ManishChand:UNDERSTANDING IMPORTANCE OF ICT IN EDUCATING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

In this study, I will examine the relevance of ICT in elementary school. This paper will deal with the strengths and limitations of ICT in elementary school. I selected one school which uses ICT and tried to find out its outcome through my short visit and secondary data. At the end, findings revealed that students in class were highly motivated through the extensive use of ICT. ICT is potentially a useful tool both for managing education and for teaching.

ICT in education is a crucial tool for making learning easy and concept understandable. ICT is decreasing the burden of tasks of students and teachers. Its presence in education is also not new. “In India, radio in education dates back to mid 1940s, educational television to early 1960’s, interactive television to early 1970s and computers in education to mid 1980s. However, educational radio, television, computers, etc. hung independent of each other like isles. ICT as a more comprehensive umbrella that implies convergence and hybridization of technology is a recent development in Indian education.” (Mukhopadhyaya. M . 2006,pp. 5 )

First of all, we will try to know about the exact meaning ICT.  Basically, ICTs stand for information and communication technologies and are defined, for the purposes of this primer, as a diverse set of technological tools and resources used to communicate, and to create, disseminate, store, and manage information. These technologies include computers, the Internet, broadcasting technologies (radio and television), and telephony.”( ICT in Education,pp.02)

Difference between passive computer-aided unilateral technology vs interactive technology.

Any source of information if it is received for sake of acquisition of knowledge, it would not considered as interactive mode of learning. Learning happens through interaction, discussion, discourse amongst groups and in classroom.  For instance, a teacher entered classroom and delivered his/her lecture with help of projector method, tape recorder or radio. It will not serve the meaningful and purposeful until there is discussion, queries among them. So, lack of discussion and interaction, will lead to passive learning. Passive learning may be called as ‘Banking learning’ (Paul Freirre) where teachers deposit all the information and students become as passive receivers.

Each of the different ICTs-print, audio/video cassettes, radio and TV broadcasts, computers or the Internet may be used for presentation and demonstration, the most basic of the five levels. Except for video technologies, drill and practice may likewise be performed using the whole range of technologies. On the other hand, networked computers and the Internet are the ICTs that enable interactive and collaborative learning best.  Their full potential as educational tools will remain unrealized if they are used merely for presentation or demonstration.



Learning through play and child-initiated activity is central to school education for children. But the introduction of ICT can play meaningful and significant role in reaching out with quality education for all. It can also add value to school education (e.g. by developing life skills, achieving higher order thinking skills, etc.). It can enhance school attraction and child friendliness, and school effectiveness contributing to better learning and performance in examination and also better school management.


 Examine importance of ICT in educating elementary school children in India

It is normally agreed that ICT is a crucial resource in education. ICTs are used in education that has made an impact on education systems. Children use computers from an early age and continue to university level. Children are taught practical ICT skills that are transferable into the work place. “The study explored what organizational factors affected perception, how to use ICTs and how to use a new learning management system. Previous study shows that three factors affect the use and perception. These are the user characteristics, and leader perceptions, technology training, and management approach.” (Grainger and Tolhurst 2005)


ICT can be used for students to enhance school attraction and effectiveness. It can be used for capacity building of teachers, heads of schools and senior educational personnel in the districts and states. ICT can be work more effectively in management of schools and management of the education system through e-governance.

These are two questions arise here. Whether ICT enhances learning achieving higher order cognition or not depends upon the choice of technology and quality of programme delivery. For example, There are good number of studies that indicate either ‘no’ or marginal effects of educational television.  There are large numbers of studies/ experiments that indicate positive learning outcomes with interactive video and television, online education, computer aided learning, etc. But its potentials remain largely unexplored. Technology, by itself is not universal remedy. But it can be made to work through well-designed interventions.

Radio and TV broadcasting can be used in elementary school
Radio and television have been used widely as educational tools since the 1920s and the 1950s, respectively. There are three general approaches to the use of radio and TV broadcasting in schools.
1) Direct class teaching, where broadcast programming substitutes for teachers on a temporary basis;
2) School broadcasting, where broadcast programming provides complementary teaching and learning resources available.
3) General educational programming over community, national and international stations which provide general and informal educational opportunities.  (http://www.apdip.net.)


Encounters with ICT accompanied by guided interaction can enhance three key areas of learning. These are dispositions to learn, knowledge of the world and operational skills. By optimizing the learning benefits of ICT requires a responsive, reflective pedagogy which values pleasure and engagement as well as operational skills.



 Can it be used with equal efficacy across school/regions for different s-eco groups of the society?

I visited a Shirgaon Collegiate High school which is located Sinhudurg district of  Maharastra. There is a little village located near Goa. It lies between the Arabian Sea and the Sahayadri hills. It is a non-government school. Fee structure of school was 60 rupees but defers class wise. Students come from middle class family.
In this remote place in 2002 NIIT and ICICI bank installed a kiosk centre in same school. There are first two computers into twenty children share each. Free public computer kiosk for children. This facility is for use by children under 15 years of age. There are no instructors or teachers. All activities at this kiosk are continuously monitored from New Delhi.

Those computers had no mouse. They had a finger touch joystick four of the six buttons are meant to direct the cursor. The remaining two were the right and left clicks of the mouse. Seeing the number of children visiting the kiosk NIIT installed 50 to 60 games on the computers. First of all, the children just had fun on the computers. Later, the crowd at the kiosk increased. They began playing games and tiring of them opened other programmes like paint brush.

Computer lab, the software package had its links to sites in Marathi, Hindi and English and related to children’s school subject. Children could not use the computer lab in the school for long hours. There were over 60 students using the few computers. Children could not learn much .Their teacher could only give them a demonstration. In comparison with computer lab, the kiosk was always open. Whenever the children had time they could do anything.

Children learnt very soon how to open browsers, click on link and open sites. They would pick up on the sites related to their school subjects. Thus while searching websites; they stumble on the Google link. Despite their poor English they realize that what research meant and start searching for games. They discovered a whole list of such websites. They realized something new that there is a thing like search engine. Children searched also about things for books and websites


There, ICT provides children what they want to learn and study. ICT has come up an exploratory idea in which children get space for study and discover how to learn, what to learn for them in what way they like. In fact, there was one documentary named ‘ICT Harvest’  is made by Swati Desai a creative consultant. This documentary also was made with financial support from HIVOS and Comet Media Foundation 2007.From 2002 to 2007, NIIT an IT Training and Developing Organization undertook a study investigation what children did when left themselves with a computer and a high speed internet connection. ICT teaching pedagogy seemed to me based on non authoritarian. ICT allows students exactly what they want to study, space what they want to do.

Another interesting aspect that make me to think of the teacher [Attar] who discovered his vocation with ICT[ Information and Communication Technology] and persisted to keep these effort alive. Earlier he knew nothing but later through his sincere effort he became the master of computer. He learnt in summer vocation. He did not give up his positive hope and at last became successful computer teacher. He takes his class with help of projector. He shows video of water cycle prescribed in class iv science book. Children understand very well, usually, about the matter of state, function of water in forms of condensation. Perspiration and evaporation.

So, above base, yes, ICT may be used in equal efficacy across school and region. But the potential for using ICTs well in education and in building human capital depends on a number of factors that differ from one region to another, and especially between rural and urban region. It is important for countries to bear these differences in mind when making investments. One of the most important differences between regions is the availability of hardware. A computer is essentially an individual device, most useful for one person at a time. Everywhere, youngsters tend to have better access at home than at school.


Access to the Internet varies widely, even among regions broadly comparable levels of income. High-speed access to the Internet also varies. The educational effectiveness of ICTs depends on how they are used and for what purpose. And like any other educational tool or mode of educational delivery, ICTs do not work for everyone, everywhere in the same way.

But getting the best from ICTs depends on several variables, including the appropriate design of software and hardware; the training and attitude of instructors; and the realization that different students have different requirements. It also requires a willingness to experiment, effective use of ICTs in education and training is likely to require quite different pedagogical techniques from traditional classroom teaching.


 The school I visited they do not have their own website. But student can download important things during any time when they had time. It was free access of net. That school used Project-based learning (PBL) which  is a constructivist pedagogy and class-oriented learning approach. Unlike traditional learning which is short-term, subject independent, teacher-focused, and mostly constrained to classroom  settings ,PBL involves long-term, theme-based learning and student-centered activities that focus on daily life problems and allows learners to use an inquiry-based approach to engage with issues and questions that are real and relevant to their lives.

 How is ICT used? For different subjects? For learning? By whom- teacher/student?
In project-based learning, teachers actively supervise students by taking the role of project facilitator instead of instructing them. Teachers support students not only as a source of knowledge, but also as co-learners/peers in their activities. In a PBL environment, teachers are no longer the centre of learning. Rather, students design their own activities and answer driving questions. Through the process of question-raising, cooperation, data collection, communication, and result demonstration, a highly engaging atmosphere and rich learning environment that focuses on students is thus created.

Even, “NCF 2005 has acknowledged that Educational technology and ICT are significant tools to achieve constructivist learning in the new generation of Indian classrooms. It admits that there a lack of detailed curricular ideas of how technology could or should fit in.”(Shuchi Grover,2007,pp.1)

With limited ICT resources available in each classroom, it is essential that the organisation of those resources be such that there should be a demonstrable equality of access. This is achieved by adopting the following organisational and pedagogical strategies as appropriate to the activity being taught:
Planning activities that allow sufficient time for all individuals to take part.
Effective teaching input (whole class, group or individual) to allow completion of task without further teacher intervention.
Planning short, time limited, skills focused activities.
Identify clear learning objectives in planning and teacher input.
Working individually, in pairs, or in small groups.
Splitting larger projects into clearly defined pieces with different groups or individuals taking on responsibility for specific parts,
Maintaining ICT registers/task lists etc. to encourage individuals to complete tasks at appropriate times when equipment is available, and to provide evidence of equality of access.
Clear instructions in the event of being “stuck” or equipment failure (e.g. use of class “experts”).
Allow opportunities for work to be printed for display, evidence, publishing on the school web site etc.


 For what purpose?- most important aspect of your study!
The purpose of my study was to looking at the alternative ways of applying ICT in primary schools in informal educational settings in school. The results are anticipated to shed light on the potential applications of ICT in the Schools   which offers the students a stage to present their technological competence and collective web.  Also through the use and teaching of  ICT the school aims to:
Meet National Curriculum requirements in ICT;
Help other curriculum areas achieve National Curriculum requirements through the support of ICT;
Allow staff and children to gain confidence in, and enjoyment from, the use of ICT.
Allow children to develop specific ICT skills as set down in the school’s scheme of work;
Ensure that staff and children alike understand the capabilities and limitations of ICT and gain insight into the implications of its development for society;
Allow staff to develop professionally by enhancing their teaching skills, management skills and administrative skills.


Strengths of ICT in Education
 Here I would like to state with support from article that “ICT could do much that a book does, presenting text and pictures screen by screen, together with adjust aids to learning. For instance, Cavalier and Klien (1998) described ICT support for teaching 10 and 11 year olds about prospecting for minerals. He goes on saying that what is needed is playing to the strengths of a resource, whether it is text, software, video or audiotape. Ict can provide various kinds of support and some can be replaced by other surrogates such as a textbook.” Newton,D.P. (2000,pp.98-100).
There are following various strengths of ICT.
Use of packages: word-processing, dtp, spreadsheets.
Special facilities for pupils with disabilities.
Teacher and pupil communications improve.
ICT provides links with other schools or with businesses.
Computers in schools provides wider access to ICT and encourages new ways of learning.
Changes in teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes:
Changes in how students engage with content:
Changes in relationships among teachers, students, and parents:
Changes in the use of ICT tools to promote students’ learning:
Makes visible what are normally invisible processes.
Allows learners to experiment and test their ideas about the topic.
Can repeat work again and again and again.
ICTs to make administration more efficient may also raise the overall quality of education
Enables learners to create and combine new representations in different media.
Allows learners to manipulate and annotate information and create their own examples and solve problems.
Facilitates inference by directing attention to what matters.
Interactive teaching packages are available on CD for different subjects.
Children can learn in varied ways in the classroom.
There are many CD-ROMs available for each level of the national curriculum.
A cheap, fast way to access a huge amount of resources that are regularly updated.
Accessible 24/7 – allowing students to continue their work at home. Encourages computer literacy, helpful in an increasingly technologically orientated world.
Teachers can upload course documents so that students misses a lesson, they can download information and do the work in their own time ( it was not available  being visited school)
Encourages student-driven lessons, where students take responsibility for their learning.
Government promises high-speed broadband internet access for every university, hospital and doctors' surgery which would allow schools to be linked and to share resources.
Teachers no longer need to pass round bundles of end-of-term reports in paper envelopes, but can fill


5. Limitations of ICT in Schools

Lack of Human Resource.
 First, most of the school staff are not very literate and lack basic computing skills. Second, the root obstacles are teachers leaving the schools. When a teacher leaves the students often lose their ICT class in which they are interested.

“Many srudies ( Seth,1983 SCERT 1982, Mohanty and Giri 1976, Sord 1982,Nagaraju and ramakumar 1983, Pillay 1987) on media indicate the utilization rate to be as low as to to 20 percent. This is only a quantitative figure. Quntative analysis is far more frightening. Very often such use amounted to putting on the sets and the teachers  taking time  off.” (M.Mukhoadhyay,1990,pp.5)

Third, the teachers with technology skills will not travel far away to teach in school which lack convenient facilities. Head teachers said that in 2002, the  school did not have any teachers who have IT or related knowledge. Fourth, insufficient training of school staff in ICT is a problem for the integration of ICT..


Infrastructure.
That school has no adequate infrastructure. The lack of infrastructure in hardware and software in the schools is due to shortfalls in the budget. Lack of interest of the Education Service Area in the quality of the ICT delivered leading to a limited number of computers, systems out of date and slowness of the system.


Strategies /policies.

The  school lacks ICT strategies at the school level and the education public sector level also lack an internet safety policy. The students perceive that the internet could corrupt the morals of their society through easy access to pornography and exposure to negative cultures and parents worry that if pupils become immersed in the internet, they might lose their traditions and internet welcomes fashions and trends from other parts of the world. Apart from it, there are various loopholes also which followings are:


ICT is very expensive - not all students get the same opportunities
It can be boring sitting in front of a computer for a long time.
Computers cannot interact on a personal level e.g. fuller explanation.
It becomes harder for the teach teachers to organize the teaching of new concepts.
Some students find it hard to use computers
Student’s minds are more likely to wander from their set task.
Not all teachers are keen on ICT but, are forced to use it.
Low level of access and usage of ICT in the education system
Low community/school readiness to accept and integrate ICT
High cost of access and usage of ICT
Limited human capacity to leverage ICT in education
Lack of coordination amongst the various ICT initiatives
Lack of prioritization
Limited availability of digital learning material
Lack of effective monitoring and evaluation
Lack of clear understanding of linkages between ICT and expected Education outcomes
Lack of project management skills.
Lack of awareness about the benefits and limitations of ICT in education

Limited infrastructure such as power, connectivity, and equipment
Technology is never a substitute for good teaching. Without skilled instructors, no electronic delivery can achieve good results. But neither can traditional classroom teaching, come to that.
Less need for schools
Being taught the wrong things
A lot of distractions
No outside contact
Job losses for teachers, etc
There is a lot of incorrect information on the internet
Students will learn more theory and less practical
Being taught sometimes the wrong things
Hacking, creates viruses, plagiarism, and a lot of distractions from free porn sites, music,videos,chatrooms,/messangers/emails.
.

Conclusion

Therefore, undoubtedly, one can assume that ICT is potentially a useful tool both for managing education and for teaching. ICT is not a panacea for all ills in education. ICT is an effective tool in the hands of the teachers for teaching and students for learning. ICT needs the hand and mind of the teacher. ICT and e-learning offers opportunity to raise educational standards in schools. The findings revealed that students in class were highly motivated through the extensive use of ICT. Through long-term engagement with ICT, students were empowered to conduct both wider and deeper exploration of their selected topics of interest.  I am reminded of the famous quote of President Nelson Mandela, “The Internet and education are the two great equalizers in life, leveling the play field for people, companies and countries worldwide”.


                                                 References
Varghese and Tilak, ‘Some aspects of economics of educational technology’ in. Mukhopadhyay, M (eds.) (1990), Educational Technology: Challenging Issues, Sage, New Delhi.
Mukhopadhyaya. M, Educational Technology and National Policy on Education in. Mukhopadhyay, M (eds.) (1990),Educational Technology: Challenging Issues, Sage, New Delhi.
Newton P. Douglas (2000). Teaching for Understanding: What it is and how to do it, Routledge & Falmer Press, London: New York.
Shuchi Grover, Technology as a tool and enabler in the post NCF 2005 Constructivist Classroom in India.
Nararjuna, G., “What Policy Should India Adopt for ICT in School Education”, Short Discussion Paper in. Consultation on National Policy on ICTs in school education, 2008, New Delhi.
Grainger, R. and D. Tolhurst (2005). "Organisational Factors Affecting Teachers's
Use and Perception of Informaton & Communications Technology."Australian Computer Society.

Daniel Light. The Role of ICT in Enhancing Education in Developing Countries: Findings from an Evaluation of The Intel Teach Essentials Course in India, Turkey, and Chile .pub. Journal of Education for International Development 4:2 December 2009. (downloaded,15/02/2010)

Young, S. S.-C., & Ku, H.-H. (2008). A Study of Uses of ICT in Primary Education through Four Winning School Cases in the Taiwan Schools Cyberfair. Educational Technology & Society, 11(3), 52–66. . (Downloaded, 1/02/2010)

ICTs for education and building human capital (downloaded, 5/02/2010, http://www.itu.int/visions.


The use of ICT for teaching in the primary sector - Beyond Chalk and Talk - Oxford Union Debating Chamber –April 12th 2002 - Bridget Cooper - Leeds University . (Downloaded, 15/02/2010)

ICT in Education by Victoria L. Tinio  (Downloaded, 10/02/2010)
www.eprimers.org.

ManishChand:THE STATE AND THE GOVERNANCE OF EDUCATION

In this paper, I will intend and try to explain in brief a background to the entire analysis which this article delves into. To begin with, in the name of development, there is shift always from state control towards privatization and decentralization. It may be considered as issues for developing countries wherein the education systems are facing problems. The author has tried to make an understanding base about the role of state relationship in Western countries. This paper points out that today the state’s role in the control of education has strengthened rather being weakened. Earlier it was perceived that state had responsibilities to provide education for children as public good. But now, it is changing because of two reasons. The first reason is regarding to ideological commitments of neo-liberalism. The second reason that the states have no adequate capacities to deliver education in their present social and economical context.

He explains that “due to global economy, education has been affected both direct and indirect way. The direct impact can be seen more in developing countries. Whose countries’s education system have been shaped by the lending policies of the world Bank programme(India) and demands of structural adjustment (i.e. the diminution of public sector and the expansion of the private) that organizations like the IMF make conditions of support. The impact of can also be seen in advanced countries where public funding of services related like education seems no longer feasible at previous levels. ” (Roger Dale,pp. 274). Here we can correlate this case in Indian context, SSA programme is an example.

Further, the author tells that the state’s control is form of government which is losing in its state premises. The state’s control is shifting towards governance many Western and Asian countries. According to Hirst and Thompson( 1995) “ Governance-that is the control of an activity by some means such that a range of desired outcomes is attained-is ,however, not just the provinces of the state. Rather it is a function that can be performed by a wide variety of public and private state and non state, national and international, institutions and practices”(ibid, p. 278)

The Governance of Education

There are three forms of intervention by the welfare state. These are individually different from each other. These activities involved in welfare of policy. How the policy is funded, how it is delivered and how it is regulated by the state. The author argues that it is not necessary for the state to carry out all these activities for control of education. He says that these activities have to be coordinated along with three major institutions. There are State, Market and Community. Now the field of these institutions have been expanded and formalized as the area of direct state involvement.

Governance Activities	Coordinating institutions
Funding	State, Market, Community
Regulation
Provision/Delivery

Funding

It can be understood and seen as source in education of public or private schools. The author gives an example, in private schools where fees are thoroughly funded by parents. Some schools are funded by religious or volunteer organizations or direct community funded. These private schools also get several tax reliefs through state subsidy. They also get benefit through direct state funding of the academics. There are some disciplinary mandates through which distribution of funding happens.

· Funding may be delivered to organizations or individually through scholarship or vouchers.

· It may be given subject to condition (competence and performance basis).

· It can be taken in forms of grants, loans, investment or subsidy.

Regulation

It is a major ability of the state to determine policy and sanctions through law that shapes the whole area of regulati0on. Funding and regulation combine in different ways to create the context for education policy, provision and practices. There are three aspects of the processes by which the state shapes the governance of education. These are Deregulation, Jurisdiction and the New Public management.

Provision/ Delivery

The delivery of education is basically shaped by changes in funding and regulation. The key dimensions of this governance activity regarding the way provision relates to the question of entitlement. In education, market forms of provision which have their efficiency but it excludes issues of equity. Here consumers (students) who have money and cultural capital, will receive high quality educational services. Whereas, those who do not have these forms of capital, they will receive low quality education.

Accountability and the Limits to State Action

The state has scarce resources to realize effectively implementation of education policy. The author finds out three forms of clear absolute limits these limits prevent the governmental intervention. These are regulation, manipulation of fiscal resource and the use of information and persuasion.

Conclusion

Therefore, the shift from the state control to governance in education can be visualized to be responding to three acts of different pressures. The first, due to global economy, the economical role of the state is shifting. The second, shift from welfare state (education as public good) to welfare society (education as have and have not). The third concerns that limit the state action in the modern context.

ManishChand:UNDERSTANDING THE ROLE OF NCPCR ,ITS FUNCTION AND HOW IT ENVISIONS RTE

First of all, I would like to discuss about NCPCR ( The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights ) which has been mentioned in RTE (Right To Education ) chapter VI ‘Protection of Right of Children’. After that I will look into the details critically of its goal, role and functions. I will also mention how the NCPCR is working currently. Having said all, I will offer some considerable suggestions but valuable at the end which could be meaningful for further enhancement of capacity of the NCPCR.


The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Bill, 2008, passed by Rajya Sabha in July 2009, which defines the right to education as right to free and compulsory education for 6-14 years age group of children. This can be translated into reality through required infrastructure, good governance, trained teachers and adequate funding. Salient features of RTE Bill The Right to Education Bill comprises 37 clauses, 17 definitions. It defines the dimensions of what it means to provide for a child's right to education in the Indian context. In Chapter VI, RTE has given enough space for NCPCR for ‘Proctection Right of Children. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is a larger body that monitors the right to education and there is a finance sharing arrangement also stated in the bill.


Since RTE opened the scope saying that there has to be a body to monitor the right to education. It says that appropriate governments have to ensure that no child from weaker sections is discriminated against and to also monitor the functioning of schools. There should be steps to ensure the admission attendance, completion of elementary education and attendance of records of all children up to the age of 14. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights is to monitor and to act with quasi‑judicial powers. Rules have to be made comprehensively by each state with guidelines that will be issued by the central government and all the appropriate governments will be making specific rules.


The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) was made in March 2007 as a legal body under the Commissions for Protection of Child Rights Act, 2005 (4 of 2006), an Act of Parliament (December 2005). Basically, it was set up to encourage and protect child rights in the country. This commission will protect all children who come under between 0 to 18 ages. This policy gives more preference to those children who are vulnerable, marginalized and backward children. The NCPCR believes that all children should enjoy their right till 18th year according to their entitlement given in Indian Constitution.

Roles and Functions of the NCPCR

The Commission will do following activities.


(i) It will look at given under any law for in force for the protection of child rights and recommend measures for their effective implementation
(ii) It will make inquiries into violation of child rights and recommend introduction of trial in such cases

(iii) It will scrutinize all factors that become problem in the enjoyment of rights of children affected by terrorism, communal violence, riots, natural disasters, domestic violence, HIV/ AIDS, trafficking, maltreatment, torture and exploitation, pornography, and prostitution and recommend appropriate remedial measures.


(iv) It will look into matters related to children in need of special care and protection, including children in distress, marginalized and disadvantaged children, children in conflict with law, juveniles, children without family and children of prisoners and recommend appropriate remedial measures.

(v) It can also undertake and promote research in the field of child rights.

(vi) It will extend child rights literacy among various sections of society and promote awareness of the safeguards available for protection of these rights through publications, media, seminars and other available means.

(vii) It will make look over any juvenile custodial home or any other place of residence or institution meant for children, under the control of the Central Government or any State Government or any other authority including any institution run by a social organization, where children are detained or lodged for the purpose of treatment, reformation or protection and take up with these authorities for remedial action, if found necessary.

(viii) Inquire into complaints and take up motto notice of matters related to:
• If there is any deprivation and violation of child rights.
• Non compliance of policy decisions, guidelines or instructions aimed at mitigating hardships to and ensuring welfare of the children and to provide relief to such children.
• Non implementation of laws providing for protection and development of children.

Capacities of NCPCR

The Commission, has all powers of the Civil Court trying go under the Code of Civil Procedures, 1908 and in particular, with respect to the following matters:

1. It can give call and enforcing the attendance of any person from any part of India and examining them on pledge.
2. It can requiring the discovery and production of any documents
3. It can receive evidence on affidavits.
4. It can requisition of any Public Record or copy thereof from any Court of Office
5. It can set commissions for the examination of witnesses or documents
6. Forwarding cases to Magistrates who have jurisdiction to try the same.
7. On completion of inquiry, the Commission has the powers to take the following actions:
a. To recommend to concerned Government for initiation of proceedings for prosecution or other suitable action on finding any violation of child rights and provisions of law during the course of an inquiry
b. To approach the Supreme Court or the High Court concerned for such directions, orders or writs as that Court may deem necessary.
c. To recommend to concerned Government or authority for grant of such interim relief to the victim or the members of his family as considered necessary.
8. The basic thrust and core mandate of the Commission is to inquire into complaints of violations of child rights. The commission is also supposed to take suo moto cognisance of serious cases of violation of child rights and to examine factors that inhibit the enjoyment of rights of children.
a. Complaints may be made to the Commission in any language of the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
b. No fee shall be chargeable on such complaints.
c. The complaint shall disclose a complete picture of the matter leading to the complaint.
d. The Commission may seek further information/ affidavits as may be considered necessary. (www.ncpcr.gov.in)


It is significant to make a note of that at the time when the bureaucracy was preparing the groundwork for introducing the much diluted bill in Parliament, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had passed a resolution for the abolition of child labour and realisation of right to education, adhering to three non‑negotiable core principles: (a) any person below 18 years of age is a child; (b) all forms of child labor need to be abolished; (c) all children who are out of school are child labourers and all work whether hazardous or non‑hazardous is detrimental the growth of a child. The NCPCR looks to the State to subscribe to these recommendations as guiding principles while formulating policies and legislations towards abolishing child labour and realizing the right to education.

But it is the biggest paradox that the core recommendations made by the NCPCR, which is a national level body having the mandate to monitor the implementation of the new Act. If it comes through, were not even taken note of leave alone incorporated into the text of the new education bill. Further, inclusion of the NCPCR recommendations would have altered at least certain important definitions such as ‘child’, ‘working child’, ‘child labour’, etc. But its opposite , even the definitions that were there in the February 2008 draft bill relating to ‘working child’, ‘out‑of‑school child’, ‘migrant family’, etc. were removed by the government in the education bill tabled in the Rajya Sabha.


We find that the structure has to be constructed in a particular manner. Another point that needs to be mentioned is that the whole exercise of making education justifiable rests upon the fact that a child must first have a lawyer to take a case to a court. For this, a lawyer must be sensitive to the fact that the child is being deprived of education. Those children who cannot afford a teacher can hardly afford a lawyer. The entire exercise of justifiability is depending upon the idea that a lawyer would come forward to take the case for the child's right to education. Yet there are hardly any lawyers fighting public interest litigations for the right to education. The absence of a follow up of legislation is not material, as there is nothing to prevent lawyers from taking cases to the higher courts. So it interprets the Constitution in harmony with convention on the Rights of the Child.


Now we can see that how NCPCR is working through its public hearing in villages. No doubt, there is demand among poor parents for education throughout the country. For them, education is an important tool to break the cycle of poverty and marginalization. They see education bringing in equity and justice. They are willing to make enormous sacrifices to get their children educated. About six months ago, a team from National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) visited the residential bridge course (RBC) set up by the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in a remote tribal pocket at Jhajha (Jamui district) of Bihar. At the public hearing it was heard how an intense programme of social mobilisation with active role of the local youth and the gram panchayat members motivated over 400 tribal girls who had never been to school getting ready to join the RBC. However, the government had place only for 50. It was decided by the community that all the girls, aged 14, would go for this bridge course as once they turned 15 they would lose their educational opportunity.


Similar case, after the meeting and a drive of two kilometers, a group of tribal women stopped the procession and told the NCPCR team that they wanted their children to complete at least class X but had no school after class V in the vicinity and their children, had to walk 16 kilometers to go to the nearest school which was only up to class VIII. The NCPCR team asked them why they had not raised this issue at the public hearing and the women answered quite strongly whether the authorities have to be told and did not know that their children too required education up to class X and more. This shows that the conventional wisdom that tribal parents are not interested in getting their children educated and especially they do not want their girls to go to school.


Another case we heard in, Dantewada district in Chhattisgarh is an area that has been caught in a situation of civil unrest with the presence of naxals as well as the police, making it impossible for the local population to articulate their difficulties in accessing their entitlements. In the last six months, about five gram panchayats in the Sukma block have mobilised children in their villages to join the local schools with support from NCPCR and in coordination with the district authorities and NGOs. The news of children going to schools in these gram panchayats spread around in the neighbouring blocks. Finally, several tribal parents sought education for their children to take out them from adversities once and for all. They did not want their children to suffer the same fate as they did.


The NCPCR team found during its visit to the northeast that at the relief camps of displaced persons in Tripura and Assam there was a crying demand for education. In Manipur too, where despite suffering from HIV and AIDS children want to be educated. Among the migrant child labourers from Rajasthan to Gujarat, Orissa to Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra to Gujarat, Bihar to Mumbai, it has been found that if only the education system had the capacity to reach out to each of them, these children would not have joined the labour force. In all the public hearings, the NCPCR heard voices of rescued child labourers yearning for education and struggling hard to win their battle for schools. It is clear that education alone can realize the possibility for the poor to change their future.

Suggestions
1- Regular supervision of schools to protect the child rights by NCPCR
2- Regular public hearing
3- Promote and encourage the RBC(residential bridge course) schools
4- Provide freeof cost lawyer take up the case of victim(child)
5- Need to do publicity for awareness of NCPCR like RTI(right to information)

CONCLUSION
In this way, we see that the successful accomplishment of ensuring that children's right to education is guaranteed would need a wholehearted attempt by all forces/institutions, both within the government and those that lay outside. We need to strengthen and publicity of NCPCR in our country do that people can get benefitted. Having sensitized, people will not engage their children in domestic or send to hazardous work. Eventually, the dream of Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act can be realized in proper way without drop out and absenteeism.


REFERENCE
www.ncpcr.gov.in

Banerjee et at (2007) Can Information Campaigns raise awareness and local participation in Primary Education ? EPW April 14,pp 1365-1373.

Subrahmanian, Ramaya (2003), Community at the centre of Universal Primary Education Strategies: An Empirical Investigation, in Kabeer et an (edited) Child labor and the Right to Education in South asia : Needs versus Rights? Sage, New Delhi.

Combate Law ,May-August 2009, Volumje 8, issue 3& 4

ManishChand:ASSESS THE ROLE OF AUDIO VISUAL AIDS IN EDUCATION

Audio-visual aid is the best tool for making teaching effective and the best dissemination of knowledge. Audio –visual material can be included tape recorder, radio, movie, projector method etc. If we use the audio-visual material for elementary education as curriculum, the objectives would be followings.
Augmented Instruction
This is one of the important objectives of using audio visual material, using the application of slides and films in the classroom. Here teachers can use the audio visual aids to reinforce their teaching in the context of a lecture or activities based lesson. Thereafter, teachers can demonstrate any motivational movie according the needs of situation and relevant topic.
Independent Learning
In the classroom, films, audio tapes and video tapes can be used instead of personal student teacher contacts. This forms of instruction can be used in continuing government schools where the teachers are not available adequate. Typically, informative and motivational films on selected topics and video tapes transmitted via various TV networks are typical of these types of material.
Self-assessment, Evaluation and Role playing
At the elementary school, the introduction of video tape recording equipment which does not require elaborates production facilitates stimulating the use of television for the self-assessment of children. Tape recorders can be replayed for the purpose of self-analysis by the children or peers analysis with their classmates.
Therefore, “small group is an integral part of the Problem Based Learning approach, used consciously and conscientiously to achieve the learning outcomes”. (Benson et al., 2001).


Enhance capacities for learning

It is argued that purposefully designed and successful small group learning facilitates learning through the development of audio-visual material that supports and promotes both cognitive and meta-cognitive development. Teachers may show some movie, cartoon and slow-motion animation for the use of teaching. Having finished, teacher can instruct children to sit in small group and tell what they saw. The ‘structures’ in small group can be applied as problem based learning, along with the tutorial process and the use of scenarios, help the students to learn how to learn in groups and learn how to anticipate, prevent, cope and deal with the difficulties that they will experience working in this way.

Manner of Using Audio and Visual Aids

Learning of children can be influences effectively by the audio-visual aid. Teachers can use television or projector method to explain the scientific phenomenon. It will take less time in describing the minute details of the things comparatively traditional method. Through television children can watch the big image of the object such as solar eclipse, use of water cycle , vermi composting, vermiculture , stories , drama, and composting in elementary education text book etc..
Audio visual will very useful and meaningful for those students belonging to literature background. All the genre of literature (novel, drama, tragedy, comedy etc.) can be shown easily through this device. Students will learn to understand it very soon without reading. Reading may seem little boredom but audio visual aid will maintain and hold the interest of students. The impact of television would be hundred times more than book.
Nature of learning

Audio visual aid will serve effective method in disseminative knowledge even in overcrowded classroom. Without this technical device, poorly teacher prepared cannot hold the class properly. If teachers use the help of audio visual in class such as projector, which would definitely stimulate imagination and catch the attention of students. Teachers often give instruction heavily loaded abstract verbalisms which seem meaningless sometime. So in case, teaching should be in simple and lucid manner. Hence, use of audio visual aid in classroom, will lead towards learning with understanding, learning by watching and learning as fun not as burden. Teachers should know which things of it are relevant and which are irrelevant, specially which how audio visual aid may contribute to an understanding of the lesson being taught. Therefore, it is essential for any teacher who wants to be successful teacher, must plan carefully and worked out in advance.

Benefit of Audio Usual Aid

Teacher may demonstrate in many types of slide and movie in the classroom. It will enrich their understanding and vocabulary about the uses of language. Through recording, radio and tape, teacher can tell telecast many interesting and informative news, history and story. These will build a creative environment in elementary class children. Apart from that “an understanding of the arts-painting, sculpture, the dance, handcrafts-can readily be taught by means of television. And both radio and television are valuable media for teaching musical forms”. (R. Murray Thomas,chapt. 4 p. 116)

There is no doubt that technical device have greater impact and dynamic informative system. No other than this, can excel in providing knowledge. education, informative, knowledgeable, and motivation movie may be the milestone in imparting the quality education in lowers classes. Audio is a very effective medium of communication, which catch the heart and mind of people. audio visual aid may also lead towards wrong path way if it is misused. If children are shown excess movie, it could also bring serious repercussion in the life children. Therefore, teacher should not totally dependent upon audio visual aid. They should also encourage and promote self learning and textual culture.

It is needless to say that in certain area of schools at elementary level, the use of audio-visual materials is essential to the dissemination of the information and the skills or technique which is being taught the children. When audio- visual material are compulsory for the teaching –learning process, then it is obvious that the teacher could be replaced for these schools by a well-trained projection , functioning equipment and well-prepared self-explanatic material, such as audio visual software materials. When such areas of curricula can be identified in advance, it is clear that a great saving of time and talent of the teacher can utilized in another creation of innovative work.

It is important to note that utilization of audio-visual aid is very much dependent upon the ability of the teachers to be aware of their ability and have access to them.

Limitation
Due to use of audio visual aid in the classroom, many teachers feel fear making embarrassment errors. They do not feel comfortable. Using of audio visual aids decreases teacher’s autonomy in the classroom. They find themselves as motor which is run by remote control. It also creates frustration and panic fear of committing more mistakes. They do not find natural environment where they deliver their knowledge. This technical device leads disappointed performance. “ Electronic equipment may frighten teachers with its apparent complexity. At least part of this fear comes from the expectation that something may go wrong during the lesson causing the instructor the embarrassment of appearing inept, unable to control the teaching situation’’(R. Murray Thomas, Chapt. 4,p.118)

Regarding facilities, equipment and capabilities required for extend use of audio-visual materials in schools will differ depending upon a wide variety of factors like space, funding and electricity. The biggest factor is to note that it is not problem of hardware or software but the educational objectives of the teachers and the motivational issues of the children. Audio-visual aid is necessary to be typically and regionally in order to assist in gaining optimum learning. It is somewhat hard to achieve such learning if there is only one centre it is because of schools locations, educational objectives differ from place to place.

Purpose of learning
It is matter of fact that still teacher have old notion regarding use of audio visual instruction as only entertainment. They do not proper use of these modern technologies and its implication. They are out of sympathy with modern educational philosophy and psychology, both of which stress the vital part interest plays in learning. For those teachers, any electronic devices are made to reduce learning difficulties and make it more “soft pedagogy” entertainment and not education. But it’s real use and purposes something different. Audio visual aid not designed to amuse the pupil but to increase his interest in and their comprehension of the topic being studied by presenting several different slants on it especially through his most used senses-sight and hearing.” (Mckown and Robert, 1949,p.6)

Audio visual materials have always been used for instruction in hope of reducing the heavy teaching loads that have been increasing stress for children . it is seen that audio visual materials has been teacher oriented mechanism. It is not good thing. In such atmosphere, teacher either projects the visuals or plays the audio from a central position at his/her desk. After that, students are supposed to look or listen to the programme presented. It should not be like that rather teacher should encourage among students for healthy and fruitful discussion in the classroom. For growth of learning, interaction is dire of between students and teachers.

Specific subjects
As for as specific subject is concerned in schools’ curriculum, in practical there is no separate subject included for audio visual By and large, audio visual aid is part of teaching method which is designed to assist in the classroom along with presentation of material (concept, knowledge, and ideas). Audio visual aid is basically admired for best in the literature, mathematics, science, shopwork and other field, both as curricular and extracurricular. In these fields, with the help of technical device, children can have understanding and replicate it.

Age of students
Audio visual aid may be used by after 6th old age. Children can play play games and learn computer, typing functions. Children can learn at early age, faster than later period of their life. Children find computer as toy and like to play with it. Use of electronic device, can make learning fun and easy for children under 6-14 old age.
Socio-cultural context of learners

It is an important factor which impinges upon overall personality. It is very necessary for the use of electronic devices such as, tape recorder, television, computer, and radio, children‘s family must be educated and sensitive towards implication of these operation. After that, it is possible to make best use of these electronic devices in purposeful and meaningful way. Otherwise, it may bring complex repercussion for children. Children belonging to WSS (weaker section of society) may not be able to facilitate these things at home and send their children in decent school where these modern technologies are equipped.

Conclusion
In this way, we understood that audio-visual aid is the best tool for making teaching effective and the best dissemination of knowledge. Audio –visual material can be included tape recorder, radio, movie, projector method etc. Not to say that it has also some limitation that all schools cannot afford this modern technological devices because it is difficult to adopt this approach in government schools where still no adequate teachers, funding and proper infrastructure of classroom and water,toilet facilities. If this audio visual material is provided to govt. school, it will be a only show piece because teachers are also not very acquainted with it. Audio-visual material can be afforded by elite schools and also its use can be realized truly.



References

Benson, G., Noesgaard, C. and Drummond-Young, M. (2001) Facilitating small group learning. In Rideout, E. (ed.) Transforming Nursing Education through Problem-Based Learning. Sudbury: Mass, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 75–102.

Thomas, M, Kobayashi, (1987), Educational Technology-Its Creation, Development and Cross-Cultural Transfer, (Chapter 4, “Educational Radio and Television-Their development in advanced countries” and Chapter 5, “Educational Radio and Television-Their transfer to developing societies and Chapter 10 “The meaning of Educational technology in the modern world” Pegamon Press.(two articles)
Mc Known C. H 7 Roberts B. A (1949). Audio-Visual Aids to Instruction, Mc Graw Hill Book Co. Inc

ManishChand:EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTION IN THE LIFE OF DALIT WOMAN, URMILA PAWAR'S 'THE WEAVES OF MY LIFE'DAILY LIFE' AND SCHOOLING EXPERIENCE.

Umila Pawars’s Aaydan, is translated by Maya Pandit into English as The weave of My Life, denotes the as testimony and weaves of complex relationship between official forgetting, memory and identity. ‘Aayadan’ is generic term used for all things made from bamboo. The other meanings of aayadan are ‘utensil’ and ‘weapon’. Outside the Konkan, the job of weaving bamboo baskets has traditionally been assigned to nomadic tribes like the Burud. In the Konkan region, it was the Mahar caste which undertook this task. Her book is forgetting a right to speak both for and beyond the gendered individual. It is contesting clearly the official forgetting of histories of caste oppressions, struggle and resistance. At the same time, this book is a self-consciously dalit feminist testimonial which is against the brahmanical and neo-liberal practices of the state, The weave of My Life violates both bourgeois individualism and communitarian notion of the singular dalit community( dalit panther).

Urmila ( Manjula) challenges views that see caste as a social institution frozen in time. She restates the intellectual contributions and agency of dalit women. She brings together private lived experience and the public practices of anti-caste struggle. The Weave of My Life in the classroom is empowering for subaltern students. It also allows the dominant to interrogate their complicity in deep-rooted privileges without freezing in guilt.

Urmila (Manjula) father died when she was in the third standard, in 1954. He was just fifty-eight. After her husband’s death, mother involved herself in weaving baskets. Urmila’s baba took on a lot more work. He was prone to jaundice. But he told Urmila’s Aaye ‘ Educate the children’. Urmila had great interest to school. She was youngest child in the family. The next day was a Saturday. She had morning school. She said, I don’t know but I packed my school bag and asked Aaye, ‘Shall I go to school today?’ (pp.31).). Uremila’s bhai got a job at the age of eleven at Lucknow in the railways. That time she was enrolled in the pre -primary school. Urmila’s Aaye used to live in very dilapidated state like torn saree, unkept hair and cracked feet. Urmila always maintained some distance with her so that when her classmate of her, Shyamala Chavan asked her, Who is that women in your house who looks like this? She replied,’ ‘Oh that women? She is our maidservant! (pp.43). Urmila liked her mother to wear clean saree but it was not possible due to poverty and that was the reason she had to feel emrrassment in front of her friends..

When she grew up as adolescent. Aaye began to urge her Bhai in letter to look for a good boy for Urmila. Her tai wanted her husband to be a lawyer who would later climb to the position of a judge. Aye used to say about Urmila, “This daughter of mine will count even the feathers of a flying bird.”(pp. 139). Later she enrolled herself in a college. At the same time she did a few temporary jobs. She got married with Harishchandra, a working person. The name Urmila was given by her husband. Both shifted to Mumbai because it fascinated them. And also they believed that what Ambedakar had said: ‘Leave the village, the village will never help you progress. Go to the City’. (pp.158). She joined job and grew her interest in writing stories. She would keep pen and paper near the pillow and write whatever came to her mind. Thus she continued her progressive literary career. She was first invited in Sahitya Sammelana at Vikroli.She had completed B.A. and ,M.A. with second class. Then she joined Maitrini-female friends-in dadar. After joining, she started looking from dalit feminist perspectives. She usually began her speeches with a few quotes from Krantiba Phule besides citing babasaheb ambedakar’s Hindu Code Bill. She said that “ the manusmriti has imposed many restrictions on women and built the caste system. That is why Ambedakar said that women is the gateway of the caste system.(pp. 263).

Memories of food, culinary skills and meals times draw a picture of the moral economy of dalit families in the Konkan region. Being born in low family and caste she had to face many times public humiliation. Once she went to attend a wedding at her sister-law’s place, along with two of her nieces. When they stout girls sat down to eat and began asking for rice again and again, the cook got angry. ‘Whose daughters are these anyway?’ he burst out. ‘They are eating like monsters.’ (pp. 116).

She mentions in this book, memories of labor, camaraderie’s and tension between women who used to climb hills daily to take their wares to the market. Their pains and labor within the homes presents an archive of complex relations between sexual and caste-based division of labor. Memories of humiliation and resistance to reproduction of caste ware as a form of modern inequality both in the village and the city. For example, people would first purify the aaydan, the basket woven by dalits by sprinkling water on it. Even in Mumbai, children of Urmila experienced caste inequality through their interaction with friends invited home to eat the cake on the birthdays. When the children who were invited would describe the figures of the Buddha and Dr. Ambedakar they had seen to their mothers. The latter would be quick to take action. They warned the dalit families that even if their children did visit them they were not to be given any eatables.

She had been discriminated in her school life. At school, teachers would pick on dalit girls to clean the dung on the school verandah when it was the turn of their class to undertake the clean. Urmila was very bold girl since childhood. “One day Gurruji asked Urmila to clean the mess. It was not even the turn of our class. Still he told her to clean because she was late. It so humiliating that she refused even to budge. Guru ji ordered her again. But she did not move her place. Guruji came close and slapped her hard. Then he told her to get out. Howling she ran home when she told to her aaye she was enraged. She said,” Let’s go to your school.’ I will see him’. Her she quoted a proverb! When it is the widow’s son turn to receive alms, the giver gets a boil on his palms!’.(pp.68). Aaye’s complaint against Guru ji became problem for Urmila. Guru ji shouted and announced her name as ,Fail’ ! Guru ji told her that “Show that progress card to your mother !” (pp. 70).

She mentions that when she was in the fifth standard, she had a Brahmin teacher called Biwalkar madam. She used to make all students stand in a line and closely examine their nails, figures, teeth, eyes and ears and nose. Clean students received a pat on their backs whereas dirty students got scolded by her. Another issues, children began to refuse, risking beating and swoolen cheeks. When schoolmates planned meals, dalit children would be asked to contribute money instead of food stuffs and were not allowed to touch the food that was being cooked.

After marriage, she joined nad became acquainted with dalit literature, dalit movement and participated in Maître Sangadana. She would give speech and encourage women’s to join them. She also made awareness among women about women’s issues and rights. She used go lecture in slums so that woman can get self-awareness. Many people of society belonging to non-dalit tried to creat hurdle in her way but she faced boldy. She has achecved several awards like, Priyadarshani Award(2004), Padmashre Vikhepatil Puruskar(2004), Maharastra Foundation Award (2004).

The process through which dalit women agitated into the Ambedkarite publics of the 1970s and 1980s are archived in memories of Hira Bansode, Urmila Pawar’s friend and well-known poet, who came up with the idea of a dalit women’s literary conference. In may 2004, in a letter to the Maharastra sahitya Parishad (Marathi Literary Conference) shows her political stand in refusing the Laxmibai Tilak award for the best published’autobiography’. She refused it taking because ceremony was to be happened by Saraswati Worshing which is ritual of Hindu religion.

We find that this book draws upon dominant disciplinary understanding of caste an ideological system based on a conflicting binary of the principles of purity and pollution as against testimony like The Weave of My life. It reflects with rich experiential documentation of power and material exclusions of the structures. Similarly, the practice of caste and patriarchy reduce these supposedly objective models of what they are: brahminical views from ‘top to down’ (Chakravarti 2003).

Conclusion

The Weave of My Life is a self-consciously dalit feminist testimonial which is against the brahmanical and neo-liberal practices of the state. This book as a Dalit memoirs presents to the readers a records of meanings and values of dalit modernity as it is figured in the interweaving of nostalgia and critical memories of the three generations of dait men, women and children. She has been greatly influenced by her Aaye’s weaving of basket. Her family (aaye, tai, and brother) always encouraged her to educate. Urmila herself never felt disappointed before humiliation and discrimination of caste during school days. Her political journey with ambedakarite philosophy gave her own stand in the society. As she believed what Ambedakar had said: ‘Leave the village, the village will never help you progress. Go to the City. It is in true sense, changed her life. Had she been in city, she would never been able to get such opportunity to grow and stand herself. Therefore, Urmila Pawar’s memoir represents the struggle of dalit women who has travelled on a long journey from a small town to huge metropolis and became one of its leading intellectuals and writes. And who tried successfully to make values like justice, equality, freedom, rationality, citizenship, progress and democracy from her dalit feminist imagination.

REFERENCES

Chakravarti Uma .2003, Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist Lens. Street: Kolkata.

ManishChand:UNDERSTAND AND EVALUATE A PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER'S STATEMENT"I TEACH FROM THE TEXTBOOKS PRESCRIBED IN MY SCHOOL. I AM A CONSCIENTIOUS AND SINCERE TEACHER AND TRY TO TEACH AND EXPLAIN TO THE FULL CONTENT OF THE TEXTBOOK. I EXAMINE THEIR LEARNING BY GIVING THEM PERIODIC TESTS THAT SEEK TO FIND OUT IF THEY REMEMBER WHAT HAS BEEN TAUGHT" INCIDENTLY, THIS TEACHER WAS AWARDED THE BEST TEACHER AWARD BECAUSE ALL HER STUDENTS GOT HIGH SCORES IN THE EXAMINATION.

Above statement is not startling because now a day’s classroom practices are, in almost all schools, dominated by textbooks. All premises of flexibility of the curriculum and syllabus and freedom of the children and teacher are completely forgotten. It happens when the time an educational plan reaches the classroom. The teachers are seen as either incompetent or lack of accountability or both.  The school is seen as devoid of all learning.  Material and the environment are seen wild goose chase for child’s learning. The textbook appears as the single tool of best learning in schools.  It is expected to receive the entire knowledge child at a given stage. Child does not need to look beyond the four walls. Therefore, ‘teaching the textbook’ becomes the sole concern of schools.

Objectives of learning:

The school of classroom can be considered as traditional system of education which is devoid of interaction. Teacher seems to be meek dictator of textbook culture. There is no place for children voice and experience. Teachers’ main objective is to cover the syllabus in the time. Students are supposed to mug up whatever they have been taught. Teacher seems to be promoting rote learning. The textbook as part of bible, becomes one tool to engage the child in learning. The basic thrust of textbook is to enable children to become able to read write and remember in the main exam.  

But the teacher in such classroom practices can be used for variety of activities, concrete learning material, as well as textbooks.  What is to be learnt is planned as per the objectives of curriculum and the syllabus.  What is to be evaluated is decided on the basis of stage-specific objectives.. The purpose of learning through exam assessment is necessarily to improve the teaching learning process, materials, and be able to review the objectives that have been identified for different stages of school education. Another, objectives of learning should be meant to gauge the degree to which objectives are achieved and capabilities of the learners are developed. It is not just to know how many bits and pieces of facts have been memorized by children in the classroom. There must be full autonomy for the teachers in the classroom in pedagogical level. The textbook should not be considered as final order. Here it would insist the same Gandhi as said “If the textbooks are treated as a vehicle for education, the living word of the teacher has very little value. A teacher who teaches from textbooks does not impart originality to his pupils. He himself becomes a slave of textbooks and has no opportunity or occasion to be original. It therefore seems that the fewer textbooks are, the better it is for the teacher and his pupils.” (M.K. Gandhi, 1939)

Nature of Knowledge:

The teacher’s thinking is very confined into textual knowledge. The teacher needs to understand other dimension of knowledge. Teacher opines that textbook teaching, memorization and successfully writing in the exam are the nature of knowledge? Is this form of knowledge to pass out with excellent grade in the exam? Later on, forget all about, no matter. Teacher needs to understand that textbook as bundle of knowledge is useless through memorization unless it is understood in a practical sense.

Teachers must give space and opportunities to student to articulate their valuable reflection on the matter so that construction of knowledge could occur in the classroom. I am reminded of what Pratima Kale points out in her essay is very much similar with teachers practice with students in classroom, “the teachers projected symbol is of a profession nobly dedicated to the service of society, a body of trained and qualified men, confident in their knowledge of what is best for their clients, with full freedom to do what they think best in educational matters”.

Knowledge is so called intellectual power, and internal powers (Phuko). A learner is supposed to possess good knowledge, competencies if s/he has to succeed in the examination. On the basis of this knowledge, competencies development can be dreamed otherwise it is vague idea. The more developed the power, the more the possibility of the person’s success becomes as a professional. So knowledge of learner is not a one-day play rather it develops throughout time. Knowledge of students depend on their clear understanding and evaluation of the following factors and their inter-relations- students, their family, the community surrounded, the society at large, the country‘s tradition, socio-political and economic situation. So students’ knowledge development is based on both theoretical and practical and also it is influenced by social factors. I find formation of knowledge similar view in Munby’s essay points that there are two major threads, on the character of teachers’ knowledge. “The first thread concerns the work that seems to have influenced to our understandings of teacher knowledge from a theoretical, even a propositional stance. The second thread moves us towards a more practical oriented conception of knowledge as we describe important milestone”.

It is very important to note that teachers should be aware of the future development of the forms of knowledge.  The learners’ experiences should be organized to develop basis for all areas. The learner neither needs to know learners can be actively engaged only when they are motivated to learn. The very choice of work needs to be such that it encourages learners to participate and apply themselves. It is true that only active engagement involves enquiry, exploration, questioning, debate, application, and reflection leading to theory building and creation of innovative ideas formation of knowledge can take place. The syllabus of textbook should select experiences that build a knowledge base, capabilities to think rationally, ability to learn, capacity to work and to participate in economic processes, sensitivity to others, and aesthetic appreciation. It should be suitable for the development of a rational commitment to the democratic values of equality, freedom, autonomy of mind, autonomy of action, care and respect for others, and justice.

Teachers’s assumption about learner:

Teacher in such a conventional classroom expects that learner as empty glass. She/he imparts his/her best knowledge to the students.  The Learner is perceived as a passive receiver who just learns everything by heart from the classroom and pours out during the exam. If there is no scope for interaction, discussion and conversation among learners, the class is not going to help as fruitful and activities based learning.  It is crucial in the classroom to motivate student-teachers to familiar themselves with the structures of school subjects and see their relation with standard-wise objectives, syllabus and mythology. It should be also necessary to help them to understand their students with the help of concepts, principles and theories in various faculties of knowledge.

It appears that it was traditional education (education as practice of domination) which focuses only over teaching rather learning. I realize that most of the students learned more during practical and classroom interaction. One might anticipate about such classroom, where  student could not be active role researcher, investigator and critical thinker. I find that nature of learning / learner should be based on Gandhian philosophy who advocates that self-reliance and self-dependent for learner, hand and heart experimental learning, and learners must have the freedom to create their own model of knowledge about the world. It means it could be a interactive session only if children experience and voices are heard.

 It seems that school (curriculum, textbook and curriculum) is meant of maintaining norms state authority in the form of I.S.A. (Ideological State Apparatus) according to Louis Althusser. Since nothing big changes have taken place since colonial and after independence in education system.  We remember as Shukla points out, “colonial policy used written examinations to evolve a bureaucratic, centralized governance of education. In our social life, the examination systems served the purpose of installing in the public mind the faith that colonial rule was fair and free of prejudice.” (S.Shukla(1978): 112-25,7-80.

Teacher understands of nature and use of teaching-learning materials:

In offered such classroom situation, where official control erodes the teachers’ autonomy by denying him/her to use innovative approach. It does not seem that teacher knows how to use teaching learning material because in traditional classroom. It is seen that T.L.M. are as model and kept for exhibition. Students are not supposed to touch and use. Teaching learning material appears in almost public and private school as show piece. According to Hridaykant Dewan, TML are material which can help in learning and also help in spreading the knowledge. It can be useful only if children will touch, feel, use it and play with it. T.L.M. can provide children an opportunity through which they can enhance their understanding about abstract thing.( Dewan’s T.L.M. vs Teaching Aid)

Textbook can be used as teaching learning material in two ways by teachers. In the first type, “teachers have the freedom to decide what the materials to use for developing a lesson. He /she is trained and expected to prepare own curricular plan and mode of assessment. He/she has authority over what happens in the classroom, in what order, at what pace and with the help of what resources.  The second types of education system ties the teacher to the prescribed textbook. She/he is given choice in the organization of curriculum, pacing and the mode of final assessment. She/he must ensure that children are able to write answers to questions based on the any lesson in the textbook without seeing the text, for this is what they will have to do in the examination.” (Kumar p.452).

What does mean it means to ‘know’-who is learning? What is being learnt?

Different kinds of situations provide different kinds of learning experiences to students. Exposure to a variety of learning situations such as self-work, small group work, and whole class (or large group) work helps in widening the experiential base. It also helps in developing diverse perspectives. Therefore, it becomes important to have opportunities for self-learning, peer learning, and learning through interacting with teachers nor could be expected to be aware that the experiences are chosen with forms of knowledge in mind. At the primary level there may not be enough conceptual basis for any clear demarcation of sciences and social sciences. But it could be possible to introduce ways of looking at the social and natural world in the form of practical activities, and making sense out of them.

Additions to that, the entire image of teachers’ practice involve in process of learning, the exchange of idea and healthy dialogue. I also find the teachers practice as same as Shulman argues in his article , the goal of teacher education is not to indoctrinate or train teachers to behave in prescribed ways, but to educate teachers to reason soundly about their teaching as well as to perform skillfully.

The curriculum framework 2000 enables schools and teacher to make choices and move towards greater autonomy. Such a movement towards school autonomy is seen in a positive light by all major policy and curriculum documents but it does not appear in the actual classroom teaching practices. When we come to decisions regarding methods of teaching, pace of learning, material, and concrete examples to be used, we reach the level of school and the classroom. These are concrete decisions that can be made only for specific classrooms and children, as the actual learning happens only in the child’s mind and depends totally on what has been learnt earlier. Therefore, the reinterpretation of the teaching pedagogy, content, and materials are completely within the sphere of practical decisions to be made by the teacher. Finally, what is needed is not a single textbook but a learning material that could be used to engage the child in active learning.  Similarly I find superficial statement on the ground and do not find any logic what National Curriculum framework 2005 articulates a new vision of the school curriculum as an inclusive space and the proactive engagement of the school teacher with processes of curriculum redesign is a necessary condition to ensure the success of the NCF. Therefore, we find that teachers do not find enough space for themselves so how one will imagine that children will be given full autonomy and freedom to share their experience and knowledge.

 Nature of school she/he is likely to be working in:

It is little difficult to assume that whether school was private or public. But it seems that school was traditional. But it is certain that still almost schools are following traditional methods of imparting instruction. Teachers still engaged in teaching textual knowledge, lecture method, chalk and walk method, encouraging rote memorization with least concern for developing creativity, logical thinking and decision making ability. The methods of teaching are mainly adopted to enhance the cognitive ability in theoretical concepts through frequent repetition method.

At present time, the global competition demands a paradigm shift from traditional methods of teaching to innovative methods of learning. There is urgent need to discourage the use of traditional method and to encourage effective teaching, democratic participatory and competent methods that focus upon inculcating creativity and imagination, critical thinking, curiosity and decision making ability and not rote memorization.  In India, there is a tendency to take too wide a definition of curriculum in much of recent literature. “All the publications under DPEP, many innovative NGOs, and recent discussions in curriculum seem to say too often that everything that happens in the school is part of the curriculum. Result of this, the teachers work is to cover the syllabus on time.” (Position Paper, 2005,).  Above teaching methods have to be emphasized that develop not only cognitive ability but also affective and co-native ability. It is necessary to use updated discussion methods, scientific methods, heuristic methods, project methods, digital presentations of lecture etc, could become a integral part of the teaching learning process. Therefore, it can help in retaining the students in the education system as well also train them for facing open challenges.

Conclusion

Let me confine my view in nutshell, having heard the statement of teachers, it seemed that there was paucity of learners’ voice and experience. The teacher was using traditional rote learning pedagogy in which it was felt that the children apply their accumulated knowledge (rote memorization) in order to answer the question during the exam. The basic objectives of teacher’s pedagogy is to examine their memory not co-native ability so that they can write during exam and get passed. The learner’s nature was passive and empty vessel where teacher taught the best his/her side. The teacher pedagogy of teaching was authoritarian and less democratic participatory. The teacher has used text as bible by promoting text culture. There was no scope for discussion between teacher, interaction among learners and practical activities. It seems that that banking / traditional theory of mind was being applied by teacher. The classroom seemed to me remind Freire ,Paulo who argues Tradition/Banking education and put emphasis on critical process of enquiry in his ‘Pedagogy of the Oppressed’.

References

S.Shukla,” education Economy and Socal structure in British India,” Varanasi National Journal of Education1,nos1 and 2 (1978): 112-25,7-80.

M.K. Gandhi [Harijan,September 9,1939)]

Pratima Kale; The Guru and the Professional: The Dilemma of the Secondary School Teacher.Lee S. Shulman ; Wisdom and Practice.

Hugh Munby ; teachers’ Knowledge and How It Develops.

Goel and Sharma, A Study of the Evolution of Textbooks, NCERT,  Delhi.

Kumar, K. 1988, “Origins of India’s Textbook Culture”, Comparative Education Review, 32 (4), 452-65.

Chapter 2, “Learning and Knowledge” and Chapter 4, “School and classroom environment” in. National Curriculum Framework-2005, NCERT, New Delhi.

Position paper on Curriculum, Syllabus and Textbooks, NCF 2005, NCERT.

Jarolimek, J, Selection and use of materials.

H.K. Dewan ,Buniyaadi Shiksha,April 2008.