My School, E-School

By: Sudarshan Ramabadran

In order to curb drop out ratio and get to the root of identifying the reasons for student’s prolonged absence from schools, the Kutch primary education department has launched an initiative - My School, E-School.

The initiative which is into its third year running has contributed to principals having direct access to track the attendance details of their respective students and teachers. The project as a pilot was implemented 3 years back in Kidana girl’s primary school in Gandhidham taluka in Kutch. The school has a strength of 459 children and the school authorities feel that by keeping tab on the attendance of children on a regular basis has helped them identify dropouts.

“Students from families living below poverty line come here to study and it has taken immense efforts to go out to their houses and convince them of the benefits of education during the annual Shalapraveshotsav conducted by the Gujarat government. So now that we have the enrolment, it was our duty to contribute to retention as well.”, said Dilip Patel, Principal of the school.

My School, E-School

The modus operandi involved in ‘My School, E-School’ is quite simple, teachers are requested to fill in the attendance in a given format soon after they have taken the attendance in class manually. This process Dilip believed contributed to teachers as well as the principal to be in the know of the attendance of their class and in specific their own students.

“It is the responsibility of the respective class teacher to feed in their ensures we monitor the attendance of teachers as well. Once we have got the attendance details for a week, we check those students who have been regular absentees and manage to find out the reason with the help of their respective class teachers.”, explained Dilip Patel.

If on noticing cases where students have been regularly absent, the teachers reach out to the parents of the children as they have struck a rapport with them through Shala Praveshotsav.

“Recently we did have three students who did not come to school for more than 3 months, we reached out to their parents and convinced them how essential it is for their children to attend school. Since they were already aware of us as a result of Shalapraveshotsav, things were a lot easier. That is undoubtedly one of the advantages of this system that we immediately reach out to their parents if in case of prolonged absence from school as we are tracking day in day out.”, said Mansi Patel, a computer teacher in the school.

Neha Jane, an English teacher in the school said that they catch hold of at least 4-5 cases in a month, where teachers go and interact with their parents and persuade them to ensure children don’t miss regular school. A log in access is provided only to the principals as he or she can regularly monitor what the teachers are feeding in. Having obtained training to operate the software of ‘My school, e-school’ from the Kutch district primary education authorities, Dilip Patel has taken the responsibility to train all his teachers in the school.

“Teachers who have a hang of operating computers and are comfortable doing so lend their hand in training others.”, said Dilip.

Online Portal of My School, E-School

Dilip also explained that another interesting aspect of ‘My School, E-School’ is the fact that it also provides for infrastructure and other administrative details of the schools to be fed in. “I think it is one of the best ways to keep a record of what facilities the school has. It also provides the authorities with the knowledge of what is lacking in the school. For example, we may see that my school has an R.O. ( Reverse Osmosis ) plant, through this we can check if that particular plant is operational or no. The authorities will also be able to check if there are sufficient toilets in the school. All this is just made possible with the click of the mouse.”, he said.

Speaking about seeing visible results, Dilip Patel said that as a result of having an effective system like this school authorities are noticing reduction in drop out ratio. ‘My School, E-School’ has been implemented in 124 primary schools in Kutch by the district primary education authorities in partnership with corporate organisations like Adani, Wellspun and Care India who are willing to come forward and support the cause through their corporate social responsibility.

This article originally features in the book 'Good Governance : People's Voice which has been published by the Commissionerate of Information.

Clean Ambaji, Green Ambaji

 By: Sudarshan Ramabadran

Armed with the vision of Clean Ambaji, Green Ambaji; women of the Payal and Jay Ambe- Sakhi Mandal (self-help group) from below poverty line families are leading from the front in the form of change makers to contribute to an environmentally friendly Ambaji in Banaskantha.

Recognising the need to be sensitive towards the environment and laying emphasis on both solid and liquid waste management. The women have set out on an ardous task to collect waste from houses in over 7 colonies in the temple town of Ambaji.

Thanks to the efforts of these women, stray cattle, roads littered with garbage and overflowing gutters are soon becoming a past in Ambaji.

Payal & Jay Ambe Sakhi Mandal members collecting waste

Guided by Mission Mangalam, women of the Payal and Jay Ambe Sakhi Mandal have been brought together to form the Solid and Liquid waste management unit. In addition to collecting waste from the colonies, the women also gather and segregate waste from the Ambaji temple and the main market in the town.

Payal & Jay Ambe Sakhi Mandal members collecting waste from Ambaji temple and main market

“500 shops in the market have been given two dust bins, one in red and the other in green. We have explained to them that they ought to throw solid waste into the red one and the liquid waste into the green one.” said Bharti Chauhan a member of the group.

For most of the members of the group, this opportunity has come has a blessing in disguise. The opportunity has helped them get rid of uncertain times and pursue a steady income generating activity.

Earlier the women used to work in local Dharamsalas (rest houses) with undefined daily wages. Mission Mangalam has not only managed to bring them together for a purposeful objective but has succeeded in easing out their doubts by having a meaningful dialogue, helping them understand the importance of the activity.

“Prior to this, I was used to doing menial labour work with irregular payments. Sometimes if I had worked in 5 houses a day, I would get paid better. This also prompted me to be heavily dependent on my son for money. After having this dialogue with Mission Mangalam, we felt pursuing this will help us become independent and also contribute to the society at large.”, said Mangu Raval, a member of the project.

Creating awareness about Red and Green dustbins

Relentless hard work is visible as the women spend 8 hours a day in gathering and segregating solid, liquid waste and are earning Rs. 4,500 per month as a source of their livelihood.

Apart from earning, empowerment in their eyes is discernible. The women today are aware and are able to ascertain the cost per waste disposed. “If solid waste of one kilo gram is thrown outside a residence, then it can be worth Rs. 8. It depends on the quantity. This has taught us sensitivity towards managing waste.”, said Sharada Raval, another member of the group.

For some the experience has contributed to them coming out of their comfort zone to segregate waste and pursue this form of activity.

“Definitely, when I started I used to feel nauseatic on seeing waste, but with time I noticed, women like me are working hard to achieve an objective. I only felt inspired and was determined to give it my best.”, said Shanti Raval, a member of the group.

The women have also started reaching out to others in the nearby towns and villages to be part of the initiative. Manjula Rathod is an example, who travels 20 kilometres from Danta to be part of the project. “I was keen on what was being done, so I decided to come and see what these women were up to. Their hard work inspired me and I felt I could do this with them too.”, said Manjula.

Payal & Jay Ambe Sakhi Mandal members have made waste management a profitable business model

As India progresses on the path of development in this new age of resource scarcity and increasing population pressure leading to increased waste generation, the issue of waste management assumes critical importance. These women have importantly shown waste is gold and that proper waste management makes perfect business sense.

This article originally features in the book 'Good Governance : People's Voice which has been published by the Commissionerate of Information.

Innovative bracelets earn group a whopping order!

By: Sudarshan Ramabadran

Little did the Siddheshwari Sakhi Mandal (self-help group) in Patan realise that their talent will be recognised and put to optimum use. The group known for making handbracelets struck gold after bagging an order of delivering 10 lakh bracelets to the Swami Narayan Temple in Baroda by 2015 after participating in the Baroda’s Saras Mela (fair).

Much deserved are the women in the group who belong to the Parmar community (SC). Societal oppression from the upper class was a regular feature for them to deal with.

Having put in intense hours of labour work in agriculture, the group decided to move on by decisively stepping into making bracelets, japa mala (accessory used for chanting), and other accessories. They were ably trained by Manjula Vaghela, a member of the group. She brought together people who were genuinely interested to learn and formed the sakhi mandal.

Siddheshwari Sakhi Mandal members put considerable time in agriculture

“We set out to train and it took us nearly 6 months to gain confidence that we can indeed deliver the goods by making these accessories such as bracelets etc.”, explained Manjula

Having gained in confidence and with Mission Mangalam showing faith in their abilities by providing them with necessary market linkages, the group began to set up stalls in Patan district bus stand to showcase their skills. They even went to the extent of visiting nearby temples and setting up stalls.

“Yes there is travel, but we have learnt that this is part and parcel of managing your own livelihood, so we do not shy away from showcasing our products anywhere.” said Aruna Makwana another member of the group.

Mission Mangalam ensured that the group participates in the Saras melas across Gujarat, so that others can witness their talent.

“During the Saras Mela in Baroda, we had members from the Swami Narayan Temple come over and look out our work. They were impressed with our bracelets and have placed an order of 10 lakh such bracelets to be delivered to them before 2015.”, said Manjula with a beaming smile on her face.

The group on an average sells for Rs. 10,000 every month and during festive occasions such as Diwali and Shravan months; they sell close to Rs. 25,000 per month. All the members of the group earn a steady Rs. 3,000 per month to sustain their livelihood and have managed to balance their household work and profession.

Siddheshwari Sakhi Mandal members making bracelets and other accessories

“We give two-three hours soon after we have completed our household work in making these accessories. We have the support of our family.”, said Lakshmi Vaghela, another member of the group.

The group procures its raw materials from Ahmedabad and Manjula’s husband offers his support to the group by shuttling to and fro Ahmedabad to get them the required materials. Women in the group are happy that this mode of livelihood generation has given them an opportunity to work from home.

“It is convenient for us, as we can pursue this right from our houses.”, said Champa Vaghela, another member of the group.

Siddheshwari Sakhi Mandal is indeed an example of how Mission Mangalam has provided the group with successful and innovative marketing platforms for their produced materials.

In sync with one of Mission Mangalam’s core objectives, the group is also provided with opportunities to participate at various fairs at district and state level to showcase their products.

This article originally features in the book 'Good Governance : People's Voice which has been published by the Commissionerate of Information.

Bhavda walks the path of change

By: Sudarshan Ramabadran

Poor sanitation, immense scarcity of water and most importantly oppression from the society; this is exactly what an extremely backward Bhavda village in Ahmedabad district was known for.

With the advent of time self-belief and significant change in mind set has resulted in the village taking rapid strides to walk the path of change.

Bhavda houses 750 people belonging to the Other Backward Caste (OBC) and Schedule Caste(SC) communities. A tail end village, women had to walk 8 times a day covering 8 kilometres up and down per time to fetch their share of water. The walk was filled with strain and uncertainty as the women folk did not know if they would get water, as a result of the oppression they had to face coming from a backward community.

Bhavda women travel 8 km to fetch water 

“We used to be really unsure; sometimes we had to walk in the day and sometimes in the night. There was no respect for us, fights were a regular feature. All that which was on our mind was we had to ensure our children get water, our family gets water. Therefore we must walk.”, said Kasi Jamvat, now an Anganwadi worker in the village.

Just when things were looking miserable, Bhavda got its act together and decisively embarked upon the goal of ensuring water to every house.

Devanji, a resident in the village says the move was welcomed with a lot of resistance. “People were just not ready to change. It required a change in the mind set to believe that our village can get uninterrupted water.”, he said.

The Sector Reform Scheme (SRS) meant 10% of the contribution had to come from the village. Thus, it took 3 years for the village folks to understand how essential it was. This is where the dialogue between WASMO and the village helped people to know how managing your own water supply can benefit the community at large.

Dialogue between WASMO officials and villagers 

“The field workers of WASMO never gave up. They used to visit every house and understand the problems we faced. Sometimes they were welcomed, sometimes they were not, but this did not stop them from giving Bhavda a ray of hope to manage its own water requirements.”, added Meruji another resident of the village.

Youth in the village began to play an active role in making the people aware of how essential it was to have their own water resources and the responsibility which came with it.

Jan Bhagidari (people’s participation) was evident as things began to fall in place. The principal of the primary school in the village led from the front and donated for the cause as part of the village contribution to the scheme. As a result the Gram Panchayat and its Pani Samiti decided to implement the SRS.

Plan of Water supply line in Bhavda

Water Tank in Bhavda

Bhavda installed a tube well, a water tank with 50000 litres water supply, and a 1050 metres water supply line which ensured water reached every house. 

The transformation was beginning to show. “Women now engage themselves in embroidery as an income generating activity. Fights have stopped and we are giving ample quality time to our families as well. That is how important water is to us.”, said Kasi.

Youngsters in the village were also taken for exposure visits on how best to maintain what they have in place back home. Now Bhavda not only ensures water for every home, but for all those who are dependent on animal husbandry, water has become sufficient for even their animals as well. “Since installation, we have had no issues. Through this we not only have water at our homes, but have understood to use water judiciously. We have water for our animals as well.”, said a joyous Mohan who is into animal husbandry. 

WASMO leads to societal transformation

Thought tail end by nature, Bhavda is definitely one of the examples where societal transformation is discernible through the works of WASMO and also a case where involvement of the entire village has brought about a paradigm shift through community management of water resources.

This article originally features in the book 'Good Governance : People's Voice which has been published by the Commissionerate of Information