Stakeholder Development
Teacher Development
Communities & PRI Development
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Communities & PRI Development
For Bodh, communities are the most important stakeholder
in any educational intervention. The emphasis is on facilitating community involvement
and ownership wherein they can play the leading role in school development and management
processes. Similarly, the work with the rural local self governing bodies or Panchayati
Raj Institutions (PRIs) is aimed at ensuring an enhanced understanding of their
roles and potential for positive action. In the urban context, the local self governing
bodies’ structure is not spelt out clearly – particularly for lower units of population.
Here, then, there
is an ever greater emphasis on community action which can spur
processes of change.
The
capacity development initiatives with communities focus on interactions
and meetings at individual and group levels. Bodh teachers visit local
communities daily. They interact with parents as well
as other community members.
These interactions become opportunities for
sharing
children’s progress and also
initiating discussion on key issues. Monthly community meetings are also held. These
are seen as important platforms for discussing the school’s functioning and other
critical aspects. Community members are encouraged to share their experiences and
opinions. All major decisions are taken at such meetings. Structured workshops/special
meetings on specific issues are also conducted as and when required.
The mother teachers working in bodhshalas and select government schools (in the urban and rural programme areas) are another significant community
resource. Women in the age group of 20-35 years are selected. They undergo a 21
day training which prepares them for undertaking their role of conducting pre school
groups (children in the age group of 3-5 years). The residential training emphasises
the value of their own community knowledge and practice base regarding child care.
Inputs are provided to facilitate enhanced understanding of different developmental
aspects, specific benefits of various activities etc. Mother teachers have a fixed
one year term. This has helped in creating a growing pool of women in the community
who understand and support educational interventions.
The PRIs have provided tremendous scope for joint dialogue and
action. The monthly panchayat meetings, for instance, become an important forum
for discussions related to the local educational scenario, emerging issues and action
required. The related mandated provisions and schemes are accordingly utilised.
Various committees also play an important role. Besides regular interactions, specific
meetings and workshops are organised with PRIs to facilitate them in playing their
roles with greater understanding and effectiveness.
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