Nexus of Good: A bridge for efficiency

The seeds of Muktangan were sown in 2003 when Elizabeth Mehta, a leading educationist, realized that as a system, collectively, we were unable to engage learners actively, preventing them from reaching their fullest potential. These challenges, coupled with the heavy emphasis on rote learning merely to pass exams and qualify, were curbing the natural curiosity of learners. There was a need to bring about greater integration and synergy between the child, teacher, parent and the community to drive a much-needed transformation in education. Hence, Muktangan was set up as a model to facilitate greater integration of teacher and school education within the mainstream.

In March 2003, Muktangan started its first preschool and developed seven women from educationally underserved communities as teachers. This helped it establish the “Education for the Community, by the Community” model that was completely community-owned and community-driven. The acceptance of this model and the subsequent organic growth with the active participation of the parent community helped Muktangan adopt six more schools in Mumbai’s G-South ward.

Muktangan evolved its educational project, demonstrating how ordinary women and men, empowered with the right beliefs and skills, can drive extraordinary outcomes for children from the aspiring communities. Over its 20-year-long journey, it has evolved into a Hub and Spokes model of integrated teacher and school education, with its teacher education centre as the Hub and seven Muktangan-run municipal schools in Mumbai as Spokes where free, high-quality and inclusive English medium education from preschool to Grade 10 is offered.

The strength, sustainability, and efficacy of this model lie in its two distinctive features. The integrated school and teacher education programme helps in planning and implementing appropriate pedagogy according to individual learning needs. With intensive one-year pre-service teacher education course and subsequent ongoing in-service training and development programmes, trainees develop into thinking, reflective practitioners and change agents within their communities. Many of its teachers are decision-makers and contributors to their household income. The pedagogy and active constructivist classroom processes promote 21st-century skills of critical thinking, creativity and collaboration, rather than passive rote learning. The ‘Total Systems Approach’ includes innovations like classroom internships for trainees, low pupil-teacher ratio (15:1), weekly peer-to-peer sharing forums, and differentiated learning integrated with assessment for learning. Parents are key stakeholders in the education process, and through their active involvement, Muktangan has been able to strengthen the public-private partnership.

The success and impact of the programme:

✼ 4000+ children directly benefit through active learning year-on-year;

✼ 1000+ community members have been skilled to become English medium teachers;

✼ So far, students have achieved a 99 per cent passing rate in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Board examinations, with 82 per cent of children securing first class and above;

✼ Muktangan’s support has motivated 98 per cent of its alumni comprising 1,800 students to pursue higher education and various professional courses like chartered accountancy, engineering, business management, health sciences etc.;

✼ Through its outreach projects, it has impacted 75,000+ students and 5,000+ teachers and teacher educators.

Being a demonstration model, Muktangan believes in collaborating and liaising with the government and partner organizations in urban and rural areas, supporting them in optimising their learning outcomes. It has partnered with UNICEF, the Maharashtra State Government, Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and many NGOs.

The Muktangan model is acknowledged by academic institutions and educationists locally such as Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), and internationally such as the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) in the USA and BathSpa, Oxford and Cambridge Universities in the UK. Its representatives have also participated in various panel discussions and think tanks to share its learnings and influence mainstream education. While drafting the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the committee invited Elizabeth Mehta to give her valuable inputs on the policy. Muktangan was invited by the Maharashtra State Council of Educational Research and Training (MSCERT), Pune, to be part of the revised D.El.Ed curriculum design committee. It is also a part of the Global Schools Forum (GSF) — a community of non-state schools, networks and other school support organizations, supporting more than 30,000 schools in 51 countries, providing quality education to nearly 5 million children.

Muktangan has always believed that offering holistic learning experiences will aid in the child’s overall development. This aspect of engagement is integrated within its learning culture itself, whether it is school programme, teacher education, outreach or stakeholder engagement. It has been able to develop mutually collaborative partnerships over the years, and is now eager to tap new opportunities and expand its horizons.

Currently, the Muktangan team is partnering with other organizations to build capacity in different thematic areas, drawing on the Muktangan model for bringing quality changes within the mainstream education system. Some of the current partnerships include ECHO India, an online case-based platform where Muktangan is sharing its best practices in early childhood education and student engagement strategies. Similarly, it has also joined hands with Dharma Bharathi Mission and Door Step School to support the development of teachers in the areas of early childhood education and English language development.

Partnerships have also been entered into with:

a) The Dehuroad Cantonment Board schools, Pune, to transform 11 schools;

b) Sankalp Ek Prayas, an NGO running 300 rural learning community centres in 5 districts of Chhattisgarh.

Through these partnerships, the aim is to share its active constructivist pedagogy and engage the community in the learning journey.

Muktangan’s journey of over two decades in education has enriched it with various experiences. After consolidating its learnings from the Hub and Spokes model of teacher and school education, it is now ready to impact the outer world through the Muktangan Education Resource Centre (MERC). Its team is now focused on helping educational practitioners in schools and teacher education centres to provide opportunities for all their students to learn in more meaningful ways. It is this collaboration that Muktangan wants to truly celebrate as it continues to expand its horizons to make a lasting difference.

Muktangan is a well-deserved winner of Nexus of Good Award, 2023, as this wonderful model based on public-private partnership is replicable and scalable.

Views expressed are personal