The Power of Language
Children / Creativity / Government / Innovation / Teachers

The Power of Language

When the ‘second’ language is introduced as the primary language of instruction, children often resort to rote learning without proper understanding. The bilingual approach, on the other hand would ensure learning thorough communication and not just memorisation. Bilingual systems also facilitate assessments in students… Continue reading

Towards an Educationally Progressive Maharashtra
Children / Government / Innovation / Teachers / Technology

Towards an Educationally Progressive Maharashtra

Children’s learning outcomes are a function of child-centric teaching-learning practices in the classroom, the competency and motivation-level of their teachers, the inclusive, nurturing environment provided by the school and administrators, the dynamism of the educational agencies, accountability of all actors in the system, data and evidence-backed interventions, and availability of quality infrastructure and learning resources… Continue reading

Ashramshalas: the distant dream of tribal education
Children / Government / Government, Policies / Policies / Teachers

Ashramshalas: the distant dream of tribal education

When we look at Ashramshalas, we appear to be grappling with first-line issues like infrastructure and resources – we need to look at the quality of education and opportunities as well! Why has the administration failed to attract teachers to such institutions?
Why is it taking us so long…? Is it time to think out-of-the-box? Continue reading

The Joy of Playing
Children / Environment / Health / Sports

The Joy of Playing

Nowadays, sport isn’t given the kind of importance it deserves in schools. Sure, most schools have their respective teams that compete in tournaments, but that’s just one part of it. Not everyone has to play sport to be good at it and get selected for school teams. As the kids from the Shidpada school reminded me, sport is all about the joy of playing. Continue reading

ASER 2014: Glass half full or half empty?
Children / Government / Government, Policies / Policies

ASER 2014: Glass half full or half empty?

Despite being a country that is grappling with the poor quality of education in schools and colleges, we have failed to recognise what this report has tried to bring to the fore: the gap between the increasing outreach of the system and its growing infrastructure vis-à-vis stagnating learning levels. Continue reading

Looking back and Looking forward…
Uncategorized

Looking back and Looking forward…

Looking back, it’s been a good year overall for CASER, Change Agents for School Education and Research, considering how we began, not too long ago with baby steps, in March-April, 2014.
Despite several things that we bemoan, when we look around and see all the good things happening, even if it is in small measure, one feels convinced that it’s gonna be a great year ahead! And India does have a bright future – but we can’t just cross our hands, complain and hope things will change. We need to be out there and be the change we want to see! Continue reading