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One Good Example is Worth a Thousand Theories
This comment by Stanley Fischer, the former Managing Director of the IMF is quoted by Thomas Friedman in his book ‘The World is Flat’ and perhaps best summarises a general perception that while there is no dearth of expert opinion on what should be done in the primary education sector, it is now time to look at examples of what has actually worked to analyse the reasons for this and to suggest how best these can be replicated elsewhere. The schools run by the Government of Delhi for instance have undergone a radical transformation in the past few years from a system which was once considered one of the worst in the country to one which is now undoubtedly one of the best. Drab, dull, ray and dirty buildings are giving way to bright, cheerful, clean ones with functional toilets and drinking water for all children. Teacher absenteeism, which used to be among the highest in India, has been almost wiped out and all teachers now reach their school on time and remain there for the full school day. All financial benefits such as that for school uniforms and all supplies such as text books reach each and every child and there is no diversion. Classroom teaching has undergone an amazing change with the introduction of joyful methods of teaching particularly for the primary classes, and all Delhi Government school children are learning to speak English just like all “other” children. In fact, short video clips showing the impact of the English language training imparted to school teachers under an arrangement with the British Council can be viewed at the Education Department’s official website www.edudel.nic.in. The smart children shown there creating stories in class from English words given to them by their teacher are all primary students in Standard V in Delhi Government Schools. The achievements are reflected in the fact that the overall enrolment in all classes increased by 20% in just three year period till 2008. More significantly the Government took a major decision at the start of the academic year in April 2009 to increase the number of seats available in all Delhi Government School (DGS) in primary classes by a huge 10 % in order to accommodate the increasing number of applications received for admissions. A substantial number of the new students are coming from private schools within Delhi and adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, or are children who would otherwise have gone to a private school but for the visible improvements in DGS. In fact, the national media, undoubtedly one of the hardest to please, have carried front page articles on how DGS are now a viable alternative to private schools, a far cry indeed from just a few years ago when even the Planning Commission suggested that we hand over all our schools to the private sector or NGOs as we just could not run them”.
This comment by Stanley Fischer, the former Managing Director of the IMF is quoted by Thomas Friedman in his book ‘The World is Flat’ and perhaps best summarises a general perception that while there is no dearth of expert opinion on what should be done in the primary education sector, it is now time to look at examples of what has actually worked to analyse the reasons for this and to suggest how best these can be replicated elsewhere. The schools run by the Government of Delhi for instance have undergone a radical transformation in the past few years from a system which was once considered one of the worst in the country to one which is now undoubtedly one of the best. Drab, dull, ray and dirty buildings are giving way to bright, cheerful, clean ones with functional toilets and drinking water for all children. Teacher absenteeism, which used to be among the highest in India, has been almost wiped out and all teachers now reach their school on time and remain there for the full school day. All financial benefits such as that for school uniforms and all supplies such as text books reach each and every child and there is no diversion. Classroom teaching has undergone an amazing change with the introduction of joyful methods of teaching particularly for the primary classes, and all Delhi Government school children are learning to speak English just like all “other” children. In fact, short video clips showing the impact of the English language training imparted to school teachers under an arrangement with the British Council can be viewed at the Education Department’s official website www.edudel.nic.in. The smart children shown there creating stories in class from English words given to them by their teacher are all primary students in Standard V in Delhi Government Schools. The achievements are reflected in the fact that the overall enrolment in all classes increased by 20% in just three year period till 2008. More significantly the Government took a major decision at the start of the academic year in April 2009 to increase the number of seats available in all Delhi Government School (DGS) in primary classes by a huge 10 % in order to accommodate the increasing number of applications received for admissions. A substantial number of the new students are coming from private schools within Delhi and adjoining areas in Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, or are children who would otherwise have gone to a private school but for the visible improvements in DGS. In fact, the national media, undoubtedly one of the hardest to please, have carried front page articles on how DGS are now a viable alternative to private schools, a far cry indeed from just a few years ago when even the Planning Commission suggested that we hand over all our schools to the private sector or NGOs as we just could not run them”.
