[Reader-list] Ekal Vidyalaya - A people's movement

[Pawan Durani]

Came across this noble mission ; the work seems amazing . More and
more concepts like these are needed to help the tribals and the rural
people where education hasn't reached yet.

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http://ekalindia.org/

Vision

To banish illiteracy from the face of tribal India by providing free,
non-formal education through a People-Movement.


Mission

Literate India
While it is making giant advances in software, space, and nuclear
power, India is paradoxically still struggling with questions of basic
literacy for a large segment of its population. Upon independence,
India's literacy rate was a staggering 11 percent. Since then, we have
made tremendous advances in educating our people. Still, more than six
decades after independence, 65.4% India is still illiterate. Even
worse off is the position of tribal India, which has a literacy rate
below 30 percent.

The Ekal Vidyalaya movement aims to help eradicate illiteracy from
rural and tribal India by 2011. To date, Ekal Vidyalaya is a movement
of over 26,719 teachers, 5,000 (Approximately) voluntary workers, 22
field organizations (scattered in 22 Indian states), and 8 support
agencies as on January 2009. With this tremendous human force, the
Ekal Vidyalaya movement strives to create a network of non-formal
schools that will educate and empower children in rural and tribal
India.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable trust that initiates,
supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as
Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of
numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now
become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the
country.

The Paradox
While Indians have succeeded in flexing their intellectual prowess and
in establishing entrepreneurship throughout the world, over a third of
India's population is illiterate. Tribal villagers who live in remote
areas away from major cities are the worst affected. Often unreachable
by road and untouched by electricity, the tribal population is often
neglected by agencies of development. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation,
therefore, has focused its primary education programs on tribals and
other underprivileged communities in rural India.

Beyond Literacy
Ekal Vidyalaya goes beyond mere literacy. Apart from its goal of
achieving the national standards of Minimum Level of Learning (MLL)
for its students, Ekal Vidyalaya also seeks to empower the village
community for its own self-development. Ekal Vidyalaya solicits
complete involvement of the local community and aims at making the
school self-reliant in a period of five to seven years.

The donors, supporters and workers of Ekal Vidyalaya are motivated by
a commitment to educate our illiterate brothers and sisters. Their
unflinching dedication to serve their motherland is the key to our
success.

History

Although the Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation was registered as charitable
trust in 1999, the concept has been in practice and refined over
decades.

Foundation Laid by Vivekananda
In 1986, inspired by the efforts of the early Vivekananda workers, a
group of young educationists began work with the primitive tribes in
the dense forests of Jharkhand. Notable amongst them were Late Dr.
Rakesh Popli (a USA-returned nuclear scientist) and his wife Rama
Popli (a child education expert). They refined the concept of the
'one-teacher school' amongst the tribes of Gumla (125 km away from
Ranchi (Jharkhand), Chhatisgarh. Two years later, Shri Madan Lalji
Agarwal established similar schools in 60 villages near Dhanbad.

Impact of the Jharkhand experiment
By 1995-1996 there were 1200 schools being run in Jharkhand.
Jharkhand's experiment with the one-teacher,en emiment industrialist
one-school non formal education concept was extraordinary. Overall
literacy rates in Jharkand doubled; the literacy rate soared from
approximately 30 to 60 percent, with youth literacy surpassing those
numbers. Furthermore, during the same time frame, health workers
noticed a sharp decline in diseases caused by non-hygienic practices,
witchcraft, and alcoholism. Inspired by the success of the Jharkand
experiment, organizations around the country adopted the concept. Many
organizations including Vanvasi Kalyan Kendra and Friends of Tribal
Society (FTS) have been the frontrunners in propagating this cause and
have brought education to the doorsteps of many forgotten children.

Spreading of the Movement
In last decade, organizations from all over the country have joined
the Ekal Vidyalaya movement. The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India
serves as the umbrella organization for various NGOs that run
one-teacher schools in their respective areas.

In the year 2000-2001, EVFI became established in New Delhi. From
December of 2001, a CEO was appointed to look after the trust's
activities. In January of 2001, the EVFI international fundraising arm
was begun. One month later, the FCRA granted this arm the right to
receive foreign contributions.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation of India and America are working
earnestly, hand-in-hand, to help raise the funds necessary to build
100,000 non-formal schools across the tribal belt by the year 2011.

The Concept: A People's Movement

Participation at All Levels
At every level, the Ekal Vidyalaya movement seeks the participation of
local people. Ekal Vidyalaya involves the village folk in the creation
of the school, the selection of the teacher, and the adaptation of the
curriculum and schedule. Ekal also recruits local people to coordinate
training and other project-related issues at every level - the
subcluster (10 school unit), cluster (30 school unit), subarea (90
school unit) and area (270 school unit). The involvement at every
level is based on a commitment to education and an eagerness to help
advance their own community. The sense of community drives the
movement even at the national and global level. We urge you to join
the movement because this is your India - this is your community.

Villagers' Own School
The village plays a significant role in the Ekal Vidyalaya process.
First, villagers are surveyed to gauge their interest in non-formal
education. Where there is sufficient interest, villagers are
encouraged to form a committee to oversee the school. The committee
nominates two potential teachers. With Ekal Vidyalaya Team and the
selected teacher, the village committee helps determine the location
and timings. The committee is also responsible for generating interest
in the educational process and in addressing any issues that may arise
during the school year.

Second, villagers contribute to the Ekal Vidyalaya in kind. From the
beginning, Ekal Vidyalaya encourages village involvement and prepares
them to be wholly self-sufficient in 5 to 7 years. (See self-reliance
chart) Though initially, the villager's financial contributions are
often meager, their contribution has a tremendous effect on their
involvement and on the long-term sustainability of the Ekal Vidyalaya.

The Best Guarantee
The best guarantee of Ekal Vidyalaya's success is the involvement and
participation of the villagers. Before it selects a village, Empowered
Committee ensures that the village has sufficient interest in the
process. The Ekal Vidyalaya belongs to the village; thus, village
involvement is important to the Ekal Vidyalaya's development. In
addition, a group of dedicated full-time workers help maintain the
schools' regularity and consistency in the level of education.
Furthermore, prominent urban families serve as 'caretaker families.'
They regularly visit the schools and interact with the villagers.
Community involvement and participation thus proves to guarantee in
Ekal Vidyalaya's success.

Why An Ekal School

On the Children's Terms
For many rural and tribal children, a formal education is unattractive
because: (a) they must travel great distances to attend school; (b)
school hours interfere with the children's family responsibilities;
(c) the children do not have the funds for uniforms and books; (d)
neither the teachers nor the curriculum give due consideration to
their needs and life experience. Though the government has implemented
many schemes to educate rural and tribal children, their literacy rate
remains staggeringly low.

In contrast, Ekal Vidyalaya has designed a non-formal education
program customized to meet the needs of rural and tribal children.
First, the children are taught in their native language (and then in
either the state or national language). Second, Ekal Vidyalaya classes
are scheduled to meet the needs of the village children and are often
adapted depending on the season and harvest schedule. Third, the
school curriculum is tailored to teach the children basic literacy and
life skills to help them develop self-confidence and succeed in rural
occupations or pursue a higher education if they choose.

One of the strengths of Ekal Vidyalaya's non-formal education program
is that it can be run on the children's terms. The Ekal Vidyalaya
takes into consideration their schedule, their experience, their
needs, their dreams. These children are the future. . . that is why it
is important to take education to their doorstep and ignite their
minds.

Friendly Teacher, Local Curriculum
Conventional subjects such as history, geography, science, and
literature have little value in the lives of many rural and tribal
children. They struggle to make ends meet in an agrarian economy.
Often, they speak a local dialect far removed from the state or
national language. To kindle an interest in education and to give due
deference to their local customs and traditions, Ekal Vidyalaya
commences with instruction in the local dialect. In addition, the Ekal
Vidyalaya teacher is a friendly face familiar with the village
children, traditions and customs. The teacher generally plays the role
of an elder brother or sister. He or she plays, sings, educates, and
empowers his or her children through non-formal education. The influx
of new ideas filtered through familiar channels helps make learning
dynamic and fun.

Emphasis on Quality
For Ekal Vidyalaya, education is more than book learning. Education is
the assimilation of life-building, man-making, character-building
ideas. To instill those principles requires skills and dedication.
Ekal Vidyalaya takes great care in selecting and training its teachers
to provide the best quality education possible.

Ekal Vidyalaya recruits teachers from local villages based on
nominations from the village committee. Teachers must have the
leadership inclination and be generally as knowledgeable as at least
an eighth grader and a service mentality. Ekal Vidyalaya interviews
each candidate to evaluate his or her interest and dedication to the
community. Once selected, Ekal Vidyalaya indoctrinates the teachers
with Ekal's unique holistic approach to education. Teachers undergo
vigorous training to qualify them to run Ekal Vidyalaya schools. (See
Teacher's Preparation). Also, supervisors and trainers regularly visit
the schools to help enhance the quality of teaching. Lastly,
supervised annual exams provide further reassurance that the school
meets quality standards.

The Concept: Swami Vivekananda on EV


Education

Culture

Poor masses

Resources

India

Life Mission
A. Education

Q. 1- What is non-formal education?

Well then, my plans are, therefore, to reach these masses of India.
Suppose you start schools all over India for the poor, still you
cannot educate them. How can you? The boy of four years would better
go to the plough or to work, than to your school. He cannot go to your
school. It is impossible. Self - preservation is the first instinct.
But if the mountain does not go to Mohammed, then Mohammed can come to
the mountain. Why should not education go from door to door, say I. If
a ploughman's boy cannot come to education, why not meet him at the
plough, at the factory, just wherever he is? Go along with him, like
his shadow. But there are these hundreds and thousands of monks,
educating the people on the spiritual plane; why not let these men do
the same work on the intellectual plane? Why should they not talk to
the masses a little about history -- about many things? The ears are
the best educators. The best principles in our lives were those which
we heard from our mothers through our ears. Books came much later.
Book - learning is nothing. Through the ears we get the best formative
principles. Then, as they get more and more interested, they may come
to your books too. First, let it roll on and on -- that is my idea. (
volume 8 page 88 & 89...my life and my mission)

Q. 2- What is the relevance of non-formal schools?

The great difficulty in the way of educating the poor is this.
Supposing even your Highness opens a free school in every village,
still it would do no good, for the poor India is such, that the poor
boys would rather go to help their fathers in the fields, or otherwise
try to make a living, than come to the school. Now if the mountain
does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain. If the
poor boy cannot come to education, education must go to him. Volume 4
[ Page : 363] OUR DUTY TO THE MASSES

Q. 3- What should be the syllabus of Ekal Vidyalaya?

Those of you who have read Herbert Spencer remember what he calls the
"monastery system" of education that was tried in Europe and which in
some parts proved a success; that is, there is one schoolmaster, whom
the village keeps. These primary schools are very rudimentary, because
our methods are so simple. Each boy brings a little mat; and his
paper, to begin with, is palm leaves. Palm leaves first, paper is too
costly. Each boy spreads his little mat and sits upon it, brings out
his inkstand and his books and begins to write. A little arithmetic,
some Sanskrit grammar, a little of language and accounts -- these are
taught in the primary school volume 8 (page : women of India )

Q. 4- What is the role of a teacher in Ekal Vidyalaya?

My idea of education is personal contact with the teacher -- gurugriha
- vasa. Without the personal life of a teacher there would be no
education. Take your Universities. What have they done during the
fifty years of their existence? They have not produced one original
man. They are merely an examining body Volume 5 [ Page : 224 ] THE
MISSIONARY WORK OF THE FIRST HINDU SANNYASIN TO THE WEST AND HIS PLAN
OF REGENERATION OF INDIA

Q. 5- What should be the format of education to these poor people?

Suppose some disinterested Sannyasins, bent on doing good to others,
go from village to village, disseminating education and seeking in
various ways to better the condition of all down to the Chandala,
through oral teaching, and by means of maps, cameras, globes, and such
other accessories - can't that bring forth good in time? All these
plans I cannot write out in this short letter. The long and the short
of it is - if the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go
to the mountain. The poor are too poor to come to schools and
Pathashalas, and they will gain nothing by reading poetry and all that
sort of thing. We, as a nation, have lost our individuality, and that
is the cause of all mischief in India. We have to give back to the
nation its lost individuality and raise the masses. The Hindu, the
Mohammedan, the Christian, all have trampled them underfoot. Again the
force to raise them must come from inside, that is, from the orthodox
Hindus. In every country the evils exist not with, but against,
religion. Religion therefore is not to blame, but men. Volume 6 [ Page
: 255 ] LETTERS

Q. 6- What do you mean by empowerment through education?

Education, education, and education alone! Travelling through many
cities of Europe and observing in them the comforts and education of
even the poor people, there was brought to my mind the state of our
own poor people, and I used to shed tears. What made the difference?
Education was the answer I got. Through education comes faith in one's
own Self, and through faith in one's own Self the inherent Brahman is
waking up in them, while the Brahman in us is gradually becoming
dormant. Volume 4 [ Page : 482 ] THE EDUCATION THAT INDIA NEEDS

Q. 7- What is the defect of present education system?

I studied hard for twelve years and became a graduate of Calcutta
University; now I can scarcely make $5.00 a month in my country. Would
you believe it? It is actually a fact. So these educational
institutions of foreigners are simply to get a lot of useful,
practical slaves for a little money -- to turn out a host of clerks,
postmasters, telegraph operators, and so on. (volume 8 women of India)