschoolprocesses.Thechildrenwereseen
takingresponsibility,byrotation,fordistributionoffoodduringtheMDM,regardlessofgenderand
caste.Thisinvolvedtakingtheutensilsandfoodfromthebhojanmataanddistributingthemtoall
thechildren.Theteachershelpedthechildrentolayoutthematonthegroundandsatalongwith
thechildrenonthesamematforMDM.Afterthechildrenwereseated,theheadteacherreshuffled
thestudentsandmadesurethateverygirlsatnexttoaboy.Thereasonfordoingso,heresponded,
wasthatchildrenneededtounderstandandbesensitivetowardsgenderissuesandnotbeafraidof
tacklingtheseissuesupfront.Theschooldidnotfollowthepracticeofringingbellstoindicatethe
endofaperiodofstudy.Accordingtotheheadteacher,‘Thechildrenarenotherefortraining,they
arehereforeducation,whichshouldbewithoutfear’.Heexplainedthathedrewmanyideasfrom
thereadingaroundeducationthathedidregularly.Eventheschoolassemblywasuniqueinits
approach.Itwasconductedinthreelanguages,withHindi,English,andSanskritbeingusedon
alternatedays.Adaybefore,agroupoftwoorthreestudentswerenominatedbytheclassforthe
nextday’sassembly.Alltheproceedings,includinginstructionsandintroductionofstudents,were
inthechosenlanguageoftheday(English,Sanskrit,orHindi).Birthdaysofchildren,ifany,were
celebratedbysingingsongsandpresentingthechildwithapenorothersimilarstationery.
Other school activities that were organised included educational tours, cleanliness campaign,
BalSabha,summercamp,andgardeningweek.Someofthesewereatthebehestofthedepartment
andsomewereinitiativesproposedbytheheadteacher.Forexample,theschoolorganisedatwo-
dayeventaftertheexamseveryyear.Thefirstdaywasdevotedtocleaningtheschoolpremises
thoroughlyandtotakingcareoftheplants.Thenextday,thestudentsandteachersparticipatedina
cookingfestivalwhereallthestudentscookedlocaldishesintheopenandrelishedittogether.This
eventwasanideaoftheheadteachertoacquaintthechildrenwithlocalcuisineandculture.
Case Study 7: Government Lower Primary School – Mandehalli, Mandya District, Karnataka
GovernmentLowerPrimarySchool(LPS),MandehalliislocatedinMandehalliclusterofMandya
NorthBlock,about12kilometresfromMandyadistrictheadquarters.Thoughnotveryfarfromthe
districtheadquarters,theconnectivitytothecityintermsoftransportisverypoor.Thereisasingle
busplyingtothisvillagefromMandya.FromthebusstopatMandehalli,toreachtheschool,onehas
towalkanother2.5kilometres,crossinganuninhabitedlandscapeoffieldsandcanals,whichis
knownnottobesafe.Villagerswithmotorcyclesofferingalifttochildrenonthisrouteisacommon
sightinMandehallivillage.
Thereareapproximately150familiesinthevillage—aprimarilymigranttribalpopulationwho
havegraduallysettledhere.Mostofthemareuneducatedandpooranddependuponpieceworkin
thefieldsanddailywages.Workinthefieldsisavailableonlyatthetimeofaseasonalcrop;during
thenon-seasonperiod,thevillagershavetolookforothersourcesoflivelihood.Becauseofbroken
homes,manychildrenlivewithasingleparentoronlygrandparents.
Theschoolwasestablishedin1981.Sincethen,ithashadasteadyenrolmentofaround30children
everyyear.Currently,theschoolhas25children.Ithasadequateinfrastructureandlargepremises,
whichmakesspaceforbothaplaygroundandakitchengarden.Thekitchengardenismaintained
bychildrenofClasses4and5andtheteachers.ThereisafemalecookfortheMDM.
Theschoolhastwoteachers,Rachaiah,thein-chargeheadteacher,andPrakash,anassistantteacher
(Table7.1).Rachaiahisaseniorteacherwithanexperienceof23years,ofwhich20havebeenwith
this school. The two teachers travel to school together bymotorbike, which frees them from
depending upon local transport. The two teachers were observed to work closely together.
RachaiahtakescareofClasses1–3andPrakashtakescareofClasses4and5.
25
Table 7.1: Profile of teachers
Nameofthe Gender Age Academic Professional Yearofjoining Yearofservice
teacher qualification qualification service inthisschool
Rachaiah Male 46 PUC TCH 1994 20
Prakash Male 36 B.Sc B.Ed 2014 2
Theconcernoftheteachersforthechildrenwasmanifestinthewaytheytaughtandthewaythey
ran the school.The teacherskneweach childwell in termsof their familybackground. Itwas
observedthateachchildwasgivenattentioninclassandthattheteachersalsopaidattentionto
aspectssuchaspersonalhygiene,especiallyforthosechildrenwhodidnotseemtogetpropercare
athome.Whentheschoolwasfoundtobeinneedofsomethingadditionaltothoseaddressedby
funds received from the department, either donations were sought from the Rotary orGram
Panchayat or the teachers contributed from their ownpockets. Shortage of resources such as
notebooksandpencilswasseentobereplenishedpersonallybytheteachers.
Theteachers’empathywiththedifficultcontextofthecommunitywasseenintheirresponses.As
theheadteachershared,‘Thecommunityisveryinnocentandhumbleandtheparentswanttheir
childrentostudyanddowellintheirlife.Theysendtheirchildrentoschooldespitethehardship
theyface.Theyhardlycometotheschoolbecausetheyareattheirworkinthefieldduringschool
hoursandcomingtoschoolisnothingbutalossofincomeforthatday.Icannotexpectmuchfrom
theparentswhenitcomestofollowing-uponthestudiesoftheirchildrenorprovidingthemwith
uniformsandbooks.Often,afewchildrencometoschoolwithoutbreakfastandhavetowaituntil
noonwhenlunchisprovidedinschool.Wedonotexpectanyfinancialsupportfromtheparents.All
thatwewantistheirinvolvementandsupportforthechild.Weinvitethemforspecialeventssuch
asIndependenceDayandChildren’sdayandprovidethemtheopportunitytoviewthetalentsof
theirchildrenthroughtheculturalprogramsorganisedfortheoccasion.Theyareveryhappywith
theprogressof theirchildren; theyalsoencourageotherparents tosend theirchildren toour
school.For19years,thereisnoreductioninschoolstrength.Wealwayshaveanaverageof25–30
childreninourschool’.
Theeasycamaraderiebetweentheteachersandtheirsenseofcommitmenttotheirworkwasalso
reflectedintheirresponses.AsRachaiahshared,‘PrakashandIhaveaverygoodunderstandingand
mutualrespect.Afterthemorningassembly,bothofusgotoourclassesandseeeachotheragain
duringlunchhour.Ournextmeetingisonlyintheevening,afterschoolhours.Wehavemaintained
thisprinciplesothatourfocusisnotdivertedfromtheclassroomduringclasshours.Whenthereis
someimportantworksuchasadministrativework,webothshareit.Prakashisverycooperativeas
wellasveryconcernedaboutthechildrenandtheschool.Itbecomesveryeasyformebecauseof
our like-mindedness. We discuss together about new things that we can do to improve the
classroom,academicprogressofchildren,andthekitchengarden,andwealsoshareourpersonal
matters.Wearegoodfriendsmorethancolleagues’.
TheheadteacherwashappytobeteachingthelowergradesashebelievedthatClasses1–3were
foundationalforpreparingchildrenforfuturelearning.Healsospokeveryproudlyofthelearning
levelsofthechildrenintheschool,sayingthattheywereaheadoftheirclasscompetenciesand
comparedverywelltootherschoolsandeventheprivateschools.
Both teachers were found to share the same MDM as the children and reported that they
contributedasumofRs.500eachpermonthtomakeupfortheshortfallbetweentheactualMDM
expenses and the official allocated funding and ensure that each childwaswell fed. The two
teacherspersonallyservedthechildrenandateonlyafterthechildrenhadeaten.Milkwasgivento
26
thechildrenthreetimesaweek.Additionally,theheadteachermadesurethathehadasupplyof
biscuitsreadyforthosechildrenwhocametoschoolwithoutbreakfast.Anyvisitortotheschool,
suchasaparent,wasalsoprovidedlunch.TheassistantteacherPrakashcontributedRs.2000and
providedaspecialmealforthechildrenonceayear.
AsconversationswithPrakashrevealed,thoughhewasnotaprimaryteacherbychoice,henow
foundtheworkenjoyable.Heexplained,‘Iliketeaching,henceIchosethisprofession.Iwasnotsure
ifIwantedtoteachsmallchildrenorhighschoolchildrenwhenIwasdoingmycourse.Igotthis
appointmentasaprimaryschoolteacher.Initially,Iwasabitscepticalbutgradually,Istartedliking
mywork.Teachinglittlechildrengivesmealotofsatisfaction,especiallywhenIseerapidprogress
inthem’.PrakashwasobservedtobearegularvisitortotheneighbouringTeacherLearningCentre
andsharedthathefrequentlyborrowedresourcesaswellasengagedindiscussionswithresource
persons.Hehaslearnttouseacomputer,followingwhichhehasboughtapersonallaptopthathe
usedintheclassroomforshowingrelevantvideosandphotographswhileteaching.
The school had an active and cooperative SDMC thatwas seen to be supportive ofRachaiah’s
initiatives.Thelatterinturnwasmeticulousaboutsharingallinformation,especiallyrelatedto
funds and their deployment, to ensure transparency. All SDMCmeetingswere held only after
7.30p.m.intheeveningsothattherewasnodisruptionofworkfortheattendingmembers.Oneof
theSDMCmembers,Keshavaiah,affirmedthepositiveroleoftheteachers:‘Weareluckytogetthese
teachersinourschool.Bothofthemarelikesiblings,committedtotheschoolandchildren,andwe
trustthatourchildrenaregettingverygoodeducationinthisschool.Theyaretransparentabout
theschooldevelopmentfundandincentivesgivenbythedepartment.Wetakecollectivedecisions
whileinitiatinganyschooldevelopmentwork.Whenthereisexcessmoneyrequired,ourteachers
managethefundsbyeithercollectingdonationsormostoften,spendingtheirownmoney.Weare
poorandnotinapositiontocontributefinanciallybutallthattheydemandfromusistosend
childrenregularlytoschool.Byholdingparent–teachermeetings,theyensurethatweknowand
understandtheprogressofourchildren.Almostalltheparentsofthesechildrenarelabourersand
veryfewofthemareliterates.So,theentireresponsibilityofourchildren’seducationliesonthe
teachers’.
Rachaiahexpressedhisfrustrationofbeingthein-chargeheadteacherwithaddedresponsibilities
ofschooladministration,sincethisimpliedthathehadtooftentaketimeawayfromthechildren
andtheclassroom.Helamentedthatifhehadenoughtimeintheclassroom,hecouldhavedone
better: ‘I could have taught Mathematics by referring to different text books, apart from our
textbooks,ifIhadtofocusonlyontheclassroom.Childrencouldgainanenhancedperspective.
Childrenatthisagearecapableoflearninganythingthatyouteachthem’.
Theclusterresourceperson,Sumathi,whovisitedtheschoolsonceamonth,hadthefollowingto
sayaboutthetwoteachers: ‘He(Rachaiah)comes(toclusterorblockresourcecentres)either
beforeschoolhoursinthemorningorafterschoolhoursintheevening.Hedoesnotliketodoanyof
theofficeworkduringschoolhours.RachaiahandPrakashapplyforleaveonlywhenthereisan
emergencyandnototherwise.Bothareveryhonestintheirwork,transparentinmoneydealings,
andcommittedtowork.Thisisoneofthebestschoolsinourblock,despiteallconstraints.The
learninglevelsofthechildrenhereareexcellent,alltheregistersanddocumentsrequiredbythe
departmentareup-to-date,therearenodelaysingivingincentivestochildren,theMDMisvery
nutritious,andthereisawarmatmosphereintheschool.Intimationornon-intimationofmyvisit
doesnotmakeanydifference,asthereisnopretention’.
When questioned about hismotivation, Rachaiah said, ‘I earnmy livelihood because of these
children.Iowethemagoodeducation.Thisthoughtmotivatesmetoteachthemwithdedication’.
27
Table 7.1: Profile of teachers
Nameofthe Gender Age Academic Professional Yearofjoining Yearofservice
teacher qualification qualification service inthisschool
Rachaiah Male 46 PUC TCH 1994 20
Prakash Male 36 B.Sc B.Ed 2014 2
Theconcernoftheteachersforthechildrenwasmanifestinthewaytheytaughtandthewaythey
ran the school.The teacherskneweach childwell in termsof their familybackground. Itwas
observedthateachchildwasgivenattentioninclassandthattheteachersalsopaidattentionto
aspectssuchaspersonalhygiene,especiallyforthosechildrenwhodidnotseemtogetpropercare
athome.Whentheschoolwasfoundtobeinneedofsomethingadditionaltothoseaddressedby
funds received from the department, either donations were sought from the Rotary orGram
Panchayat or the teachers contributed from their ownpockets. Shortage of resources such as
notebooksandpencilswasseentobereplenishedpersonallybytheteachers.
Theteachers’empathywiththedifficultcontextofthecommunitywasseenintheirresponses.As
theheadteachershared,‘Thecommunityisveryinnocentandhumbleandtheparentswanttheir
childrentostudyanddowellintheirlife.Theysendtheirchildrentoschooldespitethehardship
theyface.Theyhardlycometotheschoolbecausetheyareattheirworkinthefieldduringschool
hoursandcomingtoschoolisnothingbutalossofincomeforthatday.Icannotexpectmuchfrom
theparentswhenitcomestofollowing-uponthestudiesoftheirchildrenorprovidingthemwith
uniformsandbooks.Often,afewchildrencometoschoolwithoutbreakfastandhavetowaituntil
noonwhenlunchisprovidedinschool.Wedonotexpectanyfinancialsupportfromtheparents.All
thatwewantistheirinvolvementandsupportforthechild.Weinvitethemforspecialeventssuch
asIndependenceDayandChildren’sdayandprovidethemtheopportunitytoviewthetalentsof
theirchildrenthroughtheculturalprogramsorganisedfortheoccasion.Theyareveryhappywith
theprogressof theirchildren; theyalsoencourageotherparents tosend theirchildren toour
school.For19years,thereisnoreductioninschoolstrength.Wealwayshaveanaverageof25–30
childreninourschool’.
Theeasycamaraderiebetweentheteachersandtheirsenseofcommitmenttotheirworkwasalso
reflectedintheirresponses.AsRachaiahshared,‘PrakashandIhaveaverygoodunderstandingand
mutualrespect.Afterthemorningassembly,bothofusgotoourclassesandseeeachotheragain
duringlunchhour.Ournextmeetingisonlyintheevening,afterschoolhours.Wehavemaintained
thisprinciplesothatourfocusisnotdivertedfromtheclassroomduringclasshours.Whenthereis
someimportantworksuchasadministrativework,webothshareit.Prakashisverycooperativeas
wellasveryconcernedaboutthechildrenandtheschool.Itbecomesveryeasyformebecauseof
our like-mindedness. We discuss together about new things that we can do to improve the
classroom,academicprogressofchildren,andthekitchengarden,andwealsoshareourpersonal
matters.Wearegoodfriendsmorethancolleagues’.
TheheadteacherwashappytobeteachingthelowergradesashebelievedthatClasses1–3were
foundationalforpreparingchildrenforfuturelearning.Healsospokeveryproudlyofthelearning
levelsofthechildrenintheschool,sayingthattheywereaheadoftheirclasscompetenciesand
comparedverywelltootherschoolsandeventheprivateschools.
Both teachers were found to share the same MDM as the children and reported that they
contributedasumofRs.500eachpermonthtomakeupfortheshortfallbetweentheactualMDM
expenses and the official allocated funding and ensure that each childwaswell fed. The two
teacherspersonallyservedthechildrenandateonlyafterthechildrenhadeaten.Milkwasgivento
26
thechildrenthreetimesaweek.Additionally,theheadteachermadesurethathehadasupplyof
biscuitsreadyforthosechildrenwhocametoschoolwithoutbreakfast.Anyvisitortotheschool,
suchasaparent,wasalsoprovidedlunch.TheassistantteacherPrakashcontributedRs.2000and
providedaspecialmealforthechildrenonceayear.
AsconversationswithPrakashrevealed,thoughhewasnotaprimaryteacherbychoice,henow
foundtheworkenjoyable.Heexplained,‘Iliketeaching,henceIchosethisprofession.Iwasnotsure
ifIwantedtoteachsmallchildrenorhighschoolchildrenwhenIwasdoingmycourse.Igotthis
appointmentasaprimaryschoolteacher.Initially,Iwasabitscepticalbutgradually,Istartedliking
mywork.Teachinglittlechildrengivesmealotofsatisfaction,especiallywhenIseerapidprogress
inthem’.PrakashwasobservedtobearegularvisitortotheneighbouringTeacherLearningCentre
andsharedthathefrequentlyborrowedresourcesaswellasengagedindiscussionswithresource
persons.Hehaslearnttouseacomputer,followingwhichhehasboughtapersonallaptopthathe
usedintheclassroomforshowingrelevantvideosandphotographswhileteaching.
The school had an active and cooperative SDMC thatwas seen to be supportive ofRachaiah’s
initiatives.Thelatterinturnwasmeticulousaboutsharingallinformation,especiallyrelatedto
funds and their deployment, to ensure transparency. All SDMCmeetingswere held only after
7.30p.m.intheeveningsothattherewasnodisruptionofworkfortheattendingmembers.Oneof
theSDMCmembers,Keshavaiah,affirmedthepositiveroleoftheteachers:‘Weareluckytogetthese
teachersinourschool.Bothofthemarelikesiblings,committedtotheschoolandchildren,andwe
trustthatourchildrenaregettingverygoodeducationinthisschool.Theyaretransparentabout
theschooldevelopmentfundandincentivesgivenbythedepartment.Wetakecollectivedecisions
whileinitiatinganyschooldevelopmentwork.Whenthereisexcessmoneyrequired,ourteachers
managethefundsbyeithercollectingdonationsormostoften,spendingtheirownmoney.Weare
poorandnotinapositiontocontributefinanciallybutallthattheydemandfromusistosend
childrenregularlytoschool.Byholdingparent–teachermeetings,theyensurethatweknowand
understandtheprogressofourchildren.Almostalltheparentsofthesechildrenarelabourersand
veryfewofthemareliterates.So,theentireresponsibilityofourchildren’seducationliesonthe
teachers’.
Rachaiahexpressedhisfrustrationofbeingthein-chargeheadteacherwithaddedresponsibilities
ofschooladministration,sincethisimpliedthathehadtooftentaketimeawayfromthechildren
andtheclassroom.Helamentedthatifhehadenoughtimeintheclassroom,hecouldhavedone
better: ‘I could have taught Mathematics by referring to different text books, apart from our
textbooks,ifIhadtofocusonlyontheclassroom.Childrencouldgainanenhancedperspective.
Childrenatthisagearecapableoflearninganythingthatyouteachthem’.
Theclusterresourceperson,Sumathi,whovisitedtheschoolsonceamonth,hadthefollowingto
sayaboutthetwoteachers: ‘He(Rachaiah)comes(toclusterorblockresourcecentres)either
beforeschoolhoursinthemorningorafterschoolhoursintheevening.Hedoesnotliketodoanyof
theofficeworkduringschoolhours.RachaiahandPrakashapplyforleaveonlywhenthereisan
emergencyandnototherwise.Bothareveryhonestintheirwork,transparentinmoneydealings,
andcommittedtowork.Thisisoneofthebestschoolsinourblock,despiteallconstraints.The
learninglevelsofthechildrenhereareexcellent,alltheregistersanddocumentsrequiredbythe
departmentareup-to-date,therearenodelaysingivingincentivestochildren,theMDMisvery
nutritious,andthereisawarmatmosphereintheschool.Intimationornon-intimationofmyvisit
doesnotmakeanydifference,asthereisnopretention’.
When questioned about hismotivation, Rachaiah said, ‘I earnmy livelihood because of these
children.Iowethemagoodeducation.Thisthoughtmotivatesmetoteachthemwithdedication’.
27
4. Concluding Thoughts
The study finds that in effect, teacher absenteeism, that is, teachersbeing absentwithout any
reason,isonlyoftheorderof2.5%.Thisalignswithotherstudiesonteacherabsenteeism,which
indicatethatrankdelinquencyislowerthan5%.Otherfindingspointtothesystemicchallengeof
non-schooldutiesthatstillcompriseasignificantportionoftheirworktimethattheteachershave
to spend in activities not related to their primarywork engagement—school teaching. At the
teacherlevel,femaleteachersarefoundtobelessabsentthanmaleteachersandcommutetimeis
seentomakeadifferencewithrelativelylongercommutetimeassociatedwithhigherabsence,both
resonatingwithfindingsfromotherstudiesonteacherabsenteeism.Intermsofotherteacher-level
andschool-levelcorrelatesofteacherabsence,noremarkablesystematicdifferencesareevident.
Inaddition,thesevencasestudiesattempttopresentamorenuancedunderstandingoftheexisting
realitiesofthegovernmentschoolsystemingeneralandteachers’workinspecific—aspectsthat
remainundervaluedincurrentresearchstudiesandpolicydiscourse.Thecasestudiesshowthat
teachersingovernmentschoolsdoengagewiththeirworkasconscientiousprofessionals,evenin
challenging contexts of systemic difficulties and personal inconveniences. This brings us to a
broaderobservationonthenatureofdiscoursethathasbeensoughttobebuiltaroundteacher
absenteeism ingovernment schools.The currentdiscourseoverly stresses thepointofoverall
teacher absence, this being in the order of 20%, which feeds into popular perceptions of an
‘unaccountable’governmentschoolsystem,withaspecificfocusonpurportedly‘unaccountable’
teachers.Thishasalsobecomearallyingpointforpolicymeasuresandinitiatives,oftenexplicitlyor
implicitlydirectedatgovernmentschoolteachers,whichhaveseriousimplicationsfordevelopinga
professionalcadreofregular,well-trainedteachersinthegovernmentschoolsystem.Thepolicy
suggestionsand initiatives range fromreplacementof a regular cadreby contractual teachers,
mandatedbiometric attendanceof teachers, and invitation to retiredprofessionals fromother
domainstovolunteerasteachersintheschoolsystem.Here,‘efficiency’becomesoneofthemost
importantparametersintheevaluationoftheaims,processes,andoutcomesofaneducational
system,oftenatthecostofotherparametersthatmakeforastronggovernmentschoolsystem.
Atone level,what thisdiscourseof ‘efficiency’and ‘accountability’ ignores is thesystemicand
everydayrealityofgovernmentschools,withmultiplefactorscontributingtoteacherabsences,not
allofwhicharerelatedto ‘lackofaccountability’. Indeed,asthisstudyshows,absencewithout
reasonisquiteinsignificantwhencomparedtothesystemicreasons,forteacherabsenceinschools,
suchasotheracademicandadministrativedutiesassignedtothem.Insuchascenario,thecurrent
teacherabsenteeismdiscourseseemstoendorseapositioninwhichtheteachersshouldbesubject
toaninsecureworkenvironmentthatpotentiallycreatesaccountability.
Atanotherlevel,thisdiscoursedoesnotpaysufficientattentiontotheverynatureoftheteaching
professioninwhichautonomyoftendefinestheengagementandendeavouroftheteacherandacts
asthemainmotivatingfactorguidingherwork.Thecasestudiesindeedexemplifythisaspectof
teachers’work.Moreover, accountabilityas conceptualised in the current teacherabsenteeism
discourse overly emphasises ‘individual’ and ‘outcomes’ accountability at the cost of process
accountability. For understanding accountability through the latter perspective, it would be
necessarytoconsidersystemicfactorscontributingtoaccountabilityissues(e.g.poorlydeveloped
systems of teacher preparation, recruitment, and deployment; inadequate institutional
mechanismsforteachermentoringandsupport;andinadequateworkingconditionsforteachersin
terms of alignment to key teaching–learning tasks). Other studies have also emphasised how
absence of teachers’ voices and agency in policy-making and implementation processes,
inadequateappreciationfromimmediatestakeholderssuchashigherauthoritiesandparents,and
absenceofmeaningfulpeer-engagementforumsforself-developmenthaveledtodemotivation
28
amonggovernmentschoolteachers(cf.Batra2005;Ramachandran2005;Mooij2008).Aligned
with these studies, this study also seeks to pave the path for a deeper and more engaged
understandingoftheaboveconcernsandchallengessurroundingteachers’work,whichinturncan
guidethenatureofpoliciesaroundthisissue.
29
4. Concluding Thoughts
The study finds that in effect, teacher absenteeism, that is, teachersbeing absentwithout any
reason,isonlyoftheorderof2.5%.Thisalignswithotherstudiesonteacherabsenteeism,which
indicatethatrankdelinquencyislowerthan5%.Otherfindingspointtothesystemicchallengeof
non-schooldutiesthatstillcompriseasignificantportionoftheirworktimethattheteachershave
to spend in activities not related to their primarywork engagement—school teaching. At the
teacherlevel,femaleteachersarefoundtobelessabsentthanmaleteachersandcommutetimeis
seentomakeadifferencewithrelativelylongercommutetimeassociatedwithhigherabsence,both
resonatingwithfindingsfromotherstudiesonteacherabsenteeism.Intermsofotherteacher-level
andschool-levelcorrelatesofteacherabsence,noremarkablesystematicdifferencesareevident.
Inaddition,thesevencasestudiesattempttopresentamorenuancedunderstandingoftheexisting
realitiesofthegovernmentschoolsystemingeneralandteachers’workinspecific—aspectsthat
remainundervaluedincurrentresearchstudiesandpolicydiscourse.Thecasestudiesshowthat
teachersingovernmentschoolsdoengagewiththeirworkasconscientiousprofessionals,evenin
challenging contexts of systemic difficulties and personal inconveniences. This brings us to a
broaderobservationonthenatureofdiscoursethathasbeensoughttobebuiltaroundteacher
absenteeism ingovernment schools.The currentdiscourseoverly stresses thepointofoverall
teacher absence, this being in the order of 20%, which feeds into popular perceptions of an
‘unaccountable’governmentschoolsystem,withaspecificfocusonpurportedly‘unaccountable’
teachers.Thishasalsobecomearallyingpointforpolicymeasuresandinitiatives,oftenexplicitlyor
implicitlydirectedatgovernmentschoolteachers,whichhaveseriousimplicationsfordevelopinga
professionalcadreofregular,well-trainedteachersinthegovernmentschoolsystem.Thepolicy
suggestionsand initiatives range fromreplacementof a regular cadreby contractual teachers,
mandatedbiometric attendanceof teachers, and invitation to retiredprofessionals fromother
domainstovolunteerasteachersintheschoolsystem.Here,‘efficiency’becomesoneofthemost
importantparametersintheevaluationoftheaims,processes,andoutcomesofaneducational
system,oftenatthecostofotherparametersthatmakeforastronggovernmentschoolsystem.
Atone level,what thisdiscourseof ‘efficiency’and ‘accountability’ ignores is thesystemicand
everydayrealityofgovernmentschools,withmultiplefactorscontributingtoteacherabsences,not
allofwhicharerelatedto ‘lackofaccountability’. Indeed,asthisstudyshows,absencewithout
reasonisquiteinsignificantwhencomparedtothesystemicreasons,forteacherabsenceinschools,
suchasotheracademicandadministrativedutiesassignedtothem.Insuchascenario,thecurrent
teacherabsenteeismdiscourseseemstoendorseapositioninwhichtheteachersshouldbesubject
toaninsecureworkenvironmentthatpotentiallycreatesaccountability.
Atanotherlevel,thisdiscoursedoesnotpaysufficientattentiontotheverynatureoftheteaching
professioninwhichautonomyoftendefinestheengagementandendeavouroftheteacherandacts
asthemainmotivatingfactorguidingherwork.Thecasestudiesindeedexemplifythisaspectof
teachers’work.Moreover, accountabilityas conceptualised in the current teacherabsenteeism
discourse overly emphasises ‘individual’ and ‘outcomes’ accountability at the cost of process
accountability. For understanding accountability through the latter perspective, it would be
necessarytoconsidersystemicfactorscontributingtoaccountabilityissues(e.g.poorlydeveloped
systems of teacher preparation, recruitment, and deployment; inadequate institutional
mechanismsforteachermentoringandsupport;andinadequateworkingconditionsforteachersin
terms of alignment to key teaching–learning tasks). Other studies have also emphasised how
absence of teachers’ voices and agency in policy-making and implementation processes,
inadequateappreciationfromimmediatestakeholderssuchashigherauthoritiesandparents,and
absenceofmeaningfulpeer-engagementforumsforself-developmenthaveledtodemotivation
28
amonggovernmentschoolteachers(cf.Batra2005;Ramachandran2005;Mooij2008).Aligned
with these studies, this study also seeks to pave the path for a deeper and more engaged
understandingoftheaboveconcernsandchallengessurroundingteachers’work,whichinturncan
guidethenatureofpoliciesaroundthisissue.
29
References
Batra,P(2005):“VoiceandAgencyofTeachers:MissingLinkinNationalCurriculumFramework
2005,”EconomicandPoliticalWeekly,40(40):4347-4356.
Beteille,T(2009):Absenteeism, transfersandpatronage:thepoliticaleconomyof teacher labor
marketsinIndia,UnpublishedDoctoralDissertation,StanfordUniversity.
Bhattacharjea,S,WWadhwaandRBanerji(2011):InsidePrimarySchools.Astudyofteachingand
learninginruralIndia,Mumbai:Pratham.
Governmentof India(2009):Teachers’absence inprimaryandupperprimaryschools:Synthesis
reportofstudyconductedinAndhraPradesh,MadhyaPradeshandUttarPradesh,NewDelhi:EdCIL.
GovernmentofIndia(2017):EconomicSurvey2016-17,MinistryofFinance.
Kingdon,GandMMuzammil(2003):ThePoliticalEconomyofEducationinIndia:TeacherPoliticsin
UttarPradesh,NewDelhi:OxfordUniversityPress.
Kremer,M,NChaudhury,FHRogers,KmuralidharanandJHammer(2005):“Teacherabsencein
India:Asnapshot,”JournaloftheEuropeanEconomicAssociation,3(2-3):658-667.
Mooij,J(2008):“PrimaryEducation,Teachers’ProfessionalismandSocialClassaboutMotivation
andDemotivationofGovernmentSchoolTeachers in India,”International JournalofEducational
Development,28(5):508–523.
Muralidharan,K,andVSundararaman(2013):Contractteachers:ExperimentalevidencefromIndia
(No.w19440),NationalBureauofEconomicResearch.
Muralidharan,K,JDas,AHollaandAMohpal(2016):“TheFiscalCostofWeakGovernance:Evidence
fromTeacherAbsenceinIndia,”PolicyResearchWorkingPaper7579,WorldBankGroup.
Pratham (2017):Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2016 Provisional,NewDelhi: ASER
Centre.
Ramachandran,V(2005):“WhySchoolTeachersAreDemotivatedandDisheartened,”Economicand
PoliticalWeekly,40(21):2141-2144.
30 31
References
Batra,P(2005):“VoiceandAgencyofTeachers:MissingLinkinNationalCurriculumFramework
2005,”EconomicandPoliticalWeekly,40(40):4347-4356.
Beteille,T(2009):Absenteeism, transfersandpatronage:thepoliticaleconomyof teacher labor
marketsinIndia,UnpublishedDoctoralDissertation,StanfordUniversity.
Bhattacharjea,S,WWadhwaandRBanerji(2011):InsidePrimarySchools.Astudyofteachingand
learninginruralIndia,Mumbai:Pratham.
Governmentof India(2009):Teachers’absence inprimaryandupperprimaryschools:Synthesis
reportofstudyconductedinAndhraPradesh,MadhyaPradeshandUttarPradesh,NewDelhi:EdCIL.
GovernmentofIndia(2017):EconomicSurvey2016-17,MinistryofFinance.
Kingdon,GandMMuzammil(2003):ThePoliticalEconomyofEducationinIndia:TeacherPoliticsin
UttarPradesh,NewDelhi:OxfordUniversityPress.
Kremer,M,NChaudhury,FHRogers,KmuralidharanandJHammer(2005):“Teacherabsencein
India:Asnapshot,”JournaloftheEuropeanEconomicAssociation,3(2-3):658-667.
Mooij,J(2008):“PrimaryEducation,Teachers’ProfessionalismandSocialClassaboutMotivation
andDemotivationofGovernmentSchoolTeachers in India,”International JournalofEducational
Development,28(5):508–523.
Muralidharan,K,andVSundararaman(2013):Contractteachers:ExperimentalevidencefromIndia
(No.w19440),NationalBureauofEconomicResearch.
Muralidharan,K,JDas,AHollaandAMohpal(2016):“TheFiscalCostofWeakGovernance:Evidence
fromTeacherAbsenceinIndia,”PolicyResearchWorkingPaper7579,WorldBankGroup.
Pratham (2017):Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2016 Provisional,NewDelhi: ASER
Centre.
Ramachandran,V(2005):“WhySchoolTeachersAreDemotivatedandDisheartened,”Economicand
PoliticalWeekly,40(21):2141-2144.
30 31
32
32