Progress made in the last quarter in all Functional areas

Distance Education Programme – SSA
Under Distance Education Programme, a total of 380 DRS sets have been installed in the state. All DIETs, Block Resource Centers and selected Cluster Resource Centers in DPEP districts have been equipped with DRS sets. They are being regularly utilized for teleconferencing and teachers training in Distance Education mode.

Teleconferences
During 2006-07, under DEP-SSA, State-level Teleconferences were organized in Gujarat as shown under:

1. A Teleconference on Planning & Implementing Interventions for Promoting Girls’ Education was organized on 11th May, 2006,during which strategies for effective implementation of SSA, NPEGEL & KGBV were discussed by State & District Gender Education Coordinators.

2. A teleconference, on Alternative Schooling Interventions, was organized on 28th September, 2006, during which a Class Room situation in an AS Center was demonstrated.

3. A second teleconference on Alternative Schooling Interventions was organized on 11th December, 2006, during which management of issues in Back To School & Bridge Course programmes were discussed.

4. A Teleconference on Teaching the Visually Impaired Children under Integrated Education of Disabled Children scheme of SSA was organized on 19th December, 2006, during which RPs from Blind Peoples’ Association discussed management of specific issues in teaching of the VI children.

5. A Teleconference on Teaching the Hearing Impaired Children under Integrated Education of Disabled Children scheme of SSA was organized on 28th December, 2006, during which RPs from Blind Peoples’ Association discussed management of specific issues in teaching of the HI children.

6. A Teleconference on Preparation of AWP & B for 2007-08 was organized on 19th January, 2007,during which State Coordinators discussed common mistakes made and how to avoid them in preparation of AWP & B for SSA at district level

7. A Teleconference on Teaching the Mentally Retarded Children under Integrated Education of Disabled Children scheme of SSA was organized on 14th March, 2007, during which RPs from Blind Peoples’ Association discussed management of specific issues in teaching of the MR children.

State Project Office actively participated in the National Teleconference on Monitoring & Implementation of SSA and NPEGEL & KGBV, Quality Education, Research & Evaluation, ADEPT & Civil Works.

Gender Education
A gender perspective has been incorporated in all aspects of planning and implementation to make it an integral part of the programme in Gujarat. The strategy has been to address the disparities by making the educational system more sensitive to the requirement of the girl child while creating awareness among the communities.

NPEGEL
The National Programme for Education of Girls at Elementary Level (NPEGEL) is launched in 78 Educationally Backward Blocks (EBB) in 21 district and 13 urban slums of Gujarat. During 2006-07, a total of 11,42,978 girls were covered under the scheme. For this, 10240 teachers were also given training on Gender Perspective.

A total of 225 BRCCs, CRCCs and 120 teachers were trained on handling gender issues under NPEGEL and SSA. The major interventions undertaken for promotion of girls’ education during the latter half of the year are as under :

• One day camp for the members of WMGs (Women Motivator Groups) were organized, during which several activities, aimed at creating awareness about the issues, were conducted, e.g. Story reading, drawing competition, film show "Bik Nu Potalu ( A Bundle of Fears)”, visit to village schools and sports-competitions

• Kishori Melas and Lathi Lazim Camps were organized at cluster levels by girl students of Std V,VI & VII, who received training of Life skills such as Lathi, Lazim, Vocational training and cycling.

• From January to March 2007, under an initiative called Samata, efforts were made to improve academic performance of students from Std II,III & IV by giving them extra coaching on Mathematics and Gujarati. The extra coaching was provided in 5 schools per cluster, by the Bal Mitras, according to the module developed specifically for the purpose.

• International Women’s Day was celebrated under SSA, NPEGEL and KGBV during which several activities were organized at state, district ,block and cluster levels, e.g. story reading & writing, essay- writing competitions, elocution contests on women’s empowerment, puppet shows, film shows (Girija & Meena).

• From March to May 2007, Under a special programme called Chaal, Ma, Saathe Chaaliye (Mother, Let’s Go Together) ,girls from Std V & VI imparted training to their illiterate mothers.

ECCE Centers
For providing linkages between primary and pre-primary education, ECCE centers are opened by GCEE in habitations not served by ICDS. By October, 2006, a total of 5195 ECCE centers have been opened by Gujarat Council of Primary Education:[ 3723 under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and 1472 under NPEGEL. a total of 123671 children are covered in these centers.

During the year, Personality Development Workshops were organized for ECCE workers, during which they were oriented on effective usage of TLM and other educational material provided under SSA.

Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs)
Under Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV) scheme, residential schools (Std. 5-7) are being opened, with boarding facilities for girls belonging to SC/ST/ OBC/ Minority and Below Poverty Line in difficult areas. In 18 districts of Gujarat, a total of 44 KGBVs have been already opened, comprising 18 Type A schools (1150 girls enrolled), 12 Type B schools (502 girls enrolled) and 14 Type C schools (575 girls enrolled). In all these KGBVs, a total of 2227 girls have been enrolled.

During the year, the following activities were conducted under KGBV:

• Distributed child friendly equipments- cycle, carom boards, badminton racquets & shuttle cocks , ring, musical instruments (harmonium, tablas, manjeeras), volley balls, foot balls, sewing machines, books

• Organized Educational Tour

• Vocational Coaching provided to Girls student on making of Soap, Detergent, Candle sticks, Bamboo Work, Embroidery and Balm, Clay Molding, Making of Artifact and Toys from Sea Shell and Conch, Paper Molding work, Stitching and sewing cloths

• The girl students were taught cycling, Lathi –Lazim & self defense skills

• Exposure visit of educational places such as railway station, post-office, bus depot, police station.

• To emphases on Quality Education and imparted special training on quality education to Balsakhis

• Developed COT (Class Observation Tools) for monitoring and supervision.

Alternative Schooling System
Under Alternative Schooling System, Gujarat has achieved enormous success. ‘Back to School’ and ‘Bridge Course’ programmes have been mainly used to provide access to the out of school children in the state.

Back To School Program
At the beginning of the year, there were a total of 2, 88,850 out-of-school children in 6-14 year age-group, in Gujarat, of which 2,47,529 have been covered under Back To School Programme, while 41,321 children are still out-of-school. During the year, a total of 1,42,003 children were successfully mainstreamed in formal schools. Over the last three years, a total of 1,96,265 children have been mainstreamed under SSA Mission’s Alternative Schooling initiatives.

Bridge Course Programme 2006-07
Under Bridge Course Programme, the status of last three years’ progress is as under :

Migration Cards
A total of 1441 children, in 12 district,s took the benefit of Migration Cards for ensuring continuation of their education in formal schools in places where they migrate to along with their parents.

Support Schools
A total of 43 of the proposed 50 Support Schools have been opened, by GCEE for the State Education Department, at the place of work of migratory parents of children in the age group 6-10 years, with facilities of continuing with their education in Std 1-IV.

A total of 1659 children, comprising 916 boys and 743 girls, have been enrolled in these Support Schools opened in the districts of Kutch, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh, Surendranagar and Surat. Of these, 776 children are out-of-school, while 883 are in-school children who are continuing their education during their parents’ migration.

Seasonal Hostels
A total of 46 of the proposed 50 Seasonal Hostels have been opened, by GCEE for the State Education Department, in native villages of children in the age group 11-14 years belonging to migratory families, with facilities of continuing their education in Std V-VII while their parents are away.

A total of 1659 children, comprising 1198 boys and 461 girls, have been enrolled in these Seasonal Hostels opened in the districts of Kutch, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Junagadh and Surendranagar. Of these, 304 children are out-of-school, while 1355 are in-school children who are continuing their education during their parents’ migration.

SC / ST Education
For the education of SC and ST children, the following interventions have been initiated under SSAM in Gujarat.

• Special Provision for SC/ST children:
  In collaboration with Gujarat State Text Book Board, SSA Mission has developed Workbooks for SC & ST children in Std 1, 4 & 5. Numerical Writing books for Std 1, Hindi alphabets for Std 4 and English alphabets for Std 5 have been distributed in all schools.

• Capacity Building for Tribal Education:
  A two-day workshop was organized for 45 BRC Coordinators of tribal areas of the 11 districts. During the workshop, the participants were oriented on local dialects and use of local material for TLM. Using the locally available resources, contextual literature was developed to improve the quality of teaching . Later, CRCCs and teachers were also trained on tribal pedagogy.

• Dialect
  For the improvement of quality in education and joyful learning, teaching in local dialect is essential to deal with children of this area. The process of education can be made natural and easier with the use of local dialect. For the purpose, glossaries have been developed for the tribal blocks with the help of local teachers. The Pictorial Glossaries, developed by Bhasha Research & Publication Center, Vadodara, were distributed in the schools in tribal blocks in districts of Vadodara, Sabarkantha & Panchmahals.

• Child Tracking:
  The child Tracking Approach is adopted in formal schools in the tribal areas, for ensuring that the children, enrolled in Std. 1 in 2005-06, continue their studies and complete primary education. Follow-up is being continued during 2006-07 for tracking the children.

Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC)
Under SSA, IEDC programme is implemented in Gujarat. According to the survey carried out in September 2006, there are a total of 71,244 disabled children in the age group of 6-18 years with various disabilities in Gujarat, of which 61,224 are enrolled in schools while 10,020 are out of school.

During the last three years, a total of 1372 teachers, three from each block, have been trained on Foundation Course for the teaching of Children With Special Needs, in collaboration with RCI, Maharaja Bhoj University of Bhopal and Blind People's Association, Ahmedabad.

Medical Camps were organized at the block level, during which quantification of the various disabilities of disabled children was done and District Civil Surgeon issued certificates to the effect. Based on the medical assessment, the disabled children are being provided with necessary aids and appliances. The status of aids and appliances provided during the last two years is as under:

Learning Disability Module on IED, Teacher Training Module for Classroom Teaching, Booklet on PWD Act-1995, Module on Sensitization of regular teachers to the education of children with disabilities have been developed and distributed during various training programmes on IED. Also, a set of 14 posters on IED has been distributed to selected schools at CRCs.

Convergence with NGO
Convergence has been established with a renowned NGO, Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, Mumbai, for assessment of hearing and orthopedic disability of children and providing the specific aids and appliances in six districts, viz. Jamnagar, Patan, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Sabarkantha and Valsad. SSA Mission is funding the expenditure for aids and appliances while the NGO is holding the assessment camps by using its Mobile Van. Following its success in Dist. Jamnagar, the NGO has been assigned to hold similar camps for children with special needs in other 10 districts of the state.

Management Information System (MIS)
Training for filling up DISE DCF (Data Capture Format) forms has been given in cascade mode from State Project Office down to School Head Masters levels in all the districts under SSA.. Data collection and cross checking for veracity has been completed in all the districts Revision of perspective plans and preparation of AWP for all 25 districts and 4 Municipal Corporations under SSA are in progress.

DISE Reports for 2006 have been have been generated for all 25 districts and 4 Municipal Corporations.

Media Campaigns for SSA
Media campaigns have been upscaled for ensuring that all children are in schools or AS centres by the current year, as per the first objective of SSA. For this purpose various media are being strategically used.

Print

• Annual Report & Audited Accounts for 2005-06 prepared in English

• Documentation for Joint Review Mission on SSA

• Implementation Completion Report for DPEP IV in Gujarat

Television
Following programmes were telecast on Doordarshan Kendra, Ahmedabad during the year :

• A total of 8 TV Spots of 30 Seconds produced in collaboration with UNICEF and telecast on prime time in June-July ,2006

• Public Message by Hon. Chief Minister & Hon. Education Minister on 14th & 15th June, 2006.

Radio
The following radio programmes were broadcast during the year:

• Two radio jingles broadcast at prime time on All India Radio, Ahmedabad during the celebration of EFA Week in April, 2006

• During June-July 2006,radio spots for promoting universal enrolment of children in schools were broadcast on sponsorship programmes on Vividh Bharati and Prime Channel of AIR in Gujarat.

• State- wide coverage of Enrolment drive and other important events on Radio in June – July 2006.

• On 9th September 2006, a radio programme in English, on EFA Initiatives in Gujarat, featuring interview of Ms Meena Bhatt, SPD, by State Media & Documentation Coordinator, was broadcast on AIR, Ahmedabad.

Case Studies & Documents

In July 2006, State Media & Documentation Unit produced a 30-minute documentary video film, in English, on State Government’s Initiatives for Improving Girls’ Education in Gujarat. The documentary was produced for Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration (SPIPA), Ahmedabad.

A printed version of the same Case Study was also produced and submitted to SPIPA.
In September 2006, articles on Teleconferencing, Rainwater Harvesting, NPEGEL and other interventions for Girls’ Education were published in the book titled Shiksha Sangam: Innovations under the SSA, by Ravi J. Mathai Center for Educational Innovation, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.

In August 2006, a dossier on EFA Initiatives in Gujarat was prepared and submitted to Govt. of India.

Civil Works
Under SSA, the Civil Works play a major role by providing adequate facilities such as additional classrooms, new school buildings, toilet and urinal blocks, etc which contribute in the retention of children in primary and elementary schools. A large number of Civil Works are in progress at various stages. As of 31st March, 2007, following is the status of Civil Works completed under SSA..

Finance & Accounts 2006-07
Gujarat’s financial performance in SSA, NPEGEL and KGBV implementation for the year 2006-07 is as under:

(Rs. in lakhs)