Honourable Education Minister Prof. Chandrasekhar, respected district authorities, the commissioner of public instruction Mr. Patel, other government officers, respected citizens, the representatives of the winning schools and dear children,

It is a very honourable opportunity for me to share this platform with the education department and the district authorities of Government of Karnataka to announce the winning schools under the Learning Guarantee Programme – a joint Programme of the Government and the Azim Premji Foundation.

It is possible that when we announced the Learning Guarantee Programme on November 22, 2002 in the very same venue, there could be many in the audience who had a doubt on the future of this Programme and the impact it would have on the schools. Considering the seemingly stringent conditions of the Programme, some people would have even wondered whether any school would be able to qualify. The subsequent events have taught us so much about the way the schools work.

Our basic hypothesis was that given the same adverse conditions in all the 9300 government elementary schools in North East Karnataka, some schools are doing a wonderful job of delivering education to the children. We were keen on finding out what they are doing differently that needs to be analysed and emulated by schools that need to improve their capacity to achieve learning outcomes.

So we conceived a Programme that encompassed all the important elements of the Universalisation of Elementary Education.

To begin with the Programme recognised 100% enrolment of children in the given habitation.

Next, it insisted that 90% of the enrolled children in the school must have regular attendance.

And most importantly, the Programme required the school to deliver expected learning to 100% children.

The requirements of both 100% enrolment and 100% achievement of expected learning, besides being the Foundation of the Universalisation of Elementary Education, make an extremely important statement in the context of equity. In my opinion it is critical to ensure quality education for all the children. In a country that has millions of children that have been deprived of education on the basis of caste, creed, gender and socio economic backwardness, it has become supremely important to demonstrate this equity.

Today we are poised for a very unique opportunity. Almost every economist, industry expert, business person and management guru is expressing that by 2020, India can be among the top 2 superpowers in the world in terms of contribution to world GDP. By 2020 we can also become the largest talent pool. This dream will not materialise if we do not ensure education for all children, not only in respect of the cognitive competencies but also in higher mental faculties and in many other attributes.

I was particularly happy that the new bill on compulsory education takes a comprehensive view of education and talks about all round development of the child including aspects such as intellectual, physical, psychomotor, ethical, socio-cultural, attitudes and values. I also feel that all these aspects need to be contextualised in a way that the children, the parents and people in general find it relevant.

The Learning Guarantee Programme has made a beginning in measuring some cognitive aspects of learning. As we progress, in the next round we would attempt measuring aspects like higher mental faculties, attitudes and values.

In its essential character, a Programme like the Learning Guarantee Programme conveys the following:

1. It is possible to create accountability for education and learning outcomes among the key stakeholders like the school teachers, the members of the school development monitoring committee, the parents and also among the children themselves.
2. In a country that is resource starved, despite several constraints, once the stakeholders decide to take the challenge, they can achieve the pre-determined objectives.
3. Many a times, what is required for people to achieve excellence is the clarity of the goal, a challenge, some persuasion and a lot of motivation.

To me, accountability continues to be the most important aspect of ensuring quality of education. The Learning Guarantee Programme has given us a concrete hope that more and more schools, habitations and parents are willing to take accountability for their children’s education. The fact that 6500 schools out of the 9300 total schools expressed their desire to participate in the Programme and 1900 of them completed the elaborate procedures to finally participate in the Programme is ample evidence of this fact. We would of course like to analyse why the number got reduced from 6500 schools to 1900 schools and I am sure that would provide very valuable insights in the psyche of the schools and the habitations.

The analysis of the findings of the Learning Guarantee Programme in the evaluation of 900 schools has once again confirmed the all vital role the head teacher, the teachers and the members of School Development Monitoring Committee could play in improving learning.

One fear that has been brought to my notice is that in order to win in the Programme, some schools may resort to extensive last minute tuitions thereby pressurizing the children. This will be counterproductive to the spirit of the Programme.

To many of these colleagues who have assembled here to witness this unique award distribution function, I would like to share my thoughts about school education:

• Every child is an individual with a right to respect. This respect for the child must translate into providing a non-intimidating and exciting space in which the child learns. Schools need to proactively identify and eradicate every element of threat – physical, mental and emotional – that stifles learning and growth.
• The right learning environment ought to be contextual to the learner and to the community. For instance, a blind child needs non-visual learning tools; hunger is a physical threat detrimental to learning in underprivileged communities. It follows that the local community has a responsibility in creating a feasible environment within and outside the school. So education will create frameworks for learning which is contextual to the child’s history, future and environment.
• There has to be this clear understanding that learning occurs everywhere and that all learning can be interesting. It would build on the operating principle that each child constructs her own learning. To quote Plutarch, “The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled”.
• Why is it so difficult for us to accept that every child learns differently, at different depths and at different speeds? Some children learn best when doing things with their own bodies; some learn better in peer groups; yet others learn best by emulation. There is an acute need to recognise the importance of “Individual Learning”.
• Let me ask you… under what subject should the eruption of a volcano in Japan be covered? geography? physics? maybe chemistry? geology? It is all of this and more. This is because nature is inherently whole. It cannot be broken down into fundamental building blocks. Then why is curriculum boxed into subjects, modules and chapters? The child would understand inter-related disciplines at a fundamental level. Only then will she be able to construct knowledge that is not cut-off from the reality of the world around her. We ought to think of “Integrative” and wholesome learning.
• This form of education will not stop at “content”. The child would continuously develop life-skills. This would include physical development, relevant vocational skills, competencies such as creative and critical thinking and abilities such as risk-taking and coping with change. Further, the child’s learning would be grounded in an individual, social and human value system imbibed from self-discovery.

In education of this nature, caring for children and feeling responsible for the holistic progress of every child would form the basis for all decisions. Such education will invest in teacher development, better assessment systems, community participation, and in a culture built on the imperative of the learner.

It would be an education system which would continuously refine the dynamic balance between being the key agent of socialization and being the driver of social change. In such a system, the child would learn how to learn, develop and grow.

In our next version of the Learning Guarantee Programme, we would like to measure many of the above attributes and welcome the schools to come forward with suggestions to make education holistic as a Foundation to a just, equitable and human society.

I congratulate the head teachers, teachers, members of the School Development Monitoring Committee, the parents and most importantly the children of the winning schools. I am confident that they will continue to do better and strive for unprecedented excellence in education.

I thank the Government of Karnataka for partnering in this endeavour and also to all the education functionaries that have contributed in the implementation of the Programme.

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