Implementing RTE still distant dream in Gujarat

With the historical Right to Education (RTE) bill in place, Gujarat like many states might be up against a logistical nightmare to implement it. Over a lakh children to target, under this ambitious plan, the state education department is looking wherever it could to seek solutions. One amongst them is the Tejgadh based tribal academy in central Gujarat.

The academy among other things has been imparting education to poor and illiterate tribal children. And what has caught the imagination of the education authorities is the unique and innovative method to impart teaching to children.

The department of District Primary Education Programme (DPEP) has already approached the Tejgadh-based Academy to adopt one of its non-formal education programme.

The non-formal education of the Bhasha has been implemented primarily for the children in the tribal areas of central Gujarat. This programme is divided into four stages where children are granted admission as per their intelligence level and their area of interest.

The programmes under which the children are taught are called Jagruti, Prakruti, Sanskruti, Swakriti and Pragati. Explaining about the programmes and how it would be possible for the DPEP to adapt the programme one of the teachers who is teaching at the Tejgadh Tribal Academy Mr Manish Rohit said, "We first get a survey form filled up wherein we are able to understand till which standard the child has attended school and what are the areas of interest of the child.''

He said that in this programme the children are not exposed to writing for at least two years. He said once they were perfect with orals then the writing job begins. Another teacher who conducts the programme Ashok Chaudhury said, "These children are taught puzzles through dismantling the Plethora paintings.'' He said that through this the imaginative skills of the children are put to test. Nature's help is taken to teach counting. He pointed out that counting is taught by counting the number of leaves and trees and things like addition and subtraction is taught with the help of stones.

Conforming about the help sought by the authorities of DPEP, Dr Ganesh Devy of Bhasha Academy said that the officials of DPEP have visited the premises of Tejgadh and interacted with the students and the teachers.  He said that the officials have been shown the programme and informed about it as well.

"At our academy we insist that teachers undergo a rigorous training of at least two years before they deal with these children,'' said Dr Devy. He said that this was one point that was stressed upon when the DPEP officials visited and they also interacted with the teachers at the Academy to understand the method and how it could be implemented.

And with a sizeable number of such children who come from tribal areas of the state, the exposure of the teachers from the schools to such a programme could only help them in handling such students.  Such cooperation with the non-governmental sector, say officials,  would  eventually help in easing the logistical difficulty in implementing the right to education programme in poor and inaccessible tribal areas of the state.