(Education) The Government and Educational NGOs in India Make A Difference Together

February 7th, 2010 admin Posted in education |

By Shawn Jeffrey

The rapid growth of the Indian economy in the recent past and the compulsion to sustain it is forcing the Indian government to accelerate the process of developing all the branches of the Indian education system. Despite all the efforts to expand the education system in India, access, equity and quality of education in India continue to haunt the policy makers till this date. This has largely been due to the widespread poverty and various prejudices.

In addition to the propagation of private, fee-paying schools in India, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play a crucial role in providing educational services, especially in un-served and under-served communities. Educational NGOs in India have launched programs that have had positive impacts in terms of both access and quality because, firstly, these programs are small-scale and locally rooted, and secondly, because their organization allows for greater flexibility and room for innovation in areas such as, teacher education, curriculum design and school networking that is not possible within government schools.

The Government and educational NGOs in India can play a key role in eliminating fees or underwriting their costs through efforts like scholarships, bicycles to get to school, or creative micro-enterprise development projects that, for instance, might produce school uniforms at a low cost while providing some income to parents.

The Government in India must go beyond measuring only the financial resources that are attributed towards securing childrens rights. They should also include non-financial resources such as technical assistance, human resources and political will. While the responsibility of the government is to ensure all children are included in quality education systems-no matter what their gender, ability, or identity is. Educational NGOs in India can and should help them achieve this long term goal, through the following ways:

As NGOs they can advocate to influence the financing for education, by looking at the amount of money allocated as well as how it is spent. Educational NGOs in India can collectively advocate for relief of debt and loan restrictions that limit education financing. NGOs can play a key role as stakeholders in gender responsive budget initiatives, ensuring that female needs and rights are addressed and they are included and involved in the decision-making process

Since NGOs work with children, parents and communities often in a very personal manner, they have the unique chance to map who is not in school and influence and empower communities to take on many of the factors that keep children from school. At the local, grassroots level, NGOs can play a very important role in challenging harmful traditional practices and attitudes that keep females from completing their education.

Educational NGOs in India can also partner with the Government through sharing work and combining human resources. One way NGOs can partner with

governments is via research collection. Working with communities and universities both can collect sub national data on girls to best focus resources and calculate the necessary costing to include all children in gender-equitable education programs. Often NGOs work closely with communities of marginalized and abandoned children, and thus they can serve as critical partners for inclusion.

Shawn Jeffrey is the author of this article on Slum education.

Find more information about Slum children here.

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