SSRS VISIT REPORT BY HIJLI INSPIRATION

Visit on 26th May 2015

INSPIRATION Team: Chandreyee Das , Damayanti Mukhopadhyay, Bidhan Jana

Reached SSRS at 9-00 am. Had a meeting with Head Master and Assistant Head Master on the genesis of the programme- transition from Sarvik Vivekananda to Susunia Club – role of Susunia in the project ( technical/ supervisory/ Administrative/ Financial ).As understood Susunia Club is also a society which handles social projects but somehow was not involved in the least with SSRS.

The different issues that were discussed/observed and proposals framed based on these have been elaborated below:

Taking over by Hijli INSPIRATION

In a meeting with the Teaching and Non- Teaching Staff, INSPIRATION team members shared the possibility of takeover by INSPIRATION which meant that Agragati would be an INSPIRATION project and Teaching and Non- Teaching staff would all come under the employment roll of INSPIRATION and thus staff will have to abide by the Statutory Provisions of payment ( PF and ESI ). Remuneration would however be decided by the provisions of the budget.

The norm is that 12%PF is deducted from the basic amount which is 50% of the total remuneration and deposited along with a matching amount from the organisation. Further 1.75% of basic remuneration (uptoRs 3000 gross remuneration) is deducted for ESI and deposited along with 4.75 % contribution from INSPIRATION.

All staff agreed to the provisions and did not have any issues with it. Actually the staff were happy with the prospects of enrolment under PF and ESI. The Accounting procedures were also shared.

School Premises and RTE Compliances

The building which houses the school is small but adequate to run a school( although it may not be RTE compliant but Government primary schools have even smaller space ) . There are six classrooms for accommodating six classes ( Pre Prep, Prep, Classes I to IV). The classroomsneed petty repair in terms of replacement and/or repair of windows etc.

Along with it there is an Office cum Computer room . But there is no Teacher’s Room ( RTE Non-compliance )

Classes II, III and IV have benches while Classes Pre-Prep, Prep and Class I do not have any furniture. The children sit on the floor and study. ( RTE Non-compliance )

There is an unpaved kitchen with Kuchcha walls which is not hygienic

The school is on an arterial road with a more or less peaceful ambience. The premises does not have a gate or a proper boundary fence ( RTE non- compliance partially )

There is a makeshift fence between this plot and the adjoining plot which is gated. The fence being make- shift, children have easy access to the plot and use it as a playground. This arrangement can continue as long as no structure comes up in the adjoining plot. The owner of the plot has no objection with the children using it as playground.

There is one bathroom with a toilet. No separate toilet for girl students and teachers ( RTE non- compliance )

There is a small collection of books but the library is literally non-functional ( RTE non- compliance )

The school authority has sunk a submersible tube well which serves as a source of water but the school does not have an overhead water storage facility. This is causing wastage of water since water usage is linked to direct pumping out of water by switching it on.

There is no bin for garbage disposal.

The building has another room which is shuttered and has access from outside. This room is used as a storeroom /godown by the owner. The School Authority has requested the owner, Sri Tapas Mahapatra to vacate the room and to provide it to the school against enhanced rent. This room can be used as a library /computer room / co-curricular activity room .The owner has not spelled out his decision as yet. However the School Authority is of the view that they would not invest significant amount on this premises since they still have plans of buying a plot and constructing their own building.

Meeting with HM and AT / Envisioning exercise / Meeting with Panchayat
Eating of the floor / Studying on the floor / Kitchen

Some suggestedminimal repairs or developments to improve of quality of the set up and to make it RTE Compliant

  • Repair broken windows
  • A basic paint to make the rooms look bright and child friendly
  • Build shelves and develop a library with reading and lending norms
  • Introduce small folding tables for children of lower classes to be used both for studying and having food
  • Build a 2nd toilet ( small ) to dissociate girls toilet from boys.
  • Replace the asbestos roof of the existing toilet with concrete and place a water storage tank there
  • Construct concrete wash basins to ensure hand washing practice
  • Pave the kitchen floor to make it hygienic and have a semi pucca wall structure
  • Have a gate to the school to ensure security and safety of children
  • Introduce proper garbage disposal systems ( install waste bins )
  • Introduce the idea of plant rearing for environmental consciousness and beautification of school premises

Teachers and Quality of Teaching

There are 7 teaching and 2 Non-Teaching staff. The staff are qualified and seemed articulate in work. They primarily adopt traditional teaching approaches and use minimal TLMs although many of them seemed to be aware of different TLM used in teaching. The teaching framework is absolutely curricular backed and does not include support curricular or co-curricular sessions as a practice. There are occasional drawing classes and computer sessions for children from classes III and IV.

Suggestions for improvement

Improve basic learning proficiency along with curricular learning. Basic learning proficiency would include improved abilities in reading, writing, comprehension and logical computation. This would actually be the USP for this school vis a vis the government run primary schools ensuring learning sustenance and retention.Further co-curricular focus should also be on strengthening the physical and cognitive attributes through varied activities.Beyond these there should also be events and occasions for strengthening the cultural traits and expanding their knowledge horizon.

Proposed activities

  • Introduce reading classes in the session plan
  • Improve the collection of books in the library and introduce a library class to support reading acceleration.
  • Introduce assessment systems for teachers and progressive assessment for learning skills of children
  • Introduce Yoga or Bratachari for physical development and education
  • Introduce indoor educational games ( memory games, jigsaw puzzles, building blocks etc ) to enhance their cognitive skills

Capacity Building of Teachers

Teachers have been provided trainings by local trained teachers.

Proposal: Training is required in

  • use of TLM in curricular teaching
  • reading acceleration and
  • Development of other basic learning skills.

Other Provisions for children

50 needy Children out of 85 are provided with uniform and books.All children are provided with a tiffin mainly comprising of muri (rice crisps) and some nuts/ cucumber etc

The children are also provided with lunch ( rice, dal, vegetable and a non veg ) which usually is managed by the contribution taken from parents in the form of 5 kg rice and Rs 100 per month against a child. The lunch is not supported by ASHA .The children coming from distant localities are provided with rickshaw van facilities.There has been no periodic medical check-up of children ( RTE non- compliance )

Proposal:

  • Provision of a dress for all children during the Puja.
  • Introduce periodic health check- up camps

Reporting and regular communication

SSRS did not have any reporting system in place. E-communication is restricted due to absence of internet facilities. UttamBera’s ( Computer Teacher) mobile is used for sending and receiving emails. There is need to upgrade the connectivity for regular interaction and reporting

Proposal; Upgrade the internet connectivity by use of dongle. The TATA Photon dongle worked. .

Envisioning and sustainability

An envisioning exercise was done with the Administration and Teachers on how they want their school to be. The HM and the AT mentioned that they dream of an own school – built on own land and managed by a School Committee. The teachers mentioned of different attributes of an ideal school. Then the discussion revolved around how these could be achieved.The HM mentioned that they have already identified the land and are into dialogues with the owner. Once they can acquire the land they will raise donations to build a basic structure and then keep improving on it.

According to them they would definitely require financial support (as is being done by ASHA) in the initial period but will be able to manage funds through student fees ,donations and support from funding agencies . The teachers and non-teaching staff also expressed their desire of having a school of their own.

That they are capable of running the school was apparent to some extent since they mentioned to have managed the running expenses of the school between Nov 2014 and May 2015 with their own funds. And they have not asked for any reimbursement. This means that INSPIRATION’s project will be a new project which will not have any carry forward from the previous term. This was discussed with SSRS and unanimously decided.

On the issue of affiliation with the Education department it was deciphered that what they have done so far is not at all an application for affiliation. It is an application for recognition of unaided school under District Inspector of Schools. The discussion with the Assistant Inspector of School (Kakoli Das Mahapatra ) revealed that this recommendation will not entitle a school to receive funding . According to her the Department at different levels keeps a record of all schools ( govt., govt aided and private ) under its jurisdiction. Getting a recognition is indeed a good step ahead.The application for recognition is attached below:

This led to the topic of Registration of SSRS under the Society’s Act. It was decided that the process of acquiring Society Registration by SSRA would be facilitated by INSIRATION. Uttam Bera will coordinate with Bidhan Jana (Admin INSPIRATION ) .

Application for Recognition

Interaction with Panchayat and School Management Committee

The Panchayat representative mentioned of his involvement in the school mentioned of his all round support. He however mentioned of a constrained space.

The school management committee was requested to take up the issue of Society’s Registration. The scheme for operation of SSRS under INSPIRATION was also discussed.