SSA 3

धारा 3 · Addressing Equity Issues In Elementary Education

- 3.1 Context3.1.1. Bridging gender and socia1 category gaps in elementary education is one of the four goals of SSA. Consequently, SSA attempts to reach out to girls and children belonging to SC, ST and Muslim Minority communities. SSA has also given attention to urban deprived children, children affected by periodic migration, and children living in remote and scattered habitations. SSA has identified Special Focus Districts on the basis of adverse performance on indicators of enrolment, retention, and gender parity, as well as concentration of SC, ST and minority communities. KGBV and NPEGEL have played an important role in furthering the goal of girls' education in educationally backward blocks of the country. Besides these, SSA is contributing to inclusive education of children with special needs.3.1.2However, given the complex and chronic nature of inequality and exclusion, the strategies adopted so far have tended to be somewhat isolated, fragmented and devoid of institutional support. As a result, the many forms that exclusion takes, and the different ways in which it is manifested, have not been sufficiently addressed across the components of access, participation, retention, achievement and completion of elementary education. This makes exclusion of the single most important challenge in universalising elementary education. With the RTE having come into force this challenge must be addressed with a sense of urgency.

3.2

RTE, Equity and Social Inclusion. - 3.2.1 The RTE Act, 2009 has defined children belonging to disadvantaged groups and children belonging to weaker sections as follows:Disadvantaged Groups are defined as those that belonged to the "SC, ST, socially and educationally backward class or such other groups having disadvantage owing to social, cultural, economical, geographical, linguistic, gender, or such other factors as may be specified by the appropriate Government".Weaker Sections are defined as those "belonging to such parent or guardian whose annual income is lower than the minimum specified by the appropriate Government by notification".

3.2.2

The Act requires the appropriate government and every local authority to "ensure that the child belonging to weaker sections and the child belonging to disadvantaged groups are not discriminated against and prevented from pursuing and completing elementary education on any grounds".

3.2.3In stating, thus, the RTE Act opens up the whole sphere of circumstances which come in the way of a child's enrolment and participation in school, and his/her completion of the elementary stage. This necessitates an attempt at listing of categories of children, who might be covered under Section 2(d) and (e) and spelling out possible strategies to prevent explicit and implicit discrimination in pursuing and completing elementary education.

3.2.4Gender cuts across the categories of disadvantaged groups as well as weaker sections. The RTE Act in different sections makes reference to gender and girls' education both explicitly and implicitly. Some of the relevant provisions are: no discrimination against children from 'disadvantaged groups and 'weaker sections' on any grounds (including gender); inclusion of women in school monitoring committees; provision of good quality education that includes equity issues, curriculum development in conformity with constitutional stipulations, training, enrolment in age appropriated classes (which will largely apply to girls, especially from disadvantaged communities).

3.3Approach - 3.3.1 The enactment of the RTE requires addressing gender and social equity within a framework that is holistic and systemic. The approach will be informed by the following perspective, which is in keeping with the principles laid out by the Report of the Committee on Implementation of RTE Act and the Resultant Revamp of SSA:• Equity will mean not only equal opportunity, butal so creation of conditions in which the disadvantaged sections of the society - children of SC, ST, Muslim minority, landless agricultural workers and children with special needs, etc. can avail of the opportunity.• Access will not be confined to ensuring that a school becomes accessible to all children within specified distance but implies an understanding of the educational needs and predicament of the traditionally excluded categories - the SC, ST and other sections of the most disadvantaged groups, the Muslim minority, girls in general, and children with special needs.• Gender will be a critical cross-cutting equity issue and will imply not only making efforts to enable girls to keep pace with boys but to view education in the perspective spelt out in the National Policy on Education, 1986/92; i.e. a decisive intervention to bring about a basic change in the status of women.• Centrality of classroom practices and processes where the culture in the classroom, and beyond the classroom, will produce an inclusive environment for children, especially for girls from oppressed and marginalised back grounds, and free from discrimination.• Quality with Equity. - Equity will be seen as an integral part of the agenda on improving quality and will, therefore, encompass not just looking at issues pertaining to teacher training and education, curriculum, language, educational planning and management.

3.3.2In the context of RTE, the equity agenda of SSA would work towards:

(i)Moving from an incentives -and provisions-based approach to a right and entitlement approach

(ii)Developing a deeper understanding on issues contributing to exclusion and disadvantage, arising from entrenched hierarchical structures (social, language, cultural, religious backgrounds), prevalent stereotypes and the challenges faced by children from disadvantaged communities including within the school space

(iii)Assessing needs of different excluded and marginalised groups and communities and consequently addressing these needs through contextualised strategies.

(iv)Encouraging innovative thinking and dialogue to identify holistic, multi-pronged and viable strategies to address issues of gender, equity exclusion that will cut across the different SSA goals.

(v)Encouraging up-scaling and institutionalisation of interventions and strategies found effective, viable and sustainable with a view to strengthening the mainstream education system.

3.3.3Equity in SSA would, therefore, mean focus on addressing exclusion of girls and children belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Muslim communities who constitute the bulk of excluded children in the country. It will also refer to a new category of excluded children - those living in areas affected by civil strife. It will also take into account, children affected from migration, urban deprived children, homeless children, children in remote and sparsely populated habitations, other groups and categories of excluded children and CWSN. It will also mean including gender and other equity issues within the quality goal.

3.4Gender and Girls' Education. - 3.4.1 Perspective. - SSA acknowledges that reaching out to the girl child is central to the efforts to universalise elementary education. SSA's focus on gender parity is rooted in the National Policy on Education and the POA (1986/92) which brought centre-stage the issue of gender and girls' education. More importantly, it linked with the education of women and girls to their empowerment. NPE states that education should be a transformative force, build women's self-confidence, and improve their position in society and challenge inequalities.

3.4.2The approach to gender and girls' education will be based on the report of the Committee on Implementation of the RTE Act and the Resultant Revamp of SSA, which pointed out that although gender has become an accepted category in policy and programme formulation, it continues to be understood in limited ways. It is largely seen as a biological category (concerning only girls and women); as a stand-alone category (not related to other issues or other forms of discrimination); and in terms of provision of opportunities so that girls can 'catch up' with boys and 'close the gap'. Thus, achieving gender parity has been an overarching concern of the education system. While this is of critical importance and has led to some impressive improvements in girls' enrolment, retention and completion, it has also led to gender being understood primarily in quantitative terms.

3.4.3In the next phase of SSA implementation, gender and social disadvantage must become integral to concerns of quality and equity. Gender as-a crosscutting issue should be viewed as an integral and visible part of the quality agenda. Girls are not a homogeneous or singular category and gender does not operate in isolation but in conjunction with other social categories resulting in girls 'having to experience multiple forms of disadvantage. The dimensions of location (rural-urban), caste, class, religion, ethnicity, disabilities etc. intersect with gender to create a complex reality. Curriculum, textbooks, pedagogic practices, need to capture the entire web of social and economic relations that determine an individual's location in the social reality and shapes her living experiences. Developing such an understanding is necessary for improving classroom practices, curriculum, training and strategies for reaching the remaining out-of- school children. Data on gender should be further disaggregated by other axes of disadvantage, it must be analysed and used for planning purposes.

3.4.4While there has been improvement and innovation in the area of gender and girls education, many interventions like gender training remain largely sporadic and continue to be seen as 'add-ons'. With RTE coming into effect, the thrust would now be to mainstream good practices and processes within the education system.

3.4.5Efforts pertaining to gender have focused mainly on females. As a result, several women have been empowered and a space has been made to raise gender concerns and develop a better understanding of the structural and social barriers to girls' education. However, since the long-term objective is to transform unequal gender relations and bring about systemic change, therefore, it would be equally important to build on these gains and include boys and men more significantly in this process.

3.4.6In order to address gender, it is, therefore, necessary to go beyond specific schemes and provisions and be treated as a systemic issue.

3.5Girls: Access & Retention. - 3.5.1 Despite significant improvement in the enrolment of girls, girls from disadvantaged communities continue to form the bulk of out- of school children. Therefore, access continues to be an equity issue in the case of girls. Also, there is a need to consider retention as an equity issue, as SC, ST, Muslim girls, are vulnerable, and most likely to dropout. Parents of children from such communities often have limited means, and any adversity compels girls from such communities to leave the system that they had difficulty of entering in the first place. The overt and tacit forms of discrimination that are embedded in the school environment (classrooms and beyond) make schooling a difficult experience. A key focus in SSA will be to address this challenge.

3.5.2With regard to access and retention the focus would be on older girls, where the need is the greatest. Support measures that address economic, academic and social dimensions that lead to dropout would need to be planned as a more cohesive intervention. Measures would include transport, escorts, counselling, helping them negotiate domestic work burdens, community support mechanisms, and academic support depending on the nature of the problem.

3.5.3Moreover, as adolescence is a crucial and complex stage of life where young people discover issues related to sexuality and develop a sense of self, innovative measures to bolster girls' self-esteem and confidence (in addition to imparting the regular curricula content) would be included. Attention would be paid to addressing the particular needs of girls from other disadvantaged groups or those living in difficult circumstances (street children, migrant children, and girls in conflict situations). Girls in such situations are particularly vulnerable and face several security concerns. Some activities already conducted as part of the NPEGEL Scheme (where operational), and SS A's Innovation Fund could be used for supporting those interventions which cannot be supported under any other norm.

3.6Gender, Equity and Quality. - 3.6.1 Issues of quality and equity are inextricably linked. It is important to understand that poor quality impacts on equity and poor equity reinforces poor quality. Therefore, efforts which are aimed at one must also include the other. Within SSA, quality concerns are being increasingly highlighted, and the approach to quality improvement is undergoing a major shift to become integrated, comprehensive and overarching. In the context of implementing the RTE Act, this approach shift to quality would have to be enriched whereby the curriculum, textbooks, teaching-learning materials, the use of space in the classroom, infrastructure, assessment and teacher trainings are looked at holistically and mutually reinforce each other. Each of these issues would need to be addressed by a gender perspective.

3.7Special Schemes for Girls. - 3.7.1 National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level

3.7.1.1The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) is a focused intervention of Government of India, to reach the "Hardest to Reach" girls, especially those not in school. NPEGEL is a separate, gender-distinct but integral component of SSA, which provides additional support for enhancing girls' education over and above the investments for girls' education through normal SSA interventions.

3.7.1.2NPEGEL is implemented in Educationally Backward Blocks (EBBs) where the level of rural female literacy is less than the national average i.e. 46.13% (Census, 2001) and the gender gap in literacy is above the national average i.e. 21.67 % (Census, 2001); in blocks of districts which are not covered under EBBs but have at least 5% SC/ST population and where SC/ST female literacy is below 10%; and also in selected urban slums. To keep the emphasis on the programme as a distinct component of the SSA a separate account is maintained for NPEGEL. [NPEGEL has been amended twice since its inception, first, in July, 2007 to provide for block focused projects for girls at risk/difficult circumstances, and later in December 2010] [The revised NPEGEL guidelines are at Annexure 5.] to provide flexibility in devising and implementing need based interventions.

3.7.1.3Various reviews have identified concerns related to the scheme as being-uneven quality; fragmented approach where activities are picked up from the indicative list and do not form a cohesive strategy; overlap of activities with other components of the scheme such as the AIE component; local planning not strong enough; activities/ strategies related to gender have remained an add-on and not mainstreamed; no review of quality of modules etc. being produced; insufficient impact of the gender training programmes on making classroom practices more gender sensitive; impact of the model cluster school is not certain; etc. The planning and implementation process should keep in mind that the problems mentioned are in line with the provisions of the RTE. Efforts should be made to identify good practices from different States as well as strengths and weaknesses in the light of SSA transformation to implement the RTE.

3.7.2Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV)

3.7.2.1Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) provides for setting up residential schools at the upper primary level for girls belonging predominantly to the SC, ST, OBC and minority communities. KGBVs are set up in educationally backward blocks, where the female rural literacy is below the national average (i.e. below 46.13% as per Census 2001) and gender gap in literacy is above the national average of 21.67%. Further, the scope of the scheme was enlarged to cover the blocks that have rural female literacy below 30% and urban areas with female literacy more than the national female literacy (urban) of53.67% as per Census 2001. This was again enlarged to cover all the educationally backward blocks with rural female literacy of 46.13%.

3.7.2.2Such residential schools are set up only in those educationally backward blocks which do not have residential schools at the upper primary level for girls under any other scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Ministry of Tribal Affairs or the State Government. This shall be ensured by the District Level Authority of SSA at the time of actual district level planning of KGBV initiatives by coordinating with the other Departments/Ministries.

3.7.2.3[KGBV programme has been revised twice since its inception, first in April 2008 when criteria for identifying EBB was revised, and, later, in April, 2010, when the criteria was revised again besides the decision to allow unit cost for civil works according to the state SoR rather than the fixed cost] [The revised KGBV guidelines are at Annexure 6.]. The importance of the KGBV Scheme in addressing the educational needs of girls from marginalised communities has been highlighted in various reviews. KGBVs run by MS and NGOs are particularly successful as they augment resources to bring in empowerment-oriented content. Lessons can be learnt from their experiences. The scheme would be strengthened with the development of an appropriate curriculum framework which would include empowerment issues, teaching- learning material, teacher training programmes and monitoring and assessment mechanisms keeping in mind the contexts, and age of the learners and the residential nature of the scheme which could be taken up with the involvement of experienced organizations, especially with a strong gender orientation.

3.7.3Mahila Samakhya

3.7.3.1Mahila Samakhya (MS) programme was started nearly 20 years ago and has been recognised as an effective strategy for creating circumstances for girls 'education and empowerment. The critical thing in this programme is that its agenda and priorities are set by women's groups, called Mahila Sanghas, themselves. At the time, when this programme was started questions were raised whether it would in fact contribute to girls' education. Over the years Mahila Sanghas and their federations have themselves given a place of importance to girls' education. They play an active role in working towards removal of barriers to the participation of girls in education.

3.7.3.2The Mahila Sanghas ensure that the education system is sensitive to the needs and interests of girls through monitoring and ensuring accountability in village schools, addressing teacher absenteeism, M D M implementation and quality, etc. Mahila Samakhya has demonstrated the possibilities and practicable ways of creating and using gender-sensitive curriculum, class room pedagogy, teacher training and life-skills.

Sangha women are often members of village level committees, and play an important role in SSA implementation and monitoring.

3.7.3.3This spirit of MS and the overall tenor of the RTE provide enormous scope for synergic outputs. Special mention in this regard should be made of the fact that occasionally one year's of MS being expected to sub-serve the goals of SSA. This would not be in accordance with the stipulation of NPE, 1986. MS should continue to zealously adhere to its non-negotiable principles, including the stipulation which gives to them space for making their own decisions regarding programme priorities and implementation strategies. The role of M S would be in monitoring and grievance redressal; development of training strategies for SMCs especially women members; Mahila Shikshan Kendras have demonstrated ability to run bridge courses and to develop necessary curricula and teaching-learning arrangements. They could make an important contribution in conducting programmes for children who get admitted to age-appropriate classes but require preparatory courses to keep pace with other students. MSK can function as centre for special training for out of school children who have been enrolled in regular schools.

3.8Inclusion of Children from Marginalised Communities

3.8.1Strategies

3.8.1.1As a first step in the exercise of bringing children from marginalised backgrounds into school a careful mapping of these children - who they are and where they live - will have to be undertaken systematically. While SSA has already identified Special Focus Districts (SFDs) with concentration of SC, ST and Muslim communities, a further unpacking of the layers of exclusion that exist within these districts will be required by the local authorities, who have been given the role of identifying out-of- school children and ensuring that they are brought into school. Since the RT E Act guarantees elementary education in a neighbourhood school, I the neighbourhood can be the best unit for identification of marginalised children. In order to do this job effectively, it will be imperative that the local authorities work closely with communities and community-based groups I that have links within communities and can help in identifying the out-of-school children.

3.8.1.2The School Management Committees (SMCs) envisaged in the RTE Act would have to play a key role in the mapping exercise as well as in ensuring inclusive strategies in the School Development Plan, the preparation of which has also been entrusted to them.

3.8.2Understanding exclusionary practices

3.8.2.1In addition to the mapping mentioned above, an in-depth understanding of the realities of the situation faced by marginalised children at the community and school level, including an identification of all the points of exclusion from the level of the household up to education system will be required.

3.8.2.2Exclusionary practices often begin even before a child reaches the school premises. A SC girl, for instance, travelling through an upper caste hamlet on her way to school may face harassment on her way that could well discourage her, and dissuade her parents from sending her to school. Parents of children from Muslim families may also have similar inhibitions in sending their children to schools that are located in area dominated by the majority community. Safety of children regularly subjected to derogatory name calling, rebuking, even physical harassment is a significant factor determining participation of children from such backgrounds in school. Children from SC, ST and Muslim communities have both common as well as unique needs and challenges impeding attempts to their inclusion. Following is the brief account of needs and nature of exclusion pertaining to each community as extracted from the Report of the Committee on Implementation of RTE and Resultant Revamp of SSA.

3.8.2.3Following is the broad listing of examples of exclusion of SC children:

Exclusion by Teachers. - (i) Segregated seating arrangements in the classroom with SC children made to sit separately and typically at the back of the classroom.

(ii)Undue harshness in reprimanding SC children, especially in relation to upper caste children. For instance, in scolding children for coming late to school, in resolving fights between children, condoning name-calling by upper caste children, etc..

(iii)Not giving time and attention to SC children in the classroom, such as not checking their homework or class work, not answering their queries - even rebuking them for asking questions in class.

(iv)Excluding SC children from public functions in the school. These include non-participation in the morning assembly or other public events such as on Republic Day or Independence Day. Routinely making them sit at the back of the classroom.

(v)Making derogatory remarks about SC children - their supposed inability to keep up with academic work.

(vi)Denying SC children the use of school facilities, including water sources. Keeping water segregated; even preventing SC children from using the school taps or containers used to store drinking water have been reported from many areas.

(vii)Asking SC children to do menial tasks in school, including cleaning the school premises and even the toilets.

Exclusion by peer group. - (i) Calling SC children by caste names.

(ii)Not including SC children in games and play activities in the classroom or in break time when children go out to play; SC children often return to their own neighbourhoods to play with non- enrolled SC children there.

(iii)Not sitting with SC children in the classroom.

Exclusion by the system. - (i) Incentives schemes meant for SC children not being implemented in full.

(ii)Lack of acknowledgement of SC role models in the curriculum or by teachers.

(iii)Reinforcing caste characteristics in syllabi and textbooks.

(iv)Lack of sensitisation of teachers in teacher education and training.

(v)In sufficient recruitment of SC teachers.

3.8.2.4.The interventions for children belonging to Scheduled Caste communities have to be based on the intensive micro-planning addressing the needs of every child. The following suggested list of interventions for inclusion of SC children can help in addressing the aforestated practices of discrimination and exclusion.

(i)Establishing norms of behaviour within the school for teachers and students.

(ii)Timely detection of the forms of discrimination practiced in a particular context by either teachers or students. This is not an easy task as many forms of discrimination have become part of accepted behaviour and go unnoticed and unchallenged by the majority. Finding ways of listening to children's voices would be crucial to this exercise. Setting up a system of reporting on discriminatory practices at the school level would be a place to start. Complaint boxes that are regularly dealt with at SMC meetings are a suggested intervention.

(iii)Timely redressal of instances of discrimination at the level of the school or Block. Delays in taking action can lead to discouragement on the part of the parents and teachers.

(iv)Escorts to school for SC children.

(v)Establishing norms for class room interactions such as seating patterns that ensure that children are not segregated on the basis of caste, community or gender. The 'Nali-Kali' model of multilevel learning, pioneered in Karnataka in the mid nineties, (based on the Rishi Valley School-in-a-bag programme) is worth revisiting and adopting as it allows children to sit in groups based on levels of learning. This not only breaks social barriers but it also allows for a rotation and thus inter- mingling as children move in and out of the learning circles.

(vi)Co-curricular activities, such as sports, music and drama which tend to break social barriers among children need to be encouraged. They have remained a hugely neglected area and would be an important strategy for increasing the interaction of children as well as allowing children from varied backgrounds to exhibit their talents and get recognition.

(vii)Recognizing the agency of teachers. The teacher is a key figure in the school and can help to either perpetuate or obliterate discriminatory practices. But her role in this process has been largely neglected so far. Interventions in the following areas would go a long way in overturning the current situation.

(a)

Sensitisation of teachers from the stage of pre-service training onwards. Special modules should be developed by recognised experts for use in teacher education and training programmes. Special in-service training within the mandated 20 days should be organised to deal with the specific problems of inclusion at the Block level.

(b)

Setting norms for teacher behaviour. Some norms related to corporal punishment and abuse have been included in the RTE. Strict monitoring and adherence to these norms would help obliterates some of the malpractices mentioned above, such as making SC child re n perform menial tasks.

(viii)Helping the teacher develop pedagogical tools and classroom practices that allow social barriers to be broken. Technical support in developing such tools should be sought from experts as well as civil society groups.

(ix)Providing adequate infrastructure for elementary schooling in districts with concentration of SC population.

(x)Opening schools in SC concentrated neighbourhood wherever required.

(xi)Special training as per need for age appropriate admission

(xii)Interventions for specific categories of deprived children belonging to scheduled caste community living in difficult circumstances.

(xiii)Monitoring attendance and retention of children regularly

(xiv)Providing context specific intervention in the form of a special facility like residential schools or transport as required.

3.8.2.5SSA recognises that problems of exclusion often take highly local and context specific forms, and the above mentioned is a general list of issues that have emerged from the studies conducted so far, which need to be addressed urgently.

3.8.2.6Exclusion of Scheduled Tribe Children: ST children, besides facing some of the exclusionary practices mentioned above for SC children also face problems peculiar to their situation. Tribal populations tend to be concentrated in remote, hilly or heavily forested areas with dispersed populations where even physical access to schools is difficult. If there are schools and teachers, the teachers are unlikely to share the students' social and cultural background or to speak the students' language, leading to a sense of alienation among the children.

3.8.2.7The Tribal Welfare Department has tried to address this problem by establishing residential or 'Ashram' schools for tribal children; however, there is a need not just for many more residential schools but also for improved quality in these schools. With the notification of the RTE Act, 'Ashram' schools would also come under its purview and have to follow the prescribed norms and standards. Collaboration with the Education Department on residential schools for tribal dominated are as would be required to enable a strengthened and consolidated approach to this problem including recruitment of teachers of similar social and cultural backgrounds and provision of curricula and textbooks that are not alienating for tribal children.

3.8.2.8The biggest problem faced by tribal children is that of language. Analysis of the educational indicators shows that majority of tribal children drop out of the primary school due to the difference in the school and home language. Teaching materials and textbooks tend to be in a language which could easily the students understand; content of books and syllabi ignore the students' own knowledge and experience and focus only on the dominant language and culture. Not understanding the school language and therefore the course content, the children are unable to cope, end up repeating grades and eventually dropping out.

3.8.2.9While instruction in the mother tongue is widely recognised as beneficial to language competencies in the first language, achievement in other subject areas, and second language learning, there is no explicit obligation on the states to institute mother tongue education. The "three language formula" that has been the cornerstone of the language policy in India has not been uniformly implemented across the country. In some states such as Jharkhand, Orissa and Chhattisgarh, which are linguistically diverse, the problem is compounded by the multiplicity of linguistic backgrounds represented in a single classroom.

3.8.2.10Providing multilingual education is not a simple task. Even mother tongue education is challenged by a host of problems such as:

(i)the language may not have a script;

(ii)the language may not even be generally recognised as constituting a legitimate language;

(iii)appropriate terminology for education purposes may still have to be developed within the language;

(iv)there may be a shortage of educational materials in the language;

(v)there may be a lack of appropriately trained teachers;

(vi)there may be resistance to schooling in the mother tongue by students, parents and teachers and

(vii)if there are several mother tongues represented in one class, it compounds the problem even further.

3.8.2.11Educational research has shown that the mother tongue is the best medium of instruction, and inclusion of tribal children hinges crucially on the language issue. With the RTE Act adding immediacy to their inclusion, this issue must be addressed fully, rather than ignored due to the complexities involved. For this, support will be needed from all quarters interested in and accountable to a pluralistic social order that will ensure enhanced participation of the tribal people. For a start, the Tribal Welfare and Education Departments, responsible for implementation, will need to communicate with each other and interact with NGOs and scholars who could support the processes. The states that have shown some initiative in this regard will also need to be supported.

3.8.2.12The following suggested list of interventions for inclusion of ST children can help in addressing the above practices of discrimination and exclusion:

(i)Teaching in the local language by recruiting native speakers.

(ii)Development of educational material in local languages using resources available within the community.

(iii)Establishing resource centres in tribal dominated states for providing training, academic and other technical support for development of pedagogic tools and education materials catering to multi lingual situations.

(iv)Training of teachers in multilingual education.

(v)Sensitisation of teachers to tribal cultures and practices.

(vi)Incorporation of local knowledge in the curriculum and textbooks.

(vii)Creating spaces for cultural mingling within schools so as to recognise tribal cultures and practices and obliterate feelings of inferiority and alienation among tribal children.

(viii)Involvement of community members in school activities to reduce social distance between the school and the community.

(ix)Textbooks in mother tongue for children at the beginning of Primary education where they do not understand regional language.

(x)Anganwadis and Balwadis in each school in tribal areas so that the girls are not required to do baby-sitting.

(xi)Special training for non-tribal teachers to work intribalare as, including knowledge of the tribal dialect.

(xii)Special plan for nomadic and migrant workers.

3.8.2.13Exclusion of Muslim Children : Education of Muslim children continues to be a particularly neglected area in policy and programming in India today. As a result their educational attainments are second only to those of the Scheduled Caste populations in most areas as mentioned in the Sachar Committee Report.

3.8.2.14Constraints felt by Muslim Children From the scattered bits of evidence that do exist, it can be said that in addition to the general issues of discrimination and harassment faced by children from other disadvantaged and excluded groups, children from Muslim families face some of the following constraints as well:

(i)Denial of admission

(ii)Unfriendly school and class room environment

(iii)Cultural and religious domination

(iv)Early withdrawal of male children to enable them to apprentice! with artisans, mechanics, etc., to enable self-employment as: discrimination in the organised labour market is a huge perceived! concern.

(v)Even earlier withdrawal of female children to enable them to find* grooms more educated than themselves.

(vi)Unfulfilled demand for adequate number of Urdu medium schools or at least Urdu as a second language

(vii)Lack of Urdu language teachers

3.8.2.15Some [interventions] [MHRD implements the Scheme for Providing Quality Education in Madarsas (SPQEAl) and the Scheme/or 1 Infrastructure Development for Minority Institutions (IDM1). Copies of the Schemes are attached at j Annexures 7 and 8. Guidelines issued vide Notification No. 1-15/2010-EE-4 dated 23rd November 2010on 1 the applicability of the RTE Act on Minority Institutions in the light of Article 29 and 30 of the Constitution j of India is at Annexure 9.] for inclusion of Muslim children can be:

(i)Systematic and robust research on specific constraints faced by | Muslim children in different areas. Muslims, like SCs and STs are not a homogeneous community and exhibit wide differences in social and cultural practices in different states. A more thorough understanding of these issues will help formulate better interventions for inclusion of Muslim children into the education process.

(ii)Opening of schools in Muslim concentrated neighbourhoods. I

(iii)Providing 'girls only' schools in Muslim concentrated 1 neighbourhoods.

(iv)Providing Urdu medium schools in Muslim concentrated I neighbourhoods.

(v)Providing escort to Muslim girls, preferably through women I from the community for safe school going

(vi)Option of learning Urdu as a second language

(vii)Recruitment of more Urdu teachers, especially in Muslim concentrated areas;

(viii)Context specific and tailor made programmes for special training. 1

(ix)Sensitisation of all teachers to issues of cultural and religious diversity especially in relation to Muslims.

(x)Incorporation of practices, such as

(a)due representation of Muslim culture in curricular and pedagogical processes;

(b)encouraging discussion of Muslim cultural and religious practices in the school or classroom with the help of community members;

(c)

celebration of Muslim festivals in the schools;

(d)

sensitive handling of Muslim children during Ramzan when they may be fasting and

(e)

adequate representation of Muslim parents in the SMC.

3.82.16A large part of exclusion results from social distance caused by lack of knowledge and understanding about minority communities. Finding spaces to break these information barriers would go a long way in reducing the hostilities and insecurities that exist.

3.8.2.17Children belonging to most under-privileged groups: SSA recognizes the hierarchies among the poor. There are groups which are not only the most, deprived and exploited, but also quite neglected. These groups deserve a special priority and focused action. SSA functionaries will have to carefully assess their needs and then plan context specific, innovative integrated interventions to make tangible progress in eliminating exclusion of children belonging to these groups. The following groups by far have been classified among the most disadvantaged groups:

(i)Urban deprived children

(ii)Child labour, particularly bonded child labour and domestic workers

(iii)Children in ecologically deprived area where they are required to fetch fuel, water, fodder and do other household chores

(iv)Children in very poor slum communities and uprooted urban habitations

(v)Children of families of scavengers and other such stigmatised professions

(vi)Children of itinerant or seasonal labour who have mobile and transient lifestyle like construction workers, road workers and workers on large construction sites

(vii)Children of landless agriculture labour

(viii)Nomadic communities and pastoralists

(ix)Forests dwellers and tribals in remote areas and children residing in remote desert hamlets

(x)Children in areas affected by civil strife

3.8.2.18Children belonging to these groups and others who are in circumstances of extreme deprivation will need exceptional arrangements put in place in the perspective of children's rights. One among the most appropriate learning situations for them could be well established hostels and residential schools as well as transportation to and fro school besides other integrated and participatory interventions in collaboration with government agencies, NGOs and community.

3.8.2.19A major issue concerning children in extremely difficult circumstances is sheer lack of their voice due to their alienation from community and little representation in agencies and forums like the SMC, PTA or VEC. SSA would make efforts to address this issue by advocacy for children's right to participation, by supporting the formation of support groups children's collectives, and, by encouraging efforts to accommodate their voices in planning, implementation and monitoring of interventions and strategies.

3.8.2.20Situation analysis and interventions for some of the largest among the aforesaid groups of most underprivileged children i.e. children affected from migration, the urban deprived children, children in areas affected by civil strife, and, children termed as "excluded among the excluded", have been discussed in the following paragraphs.

3.8.2.21Education of children affected by migration. - To address the issue of seasonal migration for varying periods for work in brick kilns, agriculture, sugarcane harvesting , construction, stone quarrying, salt pans etc. and its adverse effect on education of children who migrate with or without other members of the family, SSA encourages identification of districts, blocks and villages/cities or towns from where or to which there is a high incidence of migration. The RTE Act mandates bringing such children to regular schools both in districts where they stay or in districts to where they seasonally migrate. This would require innovative and effective strategies for special training to develop age appropriate competencies to facilitate children's enrolment and retention in age-appropriate classes, and to coordinate between the education providing agencies at both the locations mentioned above.

3.8.2.22Special Training strategies for these children would require very meticulous planning. Some strategies can be developed on the following ideas: (a) seasonal hostels or residential camps to retain children in the sending villages/urban habitat during the period of migration, (b) transportation facility to and from the school in the vicinity of the worksite, and if it is not practical then work-site schools should be provided at the location where migrant families are engaged in work, (c) peripatetic educational volunteer/s who can move with the migrating families to take care of children's education during the period they are on move from school at one location to school at the other, and, (d) strategies for tracking of children through migration cards / other records to enable continuity in their education before, during and after the migration.

3.8.2.23The receiving district /State where migrant families are located for some period shall have responsibility for ensuring that education to the children in age appropriate classes continues during the period of migration. It is expected that the AWP&Bs of these districts would include activities for education of such children, under Special Training component. The involvement of NGOs in the processes of mapping of migration and planning and implementation of interventions should be actively supported. Funds available under innovation can be used to support activities in an integrated strategy which are not supported under any other Norm of SSA.

3.8.2.24Since migration takes place across districts and states, it would be necessary for sending and receiving districts and States to collaborate with each other to ensure continuity of education of such children and by other means such as providing appropriate textbooks, teachers, who can teach in the language in which children have been receiving education. For this purpose "task forces" could be set up to effect regular coordination between States/ districts.

3.8.2.25The appraisal process of the AWP&B would scrutinise if areas of high incidence of migration have been identified and whether strategies for education of seasonally migrating children have been included in district and State plans.

3.8.2.26Urban Deprived Children. - SSA has been focusing on the growing problem of schooling of disadvantaged children in urban areas. Successive JRMs have also dwelt on this component. Urban areas have special challenges like the education of street children, the education of children who are rag pickers, homeless children, children whose parents are engaged in professions that makes children's education difficult, education of children living in urban working class slums, children who are working in industry, children working in households, children at tea shops, garages etc. Other city specific features are: very high cost of land, heterogeneous community and high opportunity cost etc.

3.8.2.27Moreover, due to multiplicity of education providers and the agencies managing education, often a number of initiatives for UEE do not reach the urban area schools. Such a situation results in inadequacy or lack of quality improvement, consequently augmenting the number of urban deprived children. States have taken initiatives ranging from identification through surveys to provide basic amenities in the form of shelter homes, networking with departments, programmes and agencies like Welfare, JNNURM, Municipal corporations and NGOs etc. Some significant efforts have been made in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Bhopal, Lucknow, Patna and Jabalpur by municipal agencies and education departments in collaboration with NGOs.

3.8.2.28However, despite these initiatives, there is a growing need for systemic and coordinated efforts to provide solutions on an institutional basis to urban issues. Thus to implement RTE in urban areas, SSA would adopt a more holistic and systems approach. This approach would necessitate coordination and convergence of interventions across Departments, local bodies, civil society organisations and the private sector. SSA would encourage a diversity of interventions planned and executed in integrated, collaborative and cohesive manner to tackle the unique challenges in urban areas. This would require planning distinctively for the urban areas either as separate plans or as part of District Plans in the case of smaller towns. In either case, this would require partnership with NGOs, Municipal bodies, etc.

3.8.2.29Mapping and identification of out of school children in urban areas may require special efforts. Whole city planning for ensuring coverage of all eligible children in the drive for UEE would be rigorously adopted in SSA. The Municipal Corporation of larger cities will be considered as "district" for purposes of preparation of Elementary Education Plans.

The arrangements for decentralised management will also apply to these proposals. These proposals can be developed by Municipal Corporations and the State government will have to recommend these for funding under SSA, clearly specifying the source from which the State share would be provided. All SSA norms will apply to urban areas. Besides wards, urban slum clusters etc. have so far been units of planning in different cities. However, experience has shown that these units need to be more micro, so as to effectively address the idea behind habitation planning. More thinking and deliberation in this context would help in equitable planning for urban deprived children.

3.8.2.30Children in areas affected by civil strife. - This is a new area of growing concern that is leading to the marginalisation of large number of children from educational processes. SSA recognizes the situation of these children as an alarming and significant problem and advocates for concrete steps to ameliorate the situation as early as possible. Some measures to insulate children and their education from the impact of such situation can be -

(i)prohibiting the use of school and other educational facilities for housing police, military or para-military forces.

(ii)making schools safe zones by providing adequate security and emotional support to enable children to come to school and continue with their education undisturbed.

(iii)If security cannot be provided then making alternative arrangements for all affected children to enable them to continue their education without a break. These arrangements could include providing residential schooling facilities or transportation to safer schools to children from the affected areas.

(iv)Organising special negotiations with leaders in these areas to ensure that schools are allowed to function uninterrupted.

3.8.2.31Excluded among the excluded. - SSA acknowledges that by no means have the above categories exhausted the whole list of children excluded from the education process. While children with special needs are being dealt with in a separate section, children from migrant families with nomadic background, children working as domestic help, children in conflict with law, children in protective institutions, children affected by HIV/AIDS, children affected by natural disasters, to name a few, are some that have not been explicitly mentioned above or dealt with elsewhere. Special strategies to enable their participation will have to be developed. Support in developing these strategies, advocating for them and monitoring the continued participation of these children will be important elements of SSA's focus in the context of implementation of the RTE Act.

3.8.2.32There are many active civil society groups that have gained substantial experience and knowledge of working with these children. Active involvement of these groups must be sought to enable their inclusion in the education process. A process of empanelling such groups for resource support would be a good starting point. However, more active engagement of the education department as well as NCPCR/SCPCR or REPA will be necessary to ensure that these children do not remain excluded.

3.9Innovative Activities for Supplementing Mainstream Interventions to Promote Inclusion

3.9.1SSA will develop context specific interventions, over and above the mainstreamed interventions, to address the problem of exclusion of girls and children belonging to marginalised communities and disadvantaged groups. This will include interventions for girls, early childhood care and education, children of SC, ST & Muslim communities, urban deprived children, and other groups of children in difficult circumstances, such as child laborers, children affected from migration, children without adult protection) children in conflict with law, etc. All successful interventions so far will serve as exemplars for pre paring such interventions. Need specific, innovative interventions will be articulated and formulated interms of their objectives, rationale, methodology, timeframe, expected outcomes and monitoring etc.

3.9.2Innovation should be integrated with mainstream interventions in SSA and lead to tangible progress at least in one, if not more components of universal elementary education. SSA would provide to each district upto Rs. 50 lakh for innovative activities for equity to support mainstream SSA interventions to include children belonging to marginalised communities and disadvantaged groups. In the revised norms, the ceiling of Rs. 15 lakh per district for a maximum of four projects has been removed.

3.9.3While SSA would encourage a wide variety of need based, local specific innovations, some examples of context specific innovative intervention for marginalised communities and disadvantaged groups can include:

(i)Awareness building on child rights and entitlements as per the RTE Act at the grassroot level.

(ii)Providing avenues and creating forums for encouraging the voice of children as key stakeholders in the education system.

(iii)Viable interventions to promote enrolment and retention.

(iv)Innovative strategies for special training to groups of most disadvantaged children.

(v)Forming support groups and safety nets for children without adult protection, homeless children, children working as domestic help, child beggars and other groups of children in extremely difficult circumstances

(vi)Strengthening of ECCE centres and support in capacity building of ECCE workers.

(vii)Community mobilisation and capacity building to facilitate preparation of school development plan.

(viii)Community based monitoring of teacher and student attendance, child participation and protection of their rights.

(ix)Building a congenial earning environment inside and outside the school.

3.10SSA Interventions for Gender and Social Equity

3.10.1In order to implement the gender and equity dimensions of the RTE Act, SSA will focus on the following issues:

3.10.2Training and academic support

(i)Since the clear aim under the RTE Act is to have a gender sensitive, non-discriminatory classroom that is free of corporal punishment and mental harassment, there is a need to bring about substantial improvement in the curricular design and quality of teacher training. Gender and social inclusion concerns, as an integral part of pre- service, in-service and induction training by all providers, should form a core aspect of the training curriculum of DIETs and other Teacher Educational Institutions. Gender and social category equality, as also equality of all other deprived groups enumerated above should also be integral to the subject- specific content. In-service training programmes are in place in all States, but their quality remains a matter of concern. For this the modules developed by the states would be revised and redeveloped, if needed. Mechanisms to monitor the effectiveness of such training in leading to a more egalitarian classroom would need to be put in place.

(ii)In order to take what one has learnt during training into the classroom, there is need for on going support and monitoring. District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), Block Resource Centres (BRC) and Cluster Resource Centres (CRC) are playing this role. However, the quality of support provided by these institutions needs to improve. Thus, capacity building of DIETs, BRCs and CRCs will be a prime focus in the context of gender and social equity as well. The support of experienced organisations would come in handy in this effort.

(iii)The provision of 50% female teachers has been effective in bringing large numbers of women into the education system. However, the problems faced by female teachers need to be given due recognition. Female teachers should be supported to over come security concerns or dealing with other forms of gender bias, including harassment. Forming forums or support groups of female teachers could also be of help in this regard.

3.10.3Curriculum and classroom practices

(i)NCF 2005 provides a framework for revising the syllabi, textbooks, teacher- training and assessment, especially in relation to classroom experience of children belonging to SC, ST and minorities, girls in all social categories, and children with special needs. Efforts should be made by all states/UTs to undertake reform processes based on the NCF-2005.

(ii)It is equally important to see how inequalities operate at the level of everyday classroom practices (referred to as the 'hidden curriculum'). Some crucial aspects of the 'hidden curriculum' in schools would be : class room arrangement ( who sits where), differential task assignment (reinforcing that SC girls undertake the 'domestic' tasks (sweeping, cleaning), extra-curricular activities and types of play etc., subject choice (often girls or children from SC families are actively discouraged from taking Mathematics and Science subjects), language used by teachers and peers in the school environment etc . It is, therefore, important to make explicit different aspects of the 'hidden curriculum' and then undertake sensitisation measures to work on these issues. Sensitisation may not be enough and classroom practices would need to be monitored, and for this protocols and grievance redressal mechanisms should be established at the school and other levels. SSA acknowledges that bringing about change in these realms is extremely difficult as they are based on deeply entrenched beliefs and attitudes, and, therefore, need to be worked on a sustained basis.

(iii)With regard to Special Training to support age-appropriate enrolment, appropriate curriculum would have to be developed. As a majority of the children who would be availing this would be girls, and children belonging to disadvantaged groups and weaker sections, the pedagogy used should be gender sensitive and flexible. The mainstreamed children would require continued support to keep pace with other children and to hold their own in the face of subtle discrimination.

(iv)SSA would facilitate non-government and other organisations and individuals with relevant experience to play the role of resource organisations/persons for mainstreaming gender issues and for developing appropriate curriculum, teaching learning materials, gender informed ped ago gies and teacher training for NPEGEL and KGBV and training of BRC, CRC etc. It is noteworthy that in order to put into practice the integrated quality improvement framework, where gender and equity form an integral part, strong resource support would be needed by the States and UTs.

3.11Monitoring Gender and Social Inclusion Provisions

3.11.1Issues of gender and social exclusion require careful monitoring. Monitoring and accountability mechanisms would be evolved and strengthened at different levels.

3.11.2The RTE Act stipulates that 50% of the parents in the SMC will be women. However, for these women to function effectively and for them to be able to address and monitor gender issues and to include them in school development plans, capacity building inputs being provided to them should include a strong element of gender sensitization. Raising issues of discrimination in a community context where social, gender and caste hierarchies operate at many levels is a difficult task and persons entrusted to do so will have to be empowered and supported in this process. Similar training programmes can be thought of for PRIs. The support of NGOs and programmes like Mahila Samakhya that have demonstrated how this can be done should be actively sought.

3.11.3Social audits should also report on the practices inside the school and classrooms, and detection of gender based discrimination should become an integral part of social audit processes in schools under different management system, including, private managements.

3.12Education of Children with Special Needs

3.12.1A group that forms a very important part of equity issues under SSA is Children with Special Needs (CWSN). The key thrust of SSA will be on providing inclusive education to all children with special needs in general schools. SSA ensures that every child with special needs, irrespective of the kind, category and degree of disability, is provided quality inclusive education. It will also support a wide range of approaches, options and strategies for education of children with special needs. This includes special training, in the form of school readiness programmes for CWSN, education through special schools, home schooling, community based rehabilitation (CBR). The ultimate aim would be to mainstream all CWSN in neighbourhood schools.

3.12.2For effective planning, management and implementation of the of the IE programme, resource groups should be constituted at State and district level. These groups should also have representation from civil societies. A technical person for IE should also be appointed at state/district level. Inclusive education for CWSN under SSA seeks to develop full potentiality of each child with a disability by emphasising on ending all forms of discrimination and promoting effective participation of all. Thus, inclusion of CWSN has to be seen in terms of physical access, social access and quality of access.

3.12.3Physical Access: The following activities could be a part of physical access:

(i)Mapping of CWSN: Identification/ mapping children with special needs should become an integral part of the micro-planning and household surveys. A concerted drive to detect children with special needs at an early age should be undertaken through PHCs, ICDS, ECCE centres and other school readiness programmes. This must be accompanied by training of the surveyors, enumerators and other government functionaries at different levels.

(ii)Assessment of CWSN for mapping of needs: Assessment of each identified child should be carried out. A team should be constituted at the block/ cluster level to carry out this assessment. The assessment team will ascertain the extent and type of the disability, the developmental, level of the child, the nature of support services required, assertive devices required by the child and the most appropriate form of special training to be given to the child.

(iii)Educational Placement: Every child with special needs should be placed in the neighbourhood schools, with needed support services. Children with special needs, need to be facilitated to acquire certain skills that will enable them to access elementary education as envisaged in the Act. For instance, they may need mobility training, training in Braille, sign language, postural training, etc. Thus, school preparedness of children with special needs must be ensured by providing 'special training' as envisaged in the RTE Act. This training may be residential, non residential or even home based, as per their specific requirements. The existing non-formal and alternate schooling (including home based education) options for children with disabilities can be recasted as 'special training'. This means that (a) all children with special needs who are not enrolled in schools or have dropped out, will first be enrolled in a neighbourhood school (b) they will be entitled to 'special training' through regular teachers or teachers specifically appointed for. the purpose (c) and then mainstreamed in general schools along with their peers in the age-appropriate class.

(iv)Aids and appliances: All children requiring assertive devices should be provided with aids and appliances, obtained as far as possible through convergence with the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, State Welfare Departments, National Institutions, ALIMCO, voluntary organisations or NGOs. If aids and appliances cannot be obtained through convergence, then SSA funds could be used for this purpose too.

(v)Removal of architectural barriers: Architectural barriers in schools would have to be removed for easy access and to promote inclusion of CWSN. Efforts will be taken to provide all kinds of disabled-friendly facilities in schools and educational institutions. Development of innovative designs for schools to provide an enabling environment for children with special needs should also be a part of the programme. Schools must be designed using an inclusive lens to create barrier-free environments and accessible buildings must incorporate not only through ramps, but also through accessible classrooms, toilets, playgrounds, laboratories etc.

3.12.4Quality of Access to CWSN: RTE stresses the importance of preparing and strengthening schools to address all kinds of diversities arising from inequalities of gender, caste, language, culture, religion or disabilities. Hence, to retain CWSN, schools would have to be prepared in terms of support services required by the child, availability of a trained/ sensitised teacher, support from a resource teacher, acceptance by peers and inclusive teaching practices. Elements like classroom space, building, furniture, equipments, seating arrangement, classroom organization, etc would have to be adapted to meet the varied and diverse educational needs of CWSN. For example, space norms would have to be altered for a child with a special need using an assistive device like wheel chair. The components under Quality would include the following:

(i)Support services: A continuum of core essential support services is required by CWSN. These services would be category specific and should be made available as per the needs of the child. These support services are essential for the access and retention of CWSN. This would include specific accommodations like availability and upgrading of aids and assistive devices according to individual needs, technological support in the form of augmentative and alternative communication tools, audiovisual material, communication board, computer access, universal design for school buildings, classrooms, transport/ escort facility, furniture and fixtures, resource room support, therapeutical support, text-books in accessible format, ICT support, vocational education and training, etc.

(ii)Teacher training: Intensive teacher training should be under taken to sensitise regular teachers on effective classroom management of children with special needs. This training should be recurrent at block/cluster levels and integrated with the on-going in-service teacher training schedules in SSA. All training modules at SCERT, DIET and BRC level should include a suitable component on education of children with special needs.

(iii)Resource support: For resource support to CWSN, especially trained special educators should be appointed, particularly for teaching special skills to children with special needs. The resource teacher maybe posted at the block or cluster level and can operate in an itinerant mode, covering a group of schools where children with special needs are enrolled. As far as possible one resource teacher from each category of disability should be appointed at the block level and multi-category training should be provided to all resource teachers to strengthen academic support to CWSN. In case, qualified special teachers as per prescribed qualifications are not available, teachers with short training courses recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) may be appointed with the condition that they will complete the full course with in three years of appointment or long term training of regular teachers should be undertaken. IE volunteers should be appointed on contractual basis at cluster/ gram panchayat level from amongst the parents/ family of CWSN and provided intensive training.

(iv)Curricular access: The curriculum must be inclusive as envisioned in NCF-2005. It should be ensured that the same curriculum be followed for children with and without special needs, but with minor adaptations like small changes in learning content, learning friendly environment, appropriate learning approach, adaptation in learning aids, flexibility in evaluation, etc. It would be important to provide text books and curriculum in accessible formats for CWSN.

(v)Individualized Educational Plan (IEP): An IEP should be prepared for every child with special needs in consultation with parents and experts. Its implementation should be monitored from time to time. The IEP should review the effectiveness of various strategies and support services used by children with special needs periodically, after developing indicators.

(vi)Building synergy with special schools: Special schools will have to become resource centres for inclusive education and provide support to IE. The nature of this resource support can cover aspects like teacher training, development of material and appropriate TLMs, providing support services to CWSN, etc. In some cases, special schools can also impart special training to CWSN for a specified period of time and then mainstream into regular schools.

(vii)Research: SSA will encourage research in all areas of education of children with special needs including research for designing and developing new assistive devices, teaching aids, special teaching material and other items necessary to give a child with disability equal opportunities in education.

3.12.5Social Access to CWSN: Ensuring social access to CWSN is a greater challenge as compared to providing physical access as it requires an in-depth understanding of the various educational needs of CWSN and bringing about attitudinal changes at various levels and providing institutional support to sustain those attitudinal changes. A very important dimension of social access is discrimination. CWSN are subjected to many forms of discrimination. In this context teachers and peers have a very important role to play. Special emphasis must be given to education of girls with disabilities. Social access could include the following:

(i)Parental training and community mobilisation. - Parents of children with disabilities should receive counselling and training on how to bring them up and teach them basic survival skills. Strong advocacy and awareness programmes should form a part of strategy to educate every child with special needs. A component on disability should be included in all the modules for parents, VEC and community. School development plans must be developed keeping in mind the needs of CWSN.

(ii)Peer sensitisation. - Another group that plays a very crucial role in the context of CWSN is the peer group. Various programmes and curricular and co-curricular activities could be designed for peer sensitisation like inclusive sports, tournaments, cultural programmes, inclusive exposure visits, etc.

3.12.6Expenditure upto Rs. 3000/- per disabled child could be incurred in a financial year to meet the special learning needs of such children. The ceiling on expenditure per disabled child will apply at the district level. On-going monitoring and evaluation should be carried out to refine the programme from time to time. For this, appropriate monitoring mechanisms and tools should be devised at every level and field tested at regular intervals.

3.13Support for Gender and Social Inclusion

1.	Special Training for Out-of-School Children	• For age appropriate admission ofout-of-school children, and continued support to enable them tocope with regular school
2.	Recruitment of teachers	• 50% women teachers to be recruited underSSA
		• Stipulation of language knowledge to helprecruitment of tribal teachers
3.	Curricular reform	• Revision of syllabi, textbooks andsupplementary learning material to incorporate gender and socialinclusion dimensions
4.	Teacher Training	• Revision of training designs toincorporate gender and social inclusion in all aspects oftraining
		• Periodic in-service training
		• Support for 'untrained' teachers toacquire professional qualifications as per NCTE norms
5.	Child entitlements	• Textbooks, uniforms
		• Mid-day-meals from MDM scheme
		• Other entitlements as sourced fromrelevant State Government departments
6.	Training for members of SMCs and PRIs	• Revision of training designs toincorporate gender and social inclusion in all aspects oftraining
7.	Community awareness	• Support for community mobilisation
8.	Innovation Fund	• Support for innovative interventions tosupplement mainstream SSA interventions for addressing specificchallenges faced by the most disadvantaged groups
9.	KGBV	• Residential facility within upper primaryschool coupled with emotional support and life skill upgradation
10.	NPEGEL	• Support for community awareness,vocational training and ECCE
11.	25 % reservation in private unaided schools	• 25% reservation in private unaidedschools to children belonging to disadvantaged weaker sections

3.14Summing Up

3.14.1In SSA, equity means equal opportunity for all children to complete elementary education irrespective of their gender, religion, caste, socio-economic, cultural, or linguistic background and geographical location. It cuts across the components of access, enrolment, retention, participation and quality. Given that exclusion tends to take highly contextual forms - varying in scope, form and degree in different parts of the country (and sometimes within a state too) strategies to achieve equity and inclusion must come to grips with the local situation within which a particular form of inequity or exclusion is manifested. Hence, careful situation analysis and systematic documentation of forms of exclusion would be a necessary starting point.

3.14.2While the RTE Act provides a legal entitlement for children belonging to disadvantaged groups and communities and weaker sections, their actual participation will require innovative and sustained measures integrated with mainstream interventions to ensure meaningful progress on equity. In order to pursue these measures, SSA would strive to find newer ways of breaking the barriers that prevent the participation of children from these backgrounds. Girls do not constitute a homogeneous category, therefore, the particular challenges of girls within these communities will be highlighted. Further reality of that children experience multiple form of disadvantage will in form planning and implementation.

3.14.3Government schools cater to most of the disadvantaged groups and weaker sections and thus, it is important to work with government agencies on a multi-pronged strategy that includes advocacy, teacher training, curricular reform as well as community sensitisation.

3.14.4SSA will continue to focus on addressing the needs of girls, however, the understanding will go beyond that to include a transformation of gender relations. Gender will be understood as a social construct that allocates distinct qualities, roles, norms and actions for boys/ men and girls/women. Thus the strategy for addressing gender concerns will also include boys. In the context of RTE the importance of the role of women in SMC's will be taken on board.

3.14.5To the extent possible, mainstream SSA provisions should be applied in a cohesive manner to address equity issues in a holistic manner and on sustainable basis. Innovative and other supplementary provisions e.g. residential facility, transportation etc. should be seen as 'exception' measures in a context specific manner with well defined deliverables and timelines.

3.14.6As issues of quality and equity are inextricably linked, efforts which are aimed at, one must also include the other. In the context of implementing RTE, quality concerns- curriculum, textbooks, teaching-learning materials, the use of space in the classroom, infrastructure, assessment and teacher trainings for example-will be highlighted. Further, each of these issues would need to be addressed by a gender perspective. SSA shall continue to envision and rigorously implement interventions focusing on curriculum, pedagogy and assessment to address deep rooted practices of discrimination and prejudice.

3.14.7Reaching out to communities from where the children come will be a key area of SSA interventions for equity and inclusion. This would! warrant community participation and ownership in interventions for equity I and inclusion. In addition, close involvement with other departments as well as with non-governmental and civil society organisations will also be I a crucial factor in ensuring universal participation of excluded children.

3.14.8SSA will encourage participation of NGOs and civil society organisations by way of participatory need assessment, implementation and monitoring. In addition, these agencies are expected to play a proactive role in advocacy for children's rights with emphasis on right to education, and, report any violations.

3.14.9. In the case of children without adult protection, lack of community support and ownership has been a major challenge. To overcome this, children's own community should be encouraged to mobilise in the form of 'collectives' or 'support groups' and these collectives and support groups should be given enough space to voice their concerns and participate in planning, implementing and monitoring interventions for their education. SSA would encourage States/UTs to partner with NGOs that have relevant experience to facilitate these initiatives.

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