Impact of Bridge Course Centres

Impact of Bridge Course Centres A Report RESEARCH & EVALUATION CELL DISTRICT PROJECT OFFICE SARVA SHIKSHA MISSION, BARDHAMAN

Executive Summary Bridge Course Centre or Setu-Pathakram Kendra under the Alternative & Innovative Educational Programs (AIE) - Alternative schooling facilities that are more contextual, location specific and flexible; Total 105 Primary level Bridge Course Centres and 500 Upper Primary level Bridge Course Centres functioning; Estimated 13,000 learners enrolled in these centres; About 24 learners on an average in each surveyed BCC; There are more girls than boys in the centres, especially in the upper age groups; Students Regularity is 37 per cent in the Primary level BCCs, and 57 per cent in Upper Primary BCCs; Attendance is higher among girls than boys; 23 per cent of learners in the Primary level BCCs, and 7 per cent of learners in Upper Primary BCCs have already been Mainstreamed; Another 25 per cent to be mainstreamed in this academic session; Estimated 8000 children will not be mainstreamed even after current year; More than 20 per cent of Primary level learners and 18 per cent of Upper Primary level learners are first generation learners; 37 per cent surveyed learners were Never Enrolled, 63 per cent are Drop Outs; 27 per cent have dropped out due to Financial problems, 19 per cent due to working; Financial Stringency is main problem in the Central region, Working status of the children is the main problem in the Western region; Timing of the course makes it impossible to place the students in formal school after completion of the Bridge Course; Lack of guardian awareness and acute poverty of the families are also critical issues; Problem specific to the Western region is that of Language; Scheme needs streamlining, incentives to students, vocational component..

CONTENTS Introduction... 6 1. Sarva Shiksha Mission Education for All - Development for All... 6 2. District Profile A Background... 7 METHODOLOGY... 11 1. Methodology... 11 Detail Report... 14 1. Outreach & Coverage... 14 2. Enrolment... 14 3. Regularity of Attendance... 20 4. Mainstreaming... 21 5. Background of the Learners... 22 6. Causes of being Out of School... 27 7. Problems faced by BCCs... 31 a) Infrastructural problems:... 31 b) Student level problems:... 32 c) Other problems:... 32 CONCLUSION... 34 1. Performance... 34 2. Problems... 35 3. Suggestions... 36

ACKNOWLEDEMENT We are gladly expressing our view that the Research & Evaluation Cell, Sarva Shiksha Mission, Bardhaman had undertaken some qualitative Studies to assess various programmes of SSM. A research work on Bridge Course Centres is being published. The findings of this study should be useful to the educationists, planners and policy makers to formulate future policy and strategies on elementary level of education on the Out of school children. District Research & Evaluation Cell likes to express special thanks to Dr. Rajarshi Majumder, Department of Economics, Burdwan University to undertake this research works and spent a considerable amount of his time and effort. Immense gratitude is expressed to the Savadhipati, Zilla Parishad, Bardhaman, District Project Director and District Magistrate, Bardhaman, Chairman, DPSC, Additional District Magistrate ( in Charge of SSM), District Project Officer, SSM, Bardhaman and other district officials for extending their kind support and encouragement. We are grateful to the field Investigators for collection the data avoiding all kinds of risks in visiting interior villages and schools. The study is not possible without direct cooperation of the children, we hope their bright future. Let us make the world a better for the Children. District Research & Evaluation Cell, Sarva Shiksha Mission, Bardhaman

Acknowledgement To implement Universalization of Elementary Education (UEE) the Government of India and our State Government have taken many necessary steps. On the track of UEE the District Sarva Shiksha Mission, Bardhaman has been initiated many pro grammes from the beginning of the project. In the field of Research & Evaluation, District Sarva Shiksha Mission undertook some qualitative studies to assess the branches of the project. District SSM completed Impact Study on Bridge Course Centres jointly with Economics Department, the University of Burdwan. The main objectives of these studies are to find out the success stories of those areas and also the setback. Here we like to find out the picture of mainstreaming from the BCCs and their view towards education. I would like to express my gratitude especially to Dr. Rajarshi Majumder, Head of the Economics Department, BU to undertake this research works and spent a considerable amount of his time and effort. I am grateful to all the district level officials and personnel for providing immense support at every stage. I congratulate all the Shikshasebi, children, community members, guardians and teachers who helped us in completing this research work. District Project Officer, Sarva Shiksha Mission, Bardhaman

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1. Sarva Shiksha Mission Education for All - Development for All One of the key ingredient of Human Development as envisaged by Social Scientists, reiterated by UNDP, and accepted by National, State, and Regional Governments is Education. More specifically, greater access to knowledge in its various dimensions is critical to building of human capabilities, enhancement of freedom, and empowerment of people. The millennium Development Goals (MDG) adopted and ratified by India also speaks of Universalisation of Primary Education and Promoting gender Equality in Education. In spite of all the rhetoric, universal access to basic education still remains an unfulfilled pledge in many parts of the world, despite pronouncements at various international fora. The World Declaration on Education for All, the Framework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs, the E9 Declaration for Education for All, and the 40-year old Universal Declaration of Human Rights were aimed at giving prominence to basic education. The Jomtien Conference of 1990 established the goal of achieving basic Education for All (EFA) by the year 2000. The Jomtien Declaration provided an expanded vision for basic education, to include early childhood care and education, programs for out -of-school children and literacy programs for adults. The Declaration laid emphasis on equity in providing access to every child, youth and adult as also quality in schooling to ensure acceptable learning levels. The Declaration also called for strengthening partnerships in the provision of education with non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and local communities. Universalisation of Elementary Education (UEE) in India is still a distant prospect. The statistics of this non-achievement are only too well known. Half of all women and nearly one -third of men are illiterate. There are wide disparities in educational attainments across States and between genders. While the often discussed state of Kerala has reached near-total literacy, pockets of Rajasthan have female literacy rates as low as 14%, posing a serious challenge to the process of social and economic development. Bihar and Rajasthan have the lowest female adult literacy rate of 27%.

While the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in the country increased to 90% in 1997-98, the Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) is only about 60.3%. The NER for girls is 48.8%, over 22% lower than that of boys. The worst gender differential is obtained in Rajasthan where the NER for girls is 47% lower than that of boys. 35 million children of the age group 6-11 years in the country were out of school in 1997. An average of nearly a quarter of the children enrolled across the primary Grades repeat classes. While in Kerala, all children enrolled in Grade I go on to Grade V, at the national level, only an average of 56% children survive to Grade V. India is, thus, grappling with serious problems of inadequate access, quality and inefficiency in the schooling system. Under such circumstances, The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) launched in India in 2001 aimed to extend useful and quality elementary education to all children in the age group of 6-14 years before the end of 2010. The SSM programme includes specific schemes for the development of pre -primary education, education of female children, education of children belonging to SC/ST community, education of mentally and physically challenged children, education of the school dropouts and the education of the displaced children. School lunch programme, Computer education at the elementary level, activity oriented education, education through Bridge Courses, Remedial Courses and Back to School Camps are some of its other schemes. The Government of India implements the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) in partnership with the State Governments/ Union Territories and the local self- Governments. SSM has been in full swing in West Bengal, and Bardhaman district is no exception. The progress of SSM in the District has been commendable. 5870 EGS/AIE Centres have been brought under the purview of the scheme, about 920 Additional Teachers & 3100 Para-Teachers have been appointed. In the short span of its working, it has completed 74 New School Buildings, 5550 Additional Class Rooms, 59 Circle Level Resource Centres, 234 CRCs, 5718 ACRs, and 6 Integrated Education Complexes. 2. District Profile A Background Scaling for population differences, Net Enrolment Ratio (NER) is commonly used measure relevant for capturing the collecting power of the educational system. The Net Enrolme nt Ratio (NER) for Primary stages for the Nation as a whole has been 64 per cent in 2000-01. For the Junior High & Secondary levels, the NER was 45 per cent during the same period. For Bardhaman district, the NER has been 90.5 per cent

and 82.7 per cent in the Primary and High Schools stages respectively. What is interesting is that Female Enrolment Ratios are higher than the Male NERs. One of the factors may be under -age and over-age enrolment of girls in primary and Junior High schools respectively. Dropout rates (DOR) are substantially high in India. The primary, Junior High and secondary level DOR in 2000-01 were 40.3%, 54.5% and 68.3% in primary, Junior High and secondary levels respectively. This indicates that only about 32% of the enrolled students completed their school education at the national level. Also, the DOR are higher for the girls compared to the boys. For the district, the situation is not that alarming, and the DORs are only 7.8 per cent for Primary level. However, for Junior High stages it is 35 per cent. The presence of dropout and never enrolled children requires specific intervention and BCCs have been a step towards this. Bardhaman District at a Glance Indicators 2001 2007 Area (Sq KM) 7024 7024 Number of CD Blocks (Rural) 31 31 Population 68,95,000 75,00,000 Population Density (per sq km) 981 1,067 Literacy (%) 70.2 90.1 Child Population (5-14 Years) 13,50,000 14,22,000 Enrolment Ratio Primary 83.7 90.5 Enrolment Ratio Upper Primary 41.2 82.7 Drop Out Rate Primary 15.7 7.8 Drop Out Rate Upper Primary 50.0 27.1 Out of School Children 5-8 Years 9,000 4,500 Out of School Children 8-14 Years 26,000 13,700 Source: Office of the DPO, SSA -Bardhaman, Census of India 2001. Table 1 Even after opening new schools in unserved habitations by way of formal schools, many children who are dropouts, never enrolled, working, or living in isolated villages and hamlets, especially girls, need flexibility in school timings to adjust to domestic demands of work, sibling care, and household chores. For such children,

alternative and innovative education facilities have been provided in the district. Moving away from a rigid centre-based approach, alternative schooling facilities that are more contextual, location specific and flexible have been evolved. One of the major components of the SSM serving this purpose is the Bridge Course Centre or Setu-Pathakram Kendra under the Alternative & Innovative Educational Programs (AIE). Bridge Course is a strategy to mainstream children of older age, especially those Never Enrolled (NE) and Dropouts (DO) back to Formal schools through a short course. This is aimed at weaning children away from work and enabling the family to reallocate work done by children amongst the adults. The duration of course was six month initially, but has been extended to nine months from 2007-08. At end of the course, the children are evaluated, and admitted to formal school in the appropriate class. Two levels of bridge courses are being run in the district under the SSM Primary Centres for placing children in Classes 1-4, and Upper Primary Centres for placing children in Class 5 (Table 2). Two Residential Bridge Course Centres are also run in the district. Bridge Course Centres in Bardhaman District at a Glance Indicators Number of CD Blocks (Rural) 31 Number of CD Blocks with Primary BCCs 14 Number of CD Blocks with Upper Pr BCCs 29 Primary Upper Primary Total Number of Bridge Course Centres - Actual 105 400 605 Number of Bridge Course Centres - Surveyed 25 35 60 Number of Learners in these Total 606 816 1422 Boys 307 393 606 Girls 299 423 816 Source: Office of the DPO, SSA -Bardhaman, Census of India 2001. Table 2 The strategy for Bridge Course Centre (BCC) is to provide alternative learning facilities to children with express purpose of mainstreaming as many children as possible into formal system. The implementation of strategy is done with active involvement of the Village Education & Health Committee (VEHC) and the loca l community. The VEHC & the local community have freedom to determine timing, duration, venue and holiday pattern for the BCC as per learner convenience aiming at

transacting on an average four hours of learning. The centres are managed by the VEHC in association with the Gram Panchayats, Panchayat Samitis, Block Resource Centres and District Level Resource Organisations. Priority is given to small and remote habitations with at least 20 out of school children in the relevant age group. All teachers use the TLM provided by SSA, as well as develop their own TLM from locally available materials. These include pictures for story-telling, cards for letter recognition and counting, etc. The method of teaching differs from centre to centre, depending on the educational status of children. In this report we evaluate the working of the BCCs in Bardhaman District so as to further streamline the working of the AIE program. We however start with the Methodology, and a Background Profile of the district.

Chapter 2 METHODOLOGY 1. Methodology The methodology followed in this Report is in accordance with the standard requirements for socio-economic surveys - monitoring at least 10 per cent of the Bridge Course Centres as samples. Out of the total 605 BCCs presently functioning in the district, it was decided to survey at least 60, with representation from almost all the Blocks of the district. Survey Coverage of Bridge Course Centres in Bardhaman District Primary Indicators Total Numbers Numbers Surveyed Number of CD Blocks (Rural) - Aggregate 14 14 East 04 04 Central 05 05 West 05 05 Number of Bridge Course Centres - Aggregate 105 25 East 32 7 Central 38 9 West 35 9 Number of Learners - Aggregate 2056 164 East 660 33 Central 684 74 West 712 57 Source: Office of the DPO, SSA -Bardhaman, Field Survey, June 2008. Table 3a A Purposively Stratified Random Sampling Technique was adopted to identify the Sample BCCs. As is the norm in any monitoring activity, our random survey method sought to ensure that the findings are representative of the reality. We covered both primary and upper primary BCCs. In all the surveyed BCCs, at least 25 per cent of the enrolled children were interviewed. In total, 326 learners wa s interviewed which is about 2.5 per cent of the total. Survey Coverage of Bridge Course Centres in Bardhaman District Upper Primary

Indicators Total Numbers Numbers Surveyed Number of CD Blocks (Rural) - Aggregate 29 19 East 9 05 Central 11 07 West 9 07 Number of Bridge Course Centres - Aggregate 500 35 East 151 12 Central 210 10 West 139 13 Number of Learners - Aggregate 11812 162 East 3627 63 Central 4519 46 West 3666 53 Source: Office of the DPO, SSA -Bardhaman, Field Survey, June 2008. Table 3b As per norms spelt out by SSA (in its website www.ssa.nic.in/ssaalt.asp), the functioning of the BCCs should be evaluated on the following lines: A. Quantitative indicators Children s Enrolment Regularity of Attendance Visits of the CRP Meetings of VEHC/School committee Number of children who justify the school Age distribution of learners Distribution of children across different grades Numbers admitted to formal schools. B. Qualitative indicators Classroom Environment Volunteers competence and relationship with children. Teaching learning process Children s achievement levels and progression to higher grades We have kept these indicators in mind when evaluating the BCCs.

At a spatial level, the district has a varied geography and socio -economic conditions amply reflected in the three sub-regions East [CD Blocks - Kalna-I, Kalna -II, Katwa-I, Katwa-II, Ketugram-I, Ketugram-II, Mongalkote, Monteswar, Purbasthali-I, Purbasthali-II], Central [CD Blocks - Ausgram-I, Ausgram-II, Bhatar, Burdwan-I, Burdwan-II, Galsi-II, Jamalpur, Khandoghosh, Memari-I, Memari-II, Raina-I, Raina- II], and West [CD Blocks - Andal, Barabani, Durgapur -Faridpur, Galsi-I, Jamuria, Kanksa, Pandabeswar, Raniganj, Salanpur]. Wherever possible, we have tried to bring out the relative situation in these three sub-regions so that policies may be streamlined according to local conditions.

Chapter 3 DETAIL REPORT 1. Outreach & Coverage One of the major objectives of SSA is to ensure all children of 6-14 years are enrolled either in formal schools or in EGS and AIE Centres. Reasons for the children to be out of school are: a) Household work & Sibling care; b) Engaged in work due to poverty; c) Migration; d) Unwillingness of Parents; e) Gender related reasons; and, f) School too far or School not attractive To suppress those forces, the District Project Office of SSM has opened about 600 BCCs in the district where approximately 14,000 learners are enrolled (Table 2). There are 105 Primary BCCs and 500 Upper Primary BCCs with 2124 and 11505 students respectively. The coverage of the BCCs are quite extensive and are dispersed across most of the Blocks in the district. We have surveyed 60 BCCs, giving adequate representation to spatial spread (Table 3a & 3b). 2. Enrolment The enrolment in the 60 surveyed BCCs is 1432, i.e. about 24 learners on an average in each BCC. Of these, 606 are in the Primary (Class I-IV) level BCCs and 826 are in Upper Primary (Class V) level BCCs. While a majority of these learners are Drop Out from schools, a substantial number, especially in the Primary level BCCs has never been to schools (Table 4 & 5). Survey Findings Type Distribution of Learners in Primary BCCs Percentageage of Learners Area as Drop Outs Never Enrolled Aggregate 56.3 43.7 East 37.5 62.5 Central 78.2 21.8 West 14.1 85.9 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 4

It is observed that most of the students are Drop Outs, though for the Primary level BCCs, about 37 per cent of the learners are Never Enrolled students. There is regional variation, and whereas the Central region follows the overall trend, in the Eastern and Western region, incidence of Never Enrolled students is substantially high. The situation is serious in the Weste rn region where about 85 per cent of the learners in the Primary level BCCs have never been to schools. This indicates that the basic enrolment drive in this region has not been up to the mark. For the Upper Primary level too, the incidence of Never Enrolled children is almost half in this region. Survey Findings Type Distribution of Learners in Upper Primary BCCs Area Percentageage of Learners as Drop Outs Never Enrolled Aggregate 67.1 32.9 East 91.7 8.3 Central 67.3 32.7 West 52.3 47.7 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 5 The age, gender and spatial spread of the interviewed learners are given in Table 6. It is observed that there are more girls than boys in the centres, especially in the upper age groups. This is reflective of the fact that incidence of non enrolment and dropout is more among girls than boys, especially in the Upper Primary centre.

Shares of Drop Outs and Never Enrolled Learners in Bridge Course Centres Aggregate - Primary Eastern Region - Primary Central Region - Primary Western Region - Primary Aggregate Upper Primary Eastern Region - Upper Primary Central Region - Upper Primary Western Region - Upper Primary Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure - 1

Share s of Learners Attending Regularly and Not Regularly in Bridge Course Centres - Primary Primary Boys Aggregate Primary Girls Aggregate Primary Boys East Primary Girls East Primary Boys Central Primary Girls Central Primary Boys West Primary Girls West Attending Regularly Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 2a Not Attending Regularly

Shares of Learners Attending Regularly and Not Regularly in Bridge Course Centres Upper Primary Upper Primary Boys Aggregate Upper Primary Girls Aggregate Upper Primary Boys East Upper Primary Girls East Upper Primary Boys Central Upper Primary Girls Central Upper Primary Boys West Upper Primary Girls West Attending Regularly Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 2b Not Attending Regularly

Performance of Learners in Bridge Course Centres Primary BCCs Upper Primary BCCs Good Performers (to be mainstreamed this year) Average Performers (may be mainstreamed at end of year) Poor Performers (cannot be mainstreamed this year) Already Mainstreamed in last session All BCCs Good Performers (to be mainstreamed this year) Average Performers (may be mainstreamed at end of year) Poor Performers (cannot be mainstreamed this year) Already Mainstreamed in last session Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 3 Good Performers (to be mainstreamed this year) Average Performers (may be mainstreamed at end of year) Poor Performers (cannot be mainstreamed this year) Already Mainstreamed in last session

Survey Findings Age & Gender Distribution of Interviewed Learners Indicators Boys Girls Total Number of Learners Interviewed -Total 156 170 326 Numbers in 5-8 Age Group 42 22 64 Numbers in 9-10 Age Group 47 44 91 Numbers in 11-12 Age Group 36 52 88 Numbers in 13-14 Age Group 27 36 63 Numbers in 14+ Age Group 4 16 20 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 6 3. Regularity of Attendance One of the most important objectives of the BCCs is to instil regularity and discipline among the children so that when they are mainstreamed, they do not face problems in sticking to the routine of the formal schools. Since irregularity and subsequent lagging in class studies is a major reason behind dropping out of schools, this aspect is crucial. The situation is not very comfortable in this regard, especially in the Primary level BCCs. Survey Findings Enrolment & Attendance in Surveyed Primary BCCs Indicators Boys Girls Total Number of Learners Enrolled - Aggregate 307 299 606 East 87 93 180 Central 116 105 221 West 101 104 205 Learners Attending Regularly (%) - Aggregate 34.5 39.3 36.8 East 27.0 50.0 33.3 Central 38.9 30.3 34.8 West 28.6 52.4 40.5 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 7 It is observed that in the Primary level BCCs, only about 37 per cent of the students are regular in their attendance (Table 7). Attendance is higher among girls than boys, and in the Western region compared to the other two. In the central region however, boys are more regular than the girls.

In the Upper Primary level BCCS, about 56 per cent of the students are regular in their attendance (Table 8). Here, attendance is higher among boys than girls, and in the Western and Eastern region compared to the Central. In the Eastern region, girls are more regular than the boys. Survey Findings Enrolment & Attendance in Surveyed Upper Primary BCCs Indicators Boys Girls Total Number of Learners Enrolled - Aggregate 394 432 826 East 136 109 245 Central 84 142 226 West 174 181 355 Learners Attending Regularly (%) - Aggregate 63.8 50.0 56.6 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 8 East 60.0 66.7 62.8 Central 42.9 29.6 34.1 West 84.2 63.2 73.7 Thus, attendance is more regular in the Upper Primary section, reasons for which are discussed later. 4. Mainstreaming The most important aspect, the raison d tre of the BCCs is that of mainstreaming. The sole proclaimed objective of the centres is to wean back the out-of-school children to formal schools. This situation is not very comfortable in the district (Table 9). Of the total 1432 learners in the 60 centres, it is estimated that about 200 children have already been mainstreamed in the current academic year 138 from Primary BCCs and 62 from the Upper Primary BCCs. It is also expected that another 360 learners can be mainstreamed by the end of the 9 month course of the BCCs, i.e. by November 2008. This will leave about 900 learners still not capable to return to the formal schools in the surveyed BCCs alone 300 in the Primary level and 600 in the Upper Primary level.

Survey Findings Performance of Learners in Surveyed BCCs Primary Upper All Total Percentage of Learners BCC Primary BCC Already Mainstreamed in last session 23.2 7.6 13.7 Good Performers (to be mainstreamed this year) Average Performers (may be mainstreamed by next session) Poor Performers (cannot be mainstreamed in this course) Source: Field Survey, June 2008. 24.8 27.4 26.4 31.3 27.2 28.8 20.7 37.8 31.1 Table 9 In proportionate terms, this implies that almost 50 per cent of the enrolled children in Primary BCCs and 65 per cent of the learners in the Upper Primary BCCs will not be mainstreamed after completion of the scheme. This translates about 8000 children in the whole district! The success story is slightly better in the Western region and poorest in the Eastern region. The factors responsible for such performance are explained later. 5. Background of the Learners The study can not be complete unless we explore the socioeconomic background of the learners. This is necessary for better understanding the problems faced by these children, their prospects in continuing studies, and the methods needed to retain them within the educational system. It is observed that more than 73 per cent of the children are from large families, with average family size greater than four (Table 10 & 11). This leads to added responsibilities on them in the form of household work, looking after their siblings, or in simpler forms, leaving school early to work and add to the family income. Obviously, these children are more likely to drop out from formal schools, be irregular in BCCs, and even if mainstreamed, they would find it diffic ult to continue. This phenomenon is more evident in the Eastern region, and among girls compared to boys.

Survey Findings Background of Learners in Primary BCCs Percentage of Learners with Boys Girls Total Family Size greater than 4 - Aggregate 70.7 75.0 72.8 East 70.4 100.0 76.7 Central 72.2 72.7 72.5 West 71.4 76.2 73.8 No other Literate in Family - Aggregate 22.4 17.9 20.2 East 53.0 50.0 51.3 Central 19.4 12.1 15.9 West 28.6 23.8 26.2 No other School-goer in Family - Aggregate 39.7 39.3 39.5 East 55.0 50.0 53.3 Central 30.6 30.3 30.4 West 57.1 52.4 54.8 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 10 If we now look at the educational background of the parents, we find that of the total number of learners interviewed by us, more than 20 per cent of primary level learners and 18 per cent of Upper Primary level learners have no other literate in the family. Thus, being first generation learners, they find it very difficult in convincing their parents about the necessity or utility of continuing formal education. In addition to the lack of family support & encouragement, they do not have the privilege of being tutored by their parents. Thus they are at the mercy of the school teachers unless the y can arrange for private tuitions. This again involves substantial cost which acts as a disincentive towards schooling. The incidence of parents illiteracy and first generation learning is substantially high in the Eastern region more than 50 per cent for the Primary level learners and 23 per cent for the Upper Primary level learners. This explains the lack of success of the scheme in this region as illiterate parents are reluctant to send the children to the schools and the family environment is also not conducive for learning, leading to poor performance of these children.

Survey Findings Background of Learners in Upper Primary BCCs Percentage of Learners with Boys Girls Total Family Size greater than 4 - Aggregate 70.7 68.8 69.7 East 68.0 72.2 69.8 Central 57.1 63.0 61.0 West 84.2 73.7 78.9 No other Literate in Family - Aggregate 25.9 12.5 18.9 East 28.0 16.7 23.3 Central 28.6 14.8 19.5 West 21.1 5.3 13.2 No other School-goer in Family - Aggregate 48.3 31.3 39.3 East 56.0 38.9 48.8 Central 50.0 25.9 34.1 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. West 36.8 31.6 34.2 Table 11 Apart from the earlier generation, the factor of sibling education is also very important in the success of these innovative schemes. It is sadly observed that about 40 per cent of both the groups of learners do not have any other school-going children in their family. This also reduces their scope for continuing education. This factor is also more worrisome in the Eastern region compared to the other two. The parents are mostly working as agricultural & casual labourer (Table 12). Only in the Western region, there are quite a few industrial/mining workers. The income level of the families involved is also quite low average per capita income being Rupees 600 per month only (Table 13). Only 25 per cent of the families are getting more than Rs 4000 per month. Thus the economic condition of the learners is quite adverse and is one of the main reasons behind discontinuity of schooling by these children.

Family Structure & Educational Environment in Bridge Course Centres - Primary % of Learners with Family Size greater than 4 100 80 60 40 20 0 Aggregate East Central West Family Size greater than 4 - Boys Family Size greater than 4 - Girls Family Size greater than 4 - Total % of Learners with No Other Literate in Family 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 60 50 40 30 20 10 Aggregate East Central % of Learners with No Other School-going children in Family West No other Literate in Family -Boys No other Literate in Family -Girls No other Literate in Family -Total No other School-goer in Family -Boys No other School-goer in Family -Girls 0 Aggregate East Central West No other School-goer in Family -Total Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 4

Family Structure & Educational Environment in Bridge Course Centres Upper Primary % of Learners with Family Size greater than 4 100 80 60 40 20 0 Aggregate East Central West Family Size greater than 4 - Boys Family Size greater than 4 - Girls Family Size greater than 4 - Total % of Learners with No Other Literate in Family 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 60 50 40 30 20 10 Aggregate East Central % of Learners with No Other School-going children in Family West No other Literate in Family -Boys No other Literate in Family -Girls No other Literate in Family -Total No other School-goer in Family -Boys No other School-goer in Family -Girls 0 Aggregate East Central West No other School-goer in Family -Total Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 5

Survey Findings Parents Background of Learners in BCCs Percentage of Learners with Parents as Aggregate East Central West Agricultural Labourer 48.7 47.8 67.3 23.8 Industrial Worker 8.5 2.2 8.2 12.5 Miner 7.6 0.0 0.9 21.3 Others 32.2 47.8 21.8 37.5 Disable 3.0 2.2 1.8 5.0 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 12 The situation is worse in the Eastern region compared to the other two. Thus, it is evident that the success of the BCC scheme is mixed while there are evidences of quite a good job being done by the Instructors in the BCCs, the socioeconomic background of the learners makes it difficult for mainstreaming them. Survey Findings Family Income of Learners in BCCs Percentage of Learners with Family Income Aggregate East Central West Less than Rs 1000 pm 5.1 0.0 4.5 8.8 Rs 1000 Rs 2000 pm 14.8 23.9 15.5 8.8 Rs 2000 Rs 4000 pm 55.1 43.5 56.4 60.0 More than Rs 4000 pm 25.0 32.6 23.6 22.5 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 13 6. Causes of being Out of School The situation would become clearer if we look at the problems as cited by the interviewed learners regarding their non-attendance in formal schools (Table 14a & 14b). While 37 per cent of the surveyed learners were never enrolled, the remaining 63 per cent were once enrolled but have left thereafter. Of those who have dropped out, the reasons for doing so are mixed. While, 27 per cent have dropped out due to financial problems, and another 19 per cent due to working, only about 3 per cent cite Poor performance in the formal schools as their main problem.

The problems are diverse in the three regions. While Finance is the main problem in the Central region, in the Western region working status of the children is the main problem. Survey Findings Reasons for being Out of Formal School - Boys Percentage of Learners Total East Central West Left due to Financial Problem 12.1 3.8 18.0 10.0 Household Work 18.1 34.6 8.0 20.0 Working to Earn 26.7 23.1 24.0 32.5 Poor Performance 3.4 7.7 4.0 0.0 Lack of Interest / Incentive 15.5 11.5 20 12.5 Parents not interested 6.0 3.8 10 2.5 Poor School environment / Ill Treatment of Teachers 18.1 15.4 16.0 22.5 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 14a The reasons are also different for the boys and girls. For the boys, having to work to earn is the main reason in aggregate, while for the girls, financial problem is the main reason. This indicates that Child Labour is more notorious among Boys, while parents with financial problems are sacrificing the education of the girl child. This has serious implications for the overall socioeconomic situation not only for the present but for future generations as well. Survey Findings Reasons for being Out of Formal School - Girls Percentage of Learners Total East Central West Left due to Financial Problem 40.8 20.0 60.0 22.5 Household Work including Sibling Care 10.0 15.0 8.3 10.0 Working to Earn 10.8 25.0 6.7 10.0 Poor Performance 3.3 5.0 5.0 0.0 Lack of Interest / Incentive 10.0 15.0 6.7 12.5 Parents not interested 13.3 10.0 8.3 22.5 Poor School environment / Ill Treatment of Teachers 11.7 10.0 5.0 22.5 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 14b

Occupational Distribution of Parents for Learners in Bridge Course Centres Aggregate East Central West Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 6 Family Income for Learners in Bridge Course Centres Aggregate East Central West Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 7

Reasons for being Out of School for Learners in Bridge Course Centres BOYS Aggregate East Central West Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 8 Reasons for being Out of School for Learners in Bridge Course Centres - GIRLS Aggregate East Central West Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Figure 9

7. Problems faced by BCCs The Centres are also facing certain problems that are hindering their teaching-learning process. The problems can be divided into Infrastructural Problems, Student level problems, and Other problems (Table 15). a) Infrastructural problems: It is observed that for the Primary BCCs, the most important problem is the lack of Building. This is followed by Non-availability of Drinking Water and Electricity. On the other hand, the main problem of the Upper Primary BCCs is Lack of Electricity followed by non-availability of blackboards and building. This infrastructural requirements needs to be catered to by the administration through coordination between SSA, VEHC, and local self government organisations. Survey Findings Problems faced by BCCs Percentage of Centres reporting following problems Primary BCC Upper Primary BCC All Total Infrastructure Building 25.0 8.0 15.6 Infrastructure Electricity 25.0 12.0 17.8 Infrastructure Drinking Water 25.0 8.0 15.6 Infrastructure Toilets 5.0 8.0 6.7 Infrastructure Blackboards 10.0 12.0 11.1 Irregular Students 15.0 28.0 22.2 Working Students 30.0 64.0 48.9 Learners busy in Household work 40.0 24.0 31.1 Lack of Incentive to Learners 15.0 16.0 15.6 Lack of Guardian Awareness 10.0 20.0 15.6 Over-age students 0.0 8.0 4.4 Timing not Correct 20.0 16.0 17.8 Placement Problems 5.0 12.0 8.9 Poverty 5.0 24.0 15.6 School far away 0.0 16.0 8.9 Language problem 20.0 8.0 13.3 Source: Field Survey, June 2008. Table 15

b) Student level problems: A significant number of centres argue that there are substantial problems at the level of the students that present smooth functioning and good performance of the BCCs. At the Primary level, many children are busy attending to domestic duties or engaged in some remunerative work. This hampers their regularity at the BCC. For the Upper Primary level, 64 per cent students are working at some level or other. This keeps them busy and they do not find time to study at home. c) Other problems: Some other factors have also emerged as roadblocks in smooth working of the scheme. A major problem is the timing of the scheme. Most of the current centres started in Jan-Feb and hence will continue till September-October. However the academic session in all schools start around May-June. Hence it becomes impossible to place the students in formal school after completion of the Bridge Course. Lack of guardian awareness and acute poverty of the families are also critical issues that are affecting the learners progress and continuity. This needs to be tackled from the social front through awareness generation and poverty eradication programmes. Another problem specific to the Western region is that of Language. While a large number of the children, especially the poor among them, are from Hindi speaking families, the whole scheme is being run with Bengali teachers and TLM. This is making the learning process unattractive and implausible for the children. They are not finding the lessons worthwhile in their environment and neither are they getting any help from their family members in this regard. This needs to be addressed urgently. At least for the hamlets where most of the Out-of-School children are Hindi-speaking, the teachers and the TLM should be in Hindi or English.

1 1 1 Figure 10 Incidence of Various Problems faced by Bridge Course Centres Primary BCCs 0 10 20 30 40 50 Percentage of Centres Upper Primary BCCs 0 20 40 60 80 Percentage of Centres All BCCs 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Percentage of Cenres Source: Field Survey, June 2008 Language problem School far away Poverty Placement Problems Timing not Correct Over-age students Lack of Guardian Awareness Lack of Incentive to Learners Learners busy in Household work Working Students Irregular Students Infrastructure Blackboards Infrastructure Toilets Infrastructure Drinking Water Infrastructure Electricity Infrastructure Building Language problem School far away Poverty Placement Problems Timing not Correct Over-age students Lack of Guardian Awareness Lack of Incentive to Learners Learners busy in Household work Working Students Irregular Students Infrastructure Blackboards Infrastructure Toilets Infrastructure Drinking Water Infrastructure Electricity Infrastructure Building Language problem School far away Poverty Placement Problems Timing not Correct Over-age students Lack of Guardian Awareness Lack of Incentive to Learners Learners busy in Household work Working Students Irregular Students Infrastructure Blackboards Infrastructure Toilets Infrastructure Drinking Water Infrastructure Electricity Infrastructure Building

Chapter 4 CONCLUSION In this section we will summarise the performance of the BCCs, mention the problems faced by them, and provide some suggestions for their more efficient functioning. 1. Performance To summarise our study, the performance of the BCCs in Burdwan district is mixed. This innovative scheme has been able to bring back about half of the out of school children to the formal schools. This is really a success of the scheme and the personnel involved in its implementation. Moreover, these BCCs also provide quite good leaving opportunities at affordable costs and flexible timings to the marginal children. This is a major value addition and should be seen as an important achievement of the scheme. In most cases the learners who are regularly attending BCCs are reluctant to go back to formal school because of the rigid discipline in the latter. In the BCCs the learners attain personal care and learn at their own pace making the process enjoyable and effective. This is in sharp contrast to formal school where the not so bright students find themselves thrown out of the system. The Volunteers are regular, well accepted by the learners and competent. The infrastructural and logistical support provided by the SSM is also adequate. Local VEHCs and Panchayati Raj Institutions are lending full cooperation to the scheme. Lots of students who would not have learned anything are coming regularly, learning basic textual reading, comprehension, and sums. The flexibility in timings are allowing many of them to continue with their works be it household chores, domestic duties, or working as agricultural labourer, and yet coming to school. This is indeed a formidable success of the scheme. Most significant success of the scheme is that most of the learners are now attracted towards education they want to continue their studies. Creation of such eagerness and enthusiasm is very important in not only mainstreaming these out of school children but also for their staying back in schools. This has happened because of close personal linkage and association between the teacher and the learners.

However, this success is not uniform across grades or region. The performance is substantially better in primary level compared to upper primary, and in the Central region compared to the aggregate. This difference is one to specific problems faced by the upper primary level BCCs and the Eastern region. 2. Problems Identified problem areas of the scheme relates to low Percentage of mainstreaming not because of faults of the scheme or performance of the centres, but because of socio-economic conditions of the learners. However, a few non-functioning centres were also identified during the survey and they were reported to appropriate authorities. Corrective steps have been taken in this regard. Other problems that we observed in the present system are mainly related to socio - economic condition of the learners rather than the scheme itself. It is true that infrastructural requirements need to be fulfilled. The timing also should be such that the course ends just in time for a new academic session for smooth transition of the students from the BCCs to formal schools. But the main problem is that the socio economic conditions of the learners are quite adverse. A large number of them have large families, meagre family income and no other literate/ school-goer in the family. This makes formal education quite prohibitive. In addition, distance from formal schools also makes it sometimes virtually impossible for the kids to continue education in the mainstream. This problem is more acute for the Hindi/Urdu speaking children who are present in substantial numbers in the Western region of the district. For example, young girls need to travel more than 8 kilometres to attend Hindi medium High School in Raniganj block. It is no surprise that Drop Out is quite high in this region. This is also related to the problem of guardian s lack of interest in sending their children to the centre regularly or to formal schools after completion of the bridge course. Under economic duress they look at their sons as earning members and to their daughters as replacements for their working mothers. Consequently the continuity of education of learners is quite questionable. Another problem that we have identified is the lack of coordination between the Upper Primary centres and the high schools where these learners shall be placed. Formal high schools are refusing admission to learners from BCCs on grounds of overage, lack of proper certificate or simply on grounds of poor quality of these

students. While there is no doubt that students from the BCCs are not at par with those studying in formal schools for four years continuously, we must keep in mind that schools have a moral responsibility to accommodate these marginal students also. These issues have to be sorted out at the administrative level. 3. Suggestions We would like to put forward few suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the scheme. First, as we have mentioned earlier, the timing of the course should be such that it ends by April-May so as to place the students at the beginning of academic session. Second, better coordination between formal schools and the BCCs is extremely important. The VEHC and the local PRIs have to play a more pro- active role in this regard. The performance of the Shiksha-Bandhu has to be closely monitored and expanded to make her the coordinator of such administrative issues. Third, provisioning of light tiffin to the learners (two biscuits and a boiled egg perhaps) would look after their nutritional level and also act as an incentive. Some scholarship may also be offered to the learners at the BCCs so that they attend classes regularly and not go off to work to supplement family income. Fourth, supply of all TLM, Books, and Blackboards should be done within 15 days of commencement of classes. Without these, the quality of teaching and the performance of the learners would suffer, as observed by us in many cases. In addition, at least for the hamlets where most of the Out-of-School children are Hindi-speaking, the teachers and the TLM should be in Hindi or English. Fifth, in the summer and monsoon days, lack of proper building is acting as a major problem area. All primary school buildings and ICDS centres, even local Panchayat Bhavans may be used for the BCCs and these have to be ensured administrative. In few cases the locations of the centre is not at all conducive to learning of young children and have to be relocated. Sixth, experiments like residential BCC seem to be highly successful (See Box). These may be replicated with one such centre in each block initially at least. NGOs and multilateral agencies like DFID, UNDP and UNICEF may be approached for this purpose. These may also be linked with NSS schemes of local colleges or schools so as to ensure regular availability of teaching personnel.

Seventh, some vocational training may also be imparted at the Upper Primary level in association with local SHGs. At a more long run perspective one may think of running these BCCs throughout the year where children will come at their suitable times and learn at their suitable pace. At the end they will sit for public exams conducted by appropriated authorities ( DPSC for Primary level and WBBSE for higher levels) and on successful completion obtain certificates in that regard. In other words, open schooling system and BCCs may be merged and brought at per with formal schools. After all, we are to test whether a student has the adequate knowledge or not, not wherefrom she has acquired it. Gradual shift to such a system will not only expand our education network but also make learning enjoyable and fruitful, in addition to catering to the needs of the marginal children.