Open Letter to the NIOS

From 1st of April, the Indian Government has started implementing a new Act called "Right to Education Act". Sounds very progressive on paper - all kids have the right to demand education from the government. The government has to find ways to educate them - either by enrolling them in its own schools or givine money to private schools so that those schools will educate the kids.

But, it has also mandated that no child less than 14 years can study in the National Institute of Open Schooling. This is causing problems for our adivasi kids here. Here is a letter written by Ram about it to them - it brings out the other point of view. Thought many of you will be interested in this counter argument.

To,

The Chairman
National Insititute of Open Schooling
A-24-25, Institutional Area,
NH – 24, Sector 62
NOIDA 201309

Sub: Enrolment of Learners as per Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act

Ref: Your letter NIOS/Acad/OBE/RTE/10/ Dated 14.01.10

Dear Sir,

We are in receipt of your letter mentioned above and note the contents with apprehension and dismay.

We have been given to understand that the Open Basic Education Scheme of NIOS was directed precisely at the below 14 age group in order to address a great anomaly that exists in our education system of lack of quality and meaningful education, particularly where it concerns the marginalised and depressed communities. As you can see we are a centre that caters exclusively to adivasi children and this move of NIOS affects the children totally.

We have 100 adivasi children, all of whom have dropped out or refuse to go to the government schools near their villages, where they are entitled to food three times a day, clothes, residential facility, books, stationery, toiletries that they need. They travel 16 kms every day one way to get to our centre. We provide them with education and nothing else except subsidized books - no food, no no clothes, no stationery. Yet they come.

NIOS has played an important role in providing the structures that have helped us impart quality education to our students. In the context of NIOS's decision to discontinue the OBE Scheme for children within the 6-14 age group, I wish to refer to the words of the Hon'ble Minister Kapil Sibal at the meeting of National Consortium of Open Schools -NCOS - on February 15th, 2010 (refer your website at http://www.nos.org/annualncos.htm):

“Expressing concern over the enormous challenge of reaching out to 15 million learners who are out of school, [Sri Sibal] emphasized on the need to improve the methodology of programmes in the Open Schooling system.
“The Minister said that the option for Open School should be regarded not as a poor alternative but as an effective empowering alternative, by producing high quality delivery materials which also needs to be continuously evaluated by an outside agency. ... He advised the NCOS to evolve a policy through incentives to attract regular schools to embrace the Open Schools to increase its credibility and improve its national acceptance. He also appealed to the NCOS to work out an effective policy to meet the challenge of reaching out to about 15 million learners by the year 2020.” (emphasis mine)

I also want to refer to an article in the `The Hindu', February 11th 2010, `Tangible Targets at School' (available at: http://beta.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article104610.ece) where according to the EPA Global Monitoring Report (UNESCO) the Education Development Index, placed India at 105 out of 128 countries in the year 2001. The EDI Report for 2010 now places India at exactly the same position -105 – out of 128 countries! This is after 10 years of World Bank funded DPEP and 10 years of Sarva Siksha Abhiyan and over 20,000 crores down the drain. The data states that while the enrollment is 94%, the drop out rate at the primary level is a shocking 34%! “In all probability they drop out without acquiring any level of progress with respect to the basic three R's, contributing to the numbers of out-of-school children, to child labour and to the mass of illiterate population.” (emphasis mine)

Given this situation we are now compelled to put all these children back in the schools from which they dropped out and from which they will drop out again. What happens to them then? As we cannot address this problem they will end up in the mass of illiterate population. Is this what NIOS and the Right to Education Act wants? These matters have to be given sufficient thought. Also, referring back to Sri. Sibal's comments at the recent meeting of the National Consoritium for Open Schooling, it is evident that the recent decision by NIOS to not admit students between ages 6-14 to the OBE Scheme is completely repugnant with matters discussed at such meetings and with the way forward for NIOS suggested by the Honourable Minister himself. Given this, and the fact that the OBE Scheme has been successfully utilised by educationalists for over a decade now, we are completely unable to understand the decision that was communicated to us vide your letter.

This decision has serious adverse implications and we appeal to you to reconsider it.

Yours faithfully,

B. Ramdas